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John Lennon helped inspire a generation to imagine a better world. Now, his widow Yoko Ono has helped put together a new exhibit at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame annex in SoHo called "John Lennon: The New York City Years." Ono, who is an accomplished artist in her own right, says despite Lennon's fame as a Beatle and solo artist, they had a very special relationship.

"He was not acting out the star bit with me. And we were just two artists and he had great creative ideas and it was like a beautiful creative conversation we always had," said Ono.

The small but powerful exhibit includes memorabilia and home videos showing the Liverpool native's love of New York City. Organizers say being in the Big Apple had a big impact.

"I think it influences a lot of his work. I think just being in this artistic community and ya know being with Yoko I think that all caused him to do things like the section on the art films that they made together and I don't think if John was in London he would have been doing that," said Annex Curator Jim Henke.

"He was a rock n' roller, but he had those extra layers of intellect and spirituality and really he cared about the human condition, which I think was the real trademark," said Martin Simon.

My dad brought his prized Lennon autograph. He met John and got the autograph and a photograph after sort of sneaking backstage, with my mom at a benefit for disabled children in 1975. My dad, who has polio, told the security guard he was part of the event.

"I kind of pandered to a security guard and told him I was one of the handicapped kids that John was raising money for and that we had a huge donation to make which was about $30 and back in 1975 that was a fortune for us and we chatted with him and he was charming and he said 'focus on me nose it's very sharp' and I told him I was one of the handicapped kids he was raising money for and he said 'ah, but I hope you get some of the money back'," said Simon.

Tragically, Lennon's time in New York was cut short by an assassin's bullet outside his Upper West Side home in 1980. At the end of the exhibit is a sobering call to end gun violence, including a photo Ono took of his blood stained glasses.

Still, Lennon's life was his music and that lives on along with his and Yoko's message for peace.