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At first I didn't make the connection — why an evening of John Lennon's music played by this band? As I left the house, my wife was watching a news special on TV commemorating the anniversary of the day Lennon was shot and killed: Dec. 8, 1980. This particular Friday night in 2006 was Dec. 8. "We're here honoring John Lennon's demise," said Rogue Suspects bass player Greg Frederick into the mic as the show got underway. Frederick was wearing a "War is not the answer" T shirt. Very much the sentiments of Lennon. The TV special had called Lennon an advertisement for peace. Not a bad product to be promoting, given all the non-essentials that celebrities hawk these days. The band interspersed its regular list of songs with selections from the Beatles. And always with their own take on the songs, which only proved again how seminal the Beatles music was to the evolution of rock music. You could take their ideas and run with them — instead of copying them — and it still worked. Advertisement Where would rock 'n' roll be without the Beatles? The question came up on the TV special and it was clearly on the minds of the band members. Rogue Suspects guitarist Dirk Price went so far as to say, "We wouldn't be anything without John Lennon." Price had grown up with Beatles music since he was 4 or 5 and living in Texas. Like many of us of a certain age, he remembers where he was and what he was doing the night Lennon was shot. And the day Kennedy was shot. Kind of macabre, to have two key moments of your formative years be the murder of charismatic, youthful heroes. Comparisons to Christ and Ghandi were obvious. Men of peace who died at the hands of violence. When Lennon had said, many years before, that at that time, the Beatles were more popular than Christ, the average church-goer missed the statement's subtle irony and possible wake-up call and promptly fomented an anti-Beatle campaign. Records and photos were burned in public bonfires. They used to do this with "dangerous" books — and a few "dangerous" people — in the Middle Ages. But the Beatle backlash took place in the 20th century. And the United States! Some time after Lennon's death, I visited the Dakota hotel in New York City where Lennon and Yoko Ono lived and where Lennon was shot. The sidewalks were full of mourners. Many held candles. And their faces were numb. Incredulous. Silenced. My generation had lost a mentor and we were confused. How did this happen? Why? What were we to do now? Some direction was provided in the lyrics Lennon left us. He was not a saint. Far from it. He was not always kind or compassionate. But he wanted to do something positive about a world that he found in great disarray, always conscious that he, too, was out of sorts. When you hear the songs that he and Paul McCartney penned, you can't help but be struck by their consummate humanity. Who else but the Beatles could have given us the brilliant poetry, imaginative musical phrasing and insightful social commentary of "Eleanor Rigby," "Let It Be," "All You Need is Love," "Across the Universe," "Blackbird," "Carry That Weight," "A Day in the Life," "I Will," "In My Life," "Revolution," "She's Leaving Home," and the playfully poignant "When I'm Sixty-four?" Where did those songs come from? The "sweet and the sour," the TV special said. McCartney's sweet optimism and Lennon's acerbic wit combined to give us good old rock 'n' roll with something to ponder as we sang along. I can remember living in San Francisco when the Beatles' "White Album" came out. I was driving with some friends and the radio was on. The station announced that they had just received the album and were going to play it on the air in its entirety. We pulled over to the side of the road and sat there listening in awe to the new direction the Beatles were taking music. And us. Last Friday, Dec. 8, was another moment for pulling out of the traffic to listen to the Beatles. It's still a long and winding road, but it's a journey that wouldn't be the same without them. Would you like to respond to this story? If so Click Here to visit our forums. Advertisement Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback online casinos news Home Security Systems Online Casino Reviews Men's Clothing Fundraisers UK Homeowner Loans Discount Hotel Reservations Send Flowers Casinos Canada Texas Electric Choice Compare Electric rates in Texas Windermere Van Vleet Trunks, Footlocker Online poker at AbsolutePoker.com