CNN.com - NYC, Liverpool remember Lennon

Programming Note: "Showbiz Tonight" is live from Strawberry Fields as fans remember the life and music of John Lennon, 7 p.m. ET on Headline News.

Fans place flowers on the "Imagine" mosaic in Central Park on Thursday.

JOHN LENNON

Born: October 9, 1940, Liverpool, England

Died: December 8, 1980, New York, New York

Married: Cynthia Powell, 1962-1969; Yoko Ono, 1969-1980

Children: Julian (1962- ) and Sean (1975- )

Notable solo songs: "Give Peace a Chance," 1969; "Instant Karma," 1970; "Imagine," 1971; "Mind Games," 1973; "Whatever Gets You Through the Night," 1974; "(Just Like) Starting Over," 1980; "Watching the Wheels," 1980

Tidbits: "Imagine" is the official song of the human rights organization Amnesty International; the area in Central Park across from the Dakota, at 72nd Street and Central Park West in Manhattan, is called "Strawberry Fields" in Lennon's honor.

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Gallery: The impact of John Lennon

• All those years ago

• For people there, Lennon's death lingers

• Review: Beatles myth, Beatles facts

• Review: Lennon, 'Revealed' and remembered

• Cynthia Lennon: In her own write

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Songs for John Lennon

Here is a list of songs at least partially inspired by Lennon's death:

"All Those Years Ago," George Harrison

"Here Today," Paul McCartney

"Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)," Elton John

"Life Is Real (Song For Lennon)," Queen

"Not Now John," Pink Floyd

"Edge Of Seventeen," Stevie Nicks

"Moonlight Shadow," Mike Oldfield

"The Late Great Johnny Ace," Paul Simon

"Fragile," Sting

Source: Beatlelinks (www.beatlelinks.net)

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(CNN) -- New York and Liverpool -- two cities forever associated with John Lennon -- are the focal points for bittersweet celebrations of the life and death of the former Beatle.

In New York, the city Lennon adopted as his home and where he was shot dead by a crazed fan on December 8, 1980 -- floral and musical tributes as well as a candlelight vigil are planned.

Amid the scores of fans and mourners assembled in New York's Central Park Thursday, Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, visited the memorial that commemorates the former Beatle's legacy.

Ono, who traditionally lights a candle in her apartment window to mark the anniversary, was escorted to the memorial by New York City police.

Ono joined fans remembering Lennon at the memorials named for Lennon songs: the "Imagine" mosaic that is the centerpiece of "Strawberry Fields," a section of Central Park across from the apartment where Lennon lived with Ono.

It was at the entrance of that building, the Dakota, where the 40-year-old Lennon was murdered in the presence of Ono by Mark David Chapman. (Chapman, now 50, remains in New York's Attica state prison and has been denied parole on numerous occasions.)

Every year, crowds assemble at Strawberry Fields and remember Lennon by singing songs, laying flowers, and holding a silent a vigil at 10:50 p.m. ET (0350 GMT Friday), the time of the shooting.

Earlier, Ono's spokesman, Elliot Mintz, said she would not be giving any interviews, despite having received more than 500 requests.

Across the Atlantic in the English city of his birth, more than 1,000 tributes to the pop icon were attached to balloons and released Thursday to mark the 25th anniversary of his death.

"I just wrote 'Merry Christmas John' on my balloon. I love the Beatles and especially John Lennon," he said. "My mom and dad let me take the day off school to come here."

Later, Lennon's image was projected at Liverpool's Albert Docks and flowers were laid at his statue outside the Cavern nightclub, where the Beatles honed their craft and sparked a frenzy that spread around the world.

Meanwhile in Japan -- Ono's birthplace and a country she and Lennon often visited -- tributes also were paid Thursday. There were radio programs and a concert at John Lennon Museum, which opened in a Tokyo suburb on October 9, 2000 -- what would have been his 60th birthday.

In Liverpool, Lord Mayor Alan Dean said Lennon's "influence on his and future generations is immense."

"Not only did he help change perceptions of Liverpool around the world -- he and the Beatles changed the aspirations of young working class kids all over the world, showing that if you've got ability you can go anywhere," he said.

"Few people in his position used their fame to stand up against injustices and to spread the message of love and peace in the way he did."

Tom Sergeant, 70, added: "I think it is a great thing that he is still held in such high esteem and that people hold events like this to remember just how great his music was."

"You couldn't approach John at the end, and looking back it was from the moment ... he met Yoko Ono," former friend and fellow musician Billy Kinsley told Reuters.

"It really did make a big impression on me seeing the Beatles on that first night at the Cavern, because it just changed my outlook.

"I thought 'My God, I have just seen the best thing that I could ever see,' and since then it's been downhill because I've never seen anything as good as the Beatles."

Kinsley was to perform "Beautiful Boy," which Lennon dedicated to his second son Sean, at a memorial service in Liverpool on Thursday.

In New York, Ayarton Dos Santos said Thursday's events are "all about peace, love and happiness.

In a statement on his Web site, his first son Julian said: "I have always had very mixed feelings about Dad. He was the father I loved who let me down in so many ways ... it's painful to think that his early death robbed me of the chance for us to know each other better."

NYC, Liverpool remember Lennon

Yoko Ono joins mourners at Central Park's Strawberry Fields

JOHN LENNON

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