John Lennon was killed in New York City 31 years ago today. That's more than three decades' worth of pissed-off Beatles fans asking, "What If"? What if Lennon were still alive? What kind of music would he be making right now? At what point would the Beatles have gotten back together? Would it have been awesome or a horrible mistake?

Think about it: George Harrison and Jimmie Vaughan on the same song together ... a song that was written by Bob Dylan ... which was used on the soundtrack to something as crappy as Porky's Revenge, no less.

Although the last thing the red-hot Beatles needed in early 1964 was a "secret weapon," that's exactly what they got -- in a beautiful Fireglo finish. George Harrison got his first Rickenbacker 12-string in February of that year, during the Beatles' first U.S. tour. The guitar was given to him by Francis C. Hall, owner and president of the California-based Rickenbacker company.