John Lennon, a genius musician and founding member of the Beatles, was shot 25 years ago today. My, how time flies! What were you doing when you heard the news?
I was watching Monday Night Football.
Posted by Kimberly Zanetti (Member # 2546) on :
I was talking on the phone with my best friend - it was late at night East Coast time. 1980...I was 14...remember it well.
Posted by Rick Chavez (Member # 2146) on :
I wasn't a big Lennon fan at the time but I was watching TV when the news broke into the show. A friend who moved there was at the candlelight memorial right after it happened.
Posted by David Harding (Member # 108) on :
I was working late at the shop, trimcapping some letters. I had Monday Night Football on.
Today is also the fifth anniversary of Kimberly's losing her father, a person of equal talent and genius in his field to that of John Lennon.
Posted by Bill Lynch (Member # 3815) on :
Driving home from a friend's house. Turned on the radio and they were playiong nothing but Lennon/Beatles, I was thinking something was up when they announced it at a break. there are only a few events that I remember where/what about...JFK, Lennon and 9/11.
Posted by Ron Wakefield (Member # 4816) on :
The clock radio woke me up for high school (age 16) and that's all that was on the air.
Posted by John Lennig (Member # 2455) on :
I was at a private home, painting a cartoony jungle scene on a childs wardrobe...paying job. a little high, having fun, when the mother came upstairs and told me the news...she had heard the news today, oh boy.... now i wasn't having so much fun.
John Lennon RIP
john
Posted by Raymond Chapman (Member # 361) on :
This kind of shows the difference in age or priority or something for me. I remember vividly what I was doing when news came of the Kennedy assasination, death of Elvis, Challenger disaster and 9/11, but just recall hearing about Lennon but where I was and doing didn't stick in my memory.
Lots of memories there too of meeting Letterhead heroes and such.
Posted by Jill Marie Welsh (Member # 1912) on :
I had just arrived at the diner where I worked the night shift, having attended art school downtown during the day. When I went to the kitchen to hang up my coat, the cook was crying. I asked him what was wrong and that's when he told me about John Lennon. The radio was blaring "Imagine". I later married that cook. I was 18. Love....Jill
Posted by Marty Happy (Member # 302) on :
I was partying with 3 buddies in a Winnipeg hotel room. We were there for a couple Winnipeg Jets NHL hockey games. The Jets are no longer either.
Posted by Felix Marcano (Member # 1833) on :
Being a very naughty 4 year old...
Posted by Si Allen (Member # 420) on :
John who?
Posted by Doug Bernhardt (Member # 1568) on :
I remember it well....was working late, which was usual then, and my boss Harry was in front of shop watching TV while working, which was also usual. I was in the back probably lettering some plywood signs listening to a local rock station, when it came on the news that he had been shot....and then a few minutes later confirming that and his death. As a kid from that generation (saw the Beatles live in Toronto) I was quite stunned/shocked and left work a few minutes early. As I walked out the front door a guy was walking past the front of the shop and said "they killed Lennon" to me. I thought the "they" was a bit paranoid but I do get what he meant. A quick aside....Harry turned 90 a few weeks ago and is still at work 6 days a week.
Posted by Dave Grundy (Member # 103) on :
I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when the news of John Kennedy's shooting was broadcast. I was studying for some exams at college.
Same with the first manned moon landing. I was sitting in front of a black and white TV watching it with a group of students.
DEFINITELY 9/11!! I was sitting right here reading a post about a plane crashing into the WTC and turned on CNN to see what was happening. The van was already packed for our trip to Pat King's meet. We decided to change our plans.
As far as John Lennon's shooting...I remember hearing about it, but at that point Shirl and I had been together for only 2 months and we were in the process of moving into our recently purchased home. Somehow the move had a higher priority than anything else then.
Posted by George Perkins (Member # 156) on :
It's kinda funny, I too remember exactly where I was when I learned of the deaths of JFK,RFK,MLK and Elvis but I really can't remember when I heard the news about Lennon. I think, by then I was numb from all the shootings. All of them absolutely senseless I'm still bothered by all of them....Elvis not nearly as much as the others though.
Posted by David Wright (Member # 111) on :
Don't remember, didn't care very much, then or now. Lost quite a few much closer to me in the following years to reflect on.
(Although I still can't bear to eat biscuits anymore now that the doughboy is dead.)
Posted by Bobbie Rochow (Member # 3341) on :
My x-husband had come home from midnight shift, woke me up & told me.
I also remember seeing the Beatles on TV when I was REAL little, & my Grama saying she wanted to take her scissors & cut their hair! Lol!
Posted by Frank Magoo (Member # 3950) on :
Can't say I remember either, but, interestingly enough, I do remember, vividly, the night Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper died in a plane crash outside of Storm Lake, Iowa...the three of us were under the hood of a '49 Merc. w/312 T-Bird motor and tri-power, tuning the carbs, when news came over radio, KOMA, Oklahoma City; shocked us at first, then as reports became more complete, we got drunk, sad day indeed...the day the music died........
