O-O¬

The first time I heard the name John Lennon was 25 years ago today — the day he died. I was 9 at the time, well aware of the Beatles and their music, but only vaguely conscious of the names “McCartney” and “Ringo.” I wasn't yet putting names and faces together when it came to musicians — when I first heard that John Lennon was dead, I thought they meant Felix from The Odd Couple.

When our music teacher passed Beatles albums around the classroom a few days later, the only Beatle I could pick out and name was John, because of his glasses (by then I'd seen his face on the news over and over again). I bought my very first Beatles album (the 1967-1970 “blue album”) after I heard the song “Revolution” for the first time.

By the time I was 14, I was obsessed with both the Beatles and Lennon — the 1985 Duran Duran posters adorning my bedroom gave way to this and this and this. Throughout high school I was known for peace-sign T-shirts and round sunglasses. I saw the film Imagine: John Lennon about a dozen times when it came out in 1988, and campaigned for “In My Life” to be our class graduation song in 1990 (I lost big — we walked out to Mötley Crüe's “Time For Change”).

In my 20s, my favor shifted from John to the dark, spiritual George — “Savoy Truffle”, “Something”, and “Old Brown Shoe” became favorites. Today, it's clear to me that Paul really was the genius among the Beatles. He was the pioneer of the group, the brains behind Sgt. Pepper, the one whose inventiveness defined and transcended 1960s rock-n-roll (think “Helter Skelter” and “Eleanor Rigby” and “When I'm Sixty-Four”). His songs “Hey Jude”, “Get Back”, and “Let It Be” are close to flawless.

John, of course, will always be the most beloved, because in the end he was more of a cultural icon than a songwriter. His post-Beatles work was uneven and undisciplined, suggesting that his artistic focus depended heavily upon his partnership with Paul. But he was the one with a message that resonated with a generation, the one who eventually let go of music in order to stay with the message.

And of course, he'll always be the one with the glasses.