John Lennon let us all imagine. He spoke of peace and goodwill, of strength of character, understanding and of love. He dared us to dream that the world could be a better place and people listened. His words offered hope throughout the decades filled with uncertainly, fear and wars. The Beatles frontman developed into a cultural icon over the years as a peace activist, artist and author. It is his words that survive him and his songs that help us survive in our ever-changing and sometimes scary world.

John Lennon developed an interest in music at an early age, playing the banjo and singing along to the popular music at the time from the likes of artists such as Elvis Presley and Fats Domino. His affinity for music stuck with him as he grew from adolescence and found himself a part of a little band known as The Beatles. The 1960s music scene was almost entirely about the British invasion with Beatles’ songs continuously topping the charts in the United States. Most all of the songs were written by Lennon and bandmate Paul McCartney. Songs like “Love Me Do” and “Thank You Girl” are recognized as part of Lennon’s creative genius and helped lead The Beatles to their international success.

During the hype that routinely followed The Beatles around, Lennon also penned a couple books, In His Own Write and A Spaniard In The Works. A man of many words, Lennon always found time to write, whether it was for books or for music. In 1969 Lennon left The Beatles in order to pursue other interests. One of the most popular albums by Lennon, Imagine would go on to become a sort of anthem for anti-war movements that were igniting across the country in response to the Vietnam War.

His deep involvement in the movement for peace largely defined Lennon during this time and he made many notable appearances onstage in a push for this cause as well as the promotion of political activism. His devotion to his family immediately after his son was born in 1975 caused Lennon to take a break from the spotlight to help raise Sean Ono Lennon. It wouldn’t be until 1980 that Lennon would announce that he was making a comeback.

Of course, as history tells us, Lennon never got that chance. He was shot and killed on the night of December 8, 1980 forever silencing the man who himself stood for the practice of peace and love. His words and songs are still popular today; making the musical comeback that John Lennon had originally planned a reality even after his death.