John Lennon's "Imagine" piano at Virginia Tech

In its latest stop to promote peace and non-violence, the piano on which John Lennon composed "Imagine" was photographed in Blacksburg, Virginia, near the site of the shootings at Virginia Tech in April. The piano was on display for several hours at the home of one of the university's professors, and then at the Squires Students Center, which houses the Asian American Student Union.

The piano which is owned by singer George Michael and partner Kenny Goss, is currently on a tour of sites of historic acts of violence, including locations of the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas and Dr. Martin Luther King in Memphis, the former Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, the site of the Oklahoma City bombing, and others.

A spokesperson for Michael and Gross said that, "Kenny and George both believe by taking the piano to Blacksburg, they hope to honor those that lost their lives, those injured and those whose lives were impacted forever by this great tragedy. Their deepest wish is to imagine a world of peace, a world without violence."

A video documentary and a book featuring photographs of the piano at the sites is in the works, with all proceeds going to charity.

In other Lennon-related news:

Paul McCartney took time out while promoting his new album Memory Almost Full to talk about his working relationship with John Lennon.

McCartney spoke about carrying on in the shadow of the pair's legendary partnership which created most of the Beatles' songbook, explaining that, "It's a funny subject, the collaboration thing, because I collaborated with John and you're a little bit spoiled after that. That was one hell of a collaboration."

He went on to add that, "I've done it quite a bit since and, I think -- and I hate to say it -- there's inevitably a sense of disappointment because it was just so cool for John and me to be working together, because we started so young and knew each other's ways and minds."

Billy J. Kramer recorded several original Lennon and McCartney songs with his band the Dakotas, including 1964's Top Ten hit "Bad To Me." Backstage at this year's Fest For Beatles Fans, he explained that Lennon and McCartney's images hardly sum up the pair's personalities: "Paul always came across as being more cutesy, and John was more of a tough guy -- but he wasn't really. It's funny the way people see people and have these visions of them and they're not like that at all, you know?"

After splitting with Lennon in 1969, McCartney has primarily written on his own or with his late wife Linda McCartney. Apart from brief collaborations with Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson, his only lasting songwriting partnerships have been with Wings co-founder Denny Laine, 10cc's Eric Stewart, and most notably with Elvis Costello.

Memory Almost Full, McCartney's 21st solo studio album, will be available both online and at traditional outlets, including Starbucks coffee shops, on June 5th.
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