Posted by Ryan Long (Member # 5881) on :
I've even got Felix beat -- I was only 9 months old (almost to the day). I've been an absolutely rabid Beatles fan for the last several years, however...I read all the books and bios I can get my hands on, have tons of bootlegs, attend national fan fests, catch Beatles tribute bands whenever I can, the whole deal. I'm a huge music fan in general with a pretty broad range of tastes, but absolutely NOTHING is quite as magic as the Beatles in my mind.
Some of my favorite Beatles songs are the ones that are the most touching on days like this are the ones where John went against his usual form as a rocker and wrote the more tender type of song more commonly associated with Paul -- I'm thinking in particular of In My Life, Julia, Dear Prudence, etc.
Posted by Steve Purcell (Member # 1140) on :
Yeah, I heard it from Howard Cosell, too. I was pretty bummed...
My wife came downstairs holding a Beatles charm bracelet from when she was a kid. It was one of our Christmas tree ornaments from then on.
Goofy, but true.
Posted by Ray Rheaume (Member # 3794) on :
I was watching that same Monday Night Football game...NE Patriots vs. Miami Dolphins.
There were only 7 seconds left in the game and John Smith was preparing to kick a field goal that would win the game in Miami's Orange Bowl Staduim, something the Patriots had NEVER done in 16 years of trying. Howard Cosell announced John Lennon had been shot and killed. I was stunned. Smith missed the field goal and the Pats lost.
My mom heard my reaction and asked if a football player had been hurt. When I told her that Lennon had been killed, she broke down into tears.
Rapid
Posted by Rick Beisiegel (Member # 3723) on :
Ryan
I agree, I was a just a child during their "reign" But, still addicted. I have tickets to see "1964 A Tribute" with a group of friends next Friday in Grand Rapids. This will be the sixth time in 15 years to see them. I never saw the real thing, but, this works for me.
[ December 09, 2005, 08:16 AM: Message edited by: Rick Beisiegel ]
Posted by Ryan Long (Member # 5881) on :
quote:Originally posted by Rick Beisiegel: I have tickets to see "1964 A Tribute" with a group of friends next Friday in Grand Rapids. This will be the sixth time in 15 years to see them. I never saw the real thing, but, this works for me.
Awesome Rick, I've seen 1964 2 or 3 times myself! Best tribute band out there. A friend of mine actually proposed to his (now) wife on stage at a 1964 show a few years ago. Great bunch of guys to chat with after the show, too!
Posted by Santo (Member # 411) on :
I was working in the Bahia De Campeche on a remote island off the southern Yucatan. We had just had dinner and drinks, when bartender told us to come watch the news on TV.
Actually I was in Mexico during all the major assination and assination attempts of that time. Those being Reagan and the Egyption Prime Minister(What was his name? Nassar?)
Posted by Stephen Broughton (Member # 2237) on :
In the pub, I was 18
Posted by Bill Preston (Member # 1314) on :
Santo, you're thinking of Anwar Sadat---he was invoved with Jimmy Carter and Menachim Begin with the Camp David accords about 1979.
Gamal Abdul Nassir was the Egyptian military officer who led the revolt overthrowing King Farouk in the middle 50s, and bringing on the Suez Canal crisis.
The decade of the 50s wasn't all sweetness and light, contrary to what some of the nostalgia buffs for that period think.
Posted by Santo (Member # 411) on :
Thanks Bill. Sadat it was. Kinda strange, how those seeking to make the peace are among the first to die.
Posted by Ryan Long (Member # 5881) on :
quote:Originally posted by Santo: ...how those seeking to make the peace are among the first to die.
War is big buiness. There's no money to be made off of peace...Lennon had a hell of a FBI/CIA file on him, what a threat a guy and his guitar must have posed to America!
Posted by Deb Fowler (Member # 1039) on :
It was a warm sultry weekday evening and I was roller skating to REO Speedwagon music at a rink with co-workers from a day job in Ft Laud. I worked three jobs then, and it was a night out from the plant; we made pvc outdoor furniture, and I was a seamstress, and worked in all the facets of making the furniture and packing.
We could drink pitchers of beer and skate, as it was a hotspot and I loved to skate. We didn't know it had happened until it was announced. The next day the words to "Imagine" were posted in large next to the timeclock. They played John Lennon music all day. Such a loss. So sad.
Posted by Michael Clanton (Member # 2419) on :
I had a new transistor radio, and late at night I could get all sorts of AM stations from all over the country. I was in 6th grade and it was a school night, so I was in bed- listening to stuff. I remember hearing the breaking news of the shooting from some station way up in New York. I got out of bed and went and told my mom that the Beatles were dead... I wasn't sure which one he was- I only knew "Ringo, the drummer" and "Paul McCartney" and it had to be one of them "two other dudes".
