I was obsessed with the Beatles from about the ages of 12 to 17. I still love that music and prefer it to almost any other music.

John was always my favorite. I felt like I knew him, from his songs, their movies, photographs of them, books I read about them. He was the smart one, the interesting one, the clever, sarcastic one, the rebellious one. Just my style.  It always seemed odd to me that he was gone from the world before I ever entered it. 30 years after his death it still feels strange and sad to me that we have missed out on so many years of music that he would have created.

I have read enough about him to know that he was a flawed person who didn’t always treat the people in his life well. But like all people I love, I accept and forgive him those flaws. And I feel so grateful that he created such beautiful art and shared it with the world.

Here’s some of my favorite songs:

“I’m So Tired” from the White Album:

“I’m Only Sleeping” from Revolver:

“Oh Yoko” from Imagine:

“(Just Like) Starting Over” from Double Fantasy:

Happy Birthday John! We miss you!