John Lennon tribute: 'Imagine,' 'Happy Xmas (War is Over)'

On Dec. 8, 1980, Mark David Chapman shot John Lennon in the back four times as Lennon and wife Yoko Ono returned to their New York apartment. Ono issued a statement the next day that said, "There is no funeral for John. John loved and prayed for the human race. Please pray the same for him." His body was cremated and his ashes were scattered in Central Park.

Thirty years later, it's hard to imagine what the musical landscape would look like now had Lennon never been shot. In his roughly 10 years as a solo artist, he and Ono used their music oftentimes to make human rights and anti-war statements. We wonder what Lennon would have written for 9/11?

His music with the Beatles was obviously prolific, but many regard "Imagine," his song about all the people of the world living harmoniously together, to be his finest work. We've included both "Imagine" and "Happy Xmas (War is Over)" in our small tribute to Lennon. This post could be the length of a novel, with 50 songs embedded. But here are just a couple of our favorites.

Rest in peace, John Lennon.