Mark David Chapman Denied Parole A Fifth Time

Mark David Chapman, the man who shot and killed John Lennon in on December 8th, 1980, was denied parole for the fifth time today. Chapman, currently serving a 20 years-to-life sentence in Attica prison for the Lennon slaying, will spend at least another two years behind bars before having another parole hearing. Despite having a record of good behavior since 1994, the parole board once again denied Chapman's parole, citing "concern for the public safety and welfare." Lennon's widow Yoko Ono also lobbied against Chapman's release.

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Song Stories

“All Along the Watchtower”

The Jimi Hendrix Experience | 1968

Jimi Hendrix got hold of Bob Dylan's early John Wesley Harding tapes and in late 1967 recorded a version of "All Along the Watchtower" with the Experience in London. Dissatisfied with that first development, Hendrix brought those tapes with him to New York in early 1968 when he began work on Electric Ladyland. Eddie Kramer, Hendrix's engineer at the time, told Rolling Stone that Hendrix "was still looked upon by his basically white audience as the mammoth black guitar hero. There was a constant fight within him to expand himself." Hendrix's successful take on Dylan's work has long been recognized by the songwriter. "I liked Jimi Hendrix's record of this and ever since he died I've been doing it that way," Dylan wrote in the liner notes to his Biograph box set. "Strange how when I sing it, I always feel it's a tribute to him in some kind of way."

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