John Lennon - "(Just Like) Starting Over"

(Debuted November 1, 1980, Peaked #1, 25 Weeks on the Chart)

Since the 80s Music Mayhem blog is focusing on the year 1980 this week, there is no more appropriate song to feature today than this one. There really isn't more that I can add about the song that isn't covered (and usually better) somewhere else. Most fans understand the significance of "(Just Like) Starting Over," and how the words took on a different meaning after Lennon's short encounter with Mark David Chapman.

On December 8, 1980 I was 8 years old and had little idea who The Beatles were. So when the news broke about John Lennon's murder, I wasn't really affected by it, but I definitely saw that many around me were. So I listened to what they were saying, and eventually tuned in to his music (and that of his former group) as I grew older. Just a few years later, I was hooked on Lennon's message and was conversant enough in The Beatles' material to know which album most of their songs were on.

I'm sure I'd have eventually gotten around to listen to his material, but Lennon's senseless death was the event that caused me to pay attention to his message. And it's a message that I'm already passing along to my own daughter, who is already listening to my Beatles CDs as she does some of her chores around the house.