John Lennon was famous for spreading his wisdom beyond just the context of his lyrics.
The legendary Beatle — who would have turned 75 on Friday, Oct. 9 — was known for his political and peace activism in addition to his storied music career.
The famed singer and songwriter mused about living life saying, “Count your age by friends, not years. Count your life by smiles, not tears.”
His life was tragically cut short at 40 years old when he was shot and killed outside of his Upper West Side apartment building on Dec. 8, 1980.
Co-founder and publisher of Rolling Stone Jann Wenner wrote about Lennon in the foreword of a collection of writings titled, “The Ballad of John and Yoko.”
“Of the many things that will be long remembered about John Lennon — his genius as a musician and singer, his wit and literary swiftness, his social intuition and leadership,” Wenner said.
“Among the most haunting was the stark, unembarrassed commitment of his life, his work and his undernourished frame to truth, to peace and to humanity,” Wenner added.
After a popular and lengthy career with the Beatles — Lennon embarked on a solo career producing songs like “Imagine,” “(Just Like) Starting Over,” “Mind Games” and “Happy Xmas (War is Over) — many of which were co-created with his wife Yoko Ono.
He landed on the Billboard Hot 100 chart nine times and had four top album sales, according to Billboard.
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After learning his road manager was shot and killed, Lennon said he knew he would be next.
“I’m not afraid of dying. I’m prepared for death because I don’t believe in it,” he said.
“I think it’s just getting out of one car and getting into another.”
Here’s a look at his most popular quotes as we celebrate his birthday on Oct. 9:
10. “What we’ve got to do is keep hope alive. Because without it we’ll sink.”
9. “If there’s such a thing as genius — I am one. And if there isn’t, I don’t care.”
8. “I’m not going to change the way I look or the way I feel to conform to anything. I’ve always been a freak. So I’ve been a freak all my life and I have to live with that, you know. I’m one of those people.”
7. “We’re more popular than Jesus now; I don’t know which will go first, rock ‘n’ roll or Christianity.”
6. “If everyone demanded peace instead of another television set, then there’d be peace.”
5. “Reality leaves a lot to the imagination.”
4. “When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.”
3. “As usual, there is a great woman behind every idiot.”
2. “Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans.”
1. “How can I go forward when I don’t know which way I’m facing?”