I also listened to hockey games on my transistor radio- except for a while I thought they were just incredibly low scoring basketball games. (Being from the south, I didn't really know what hockey was.)
Posted by Carl Wood (Member # 1223) on :
Strange I can't remember - I musta been in Texas then - followed different music at the time - did somebody mention REO Speedwagon? Remember when Elvis died though - was sitting on the couch eating potato chips & watching TV when Mom told me. Later that night me & some buds went to Graceland, as I lived in Memphis. It was a weird scene there were thousands of people there, many more thousands over the next several days, up till his burial. Couple of fans got killed when a car plunged into the crowd the second day.
Posted by Deb Fowler (Member # 1039) on :
Carl, I was the one that was skating to REO speedwagon but was still into other music, especially jazz since my hubby always insisted on jazz. We grew up on the Beatles though. Did any of you see the special on John Lennon? I watched at 4 in the morning the night before last since I couldn't sleep; and I'm glad since I probably wouldn't have seen it otherwise. Have had the tv in my bedroom since Katrina so I could keep up round the clock. They showed film of John Lennon and Yoko when they had his new little baby boy and emphasized John's sense of humor and played a lot of footage I've never seen before. No matter if each of us were alive or remembered, the wonderful impact that John had on us is relevant in his music just by listening to it.
I find it fascinating to see others come on and reminisce how the Beatles impacted their career. (Ozzie Ozborne from Black Sabbath was just on Carson Daley night show, just now, on a serious note sharing this too, for instance, and many, many others through the week, "The Band", etc. So, I fall asleep sometimes and leave the tv on, and it wakes me back up with some meaningful news or these shows about the Beatles (this week).
[ December 10, 2005, 02:30 AM: Message edited by: Deb Fowler ]
Posted by Deb Fowler (Member # 1039) on :
Frank,
I was only 6 on the "day the music died", (Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper the well-known fathers of rock and roll), but it was so well known and followed me all of my life, as they influenced John Lennon and Paul McCartney as J.L. and P.M. were in an audience in England when they performed over there. The beginnings of rock and roll originated with these wonderful musicians and the Beatles give the credit for the influence and inspiration of their music career, (not to forget John Lennon's mother playing a role early on in his life_.
To this day, the song by Don MacClean "American Pie" lives with our family since it was my daughter's father's favorite song before he passed away. It lives in our hearts, and the meanings and ties.
Posted by Carl Wood (Member # 1223) on :
Deb - Hate to disagree on the fathers of Rock and Roll - but wasn't it John Lennon who said, "Before Elvis, there was nothing?"
Posted by Ryan Long (Member # 5881) on :
quote:Originally posted by Carl Wood: Deb - Hate to disagree on the fathers of Rock and Roll - but wasn't it John Lennon who said, "Before Elvis, there was nothing?"
The boys loved Buddy Holly -- they covered "Words of Love", for instance. Big Buddy Holly fans.
Posted by Doug Allan (Member # 2247) on :
they replayed Barbara Walters 13 year old interview with John's killer tonight on 20/20.
I was 12 hours old the "day the music died" having been born around 2pm 2/2/59
I was in Missoula MT. at a coin-operated laundrymat with my fellow treeplanting co-op members after a week in the Clearwater National Forest away from all news sources. One of us spotted a newspaper that told us of the tragedy a day or two earlier & we found a radio somewhere & it was still being reported.
[ December 10, 2005, 05:36 AM: Message edited by: Doug Allan ]
Posted by Carl Wood (Member # 1223) on :
Damn Doug I wished you hadn't mentioned that killers name - Mark Chapman that's exactly what the scum bag wanted was his name remembered - guess the sick bast***rd succeded - Almost OT - What happenened to Marvin Gaye? Hey Deb - still like REO Speedwagon - "Gary's Guitar Solo" is awesome - as well as flying turkey trot - saw em live a coupla times in that period , one night after 'goin to a Rolling Stones concert, next nite Heart played - -that was an awesome 3 day concert/time in my life . . . . Gotta acknowledge Sam Phillips, though - besides Elvis he also snagged Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Charlie Rich, among others. . .
[ December 10, 2005, 05:44 AM: Message edited by: Carl Wood ]
Posted by George Perkins (Member # 156) on :
"Almost OT - What happenened to Marvin Gaye?"
Marvin Gaye was shot and killed by his father. His life was pretty troubled near the end.
Posted by Kimberly Zanetti (Member # 2546) on :
George & Carl, I don't remember my father having much of an outward reaction to John Lennon being killed but I remember coming home from the movies (we'd gone to see the Big Chill) and my father was sitting at the dining room table with his head in his hands. That was the night Marvin Gaye was killed.
Posted by David Harding (Member # