The 75th fifth anniversary of musician John Lennon's birth causes J BROOKS SPECTOR to contemplate Lennon's life and the place of his output in the contemporary world.
The other day, the writer and his wife were talking about the way musicians succeed in influencing a generation, or even in creating a new genre of music that echoes down through the generations. Mozart's music and his sublime gift as a composer, to name just one example, embraced and touched virtually every genre of classical music, revolutionising many of them, and perfecting others. The human shell that contained the genius died at the age of 35.
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