**Related Video Above: Geraldo Rivera remembers the death of his friend John Lennon.**

(WJW) — John Lennon would have been 83 years old today.

While he died more than 40 years ago, the singer-songwriter’s legend lives on, with one of his greatest collaborators remembering him Monday.

“Celebrating the birthday of my wonderful friend and collaborator, John Lennon,” Paul McCartney, now 81, wrote on social media.

The Beatles, the band they started way back in Liverpool in 1960, were only together a mere decade, and yet the obsession with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-inducted foursome remains.

  • Paul McCartney pays tribute to the late John Lennon, seen on video screens at rear, as he honors his Beatles band mate during the Ninth Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in New York at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, Wednesday, Jan. 19, 1994. McCartney confirmed that the remaining members of the Beatles are back to the studio to record some new songs “for old time?s sake.” (AP Photo/Ron Frehm)
  • **FILE** This Oct. 26, 1965 file photo shows John Lennon, left, and Paul McCartney as they smile during a ceremony at Buckingham Palace in London. The British Broadcasting Corp. will air a long lost Beatles interview featuring John Lennon and Paul McCartney talking about the day they met and their songwriting partnership. The precious film sat forgotten for 44 years in a garage in south London until film fan Richard Jeffs realized a piece of pop history was contained inside. (AP Photo, FILE)
  • Paul McCartney, left, stands next to a plaque honoring John Lennon during the first anniversary of the Beatles Love at the Mirage hotel-casino in Las Vegas, Tuesday, June 26, 2007. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
  • The British rock band the Beatles show their Member of the Order of the British Empire medals at Buckingham Palace in London, England, Tuesday Oct. 26, 1965. The Beatles, from left, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, John Lennon and Ringo Starr, were awarded the MBE by Queen Elizabeth II. (AP Photo)

All the members of the group wrote songs beloved to this day, but it was the music crafted by McCartney and Lennon that made up most of the Beatles’ catalogue — forever solidifying them together.

After such a long time, what do you say about a person who meant so much to you, whom you loved and hated? In an interview with SiriusXM The Beatles Channel last December, McCartney talked about how he felt after learning Lennon had been murdered in New York.

“When John died, it was so difficult,” he said. “It was difficult for everyone in the world because he was such a loved character and such a crazy guy. He was so special.”