John Lennon (October 9, 1940, to December 8, 1980)

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Over the decades, John Lennon's songs have been covered by thousands of artists. Just think of all the people — from unknown Lithuanian bar bands to Lada Gaga — who have had a crack at "Imagine."

Today, on the 32nd anniversary of his death on December 8, 1980, I'm paying tribute to Lennon by rounding up five of what I feel are the best performances of his solo songs by other artists.

You'll notice Paul Weller on this list; Weller, the former frontman of UK hitmakers The Jam, is a huge Lennon disciple who has covered several of his songs as B-sides. And then there's Pearl Jam's live version of "Gimme Some Truth." Its only flaw is that it lacks anything even close to George Harrison's goosebump-inducing slide-guitar solo on the original Lennon version.

Video-wise, my favorite of the bunch is "How?" by Ozzy Osbourne, in which Ozzy hits the streets of New York City — old-school Lennon-style — en route to pay his respects to the man himself.

Enjoy these five covers — and power to the people!

OZZY OSBOURNE
How? (Originally from Imagine, 1971)

PEARL JAM
Gimme Some Truth (Originally from Imagine, 1971)

RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS
I Found Out (Originally from John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, 1970)

PAUL WELLER
Instant Karma (Originally released as a single in early 1970)

NEIL YOUNG
Imagine (Originally from Imagine, 1971)

Damian Fanelli is the online managing editor at Guitar World.

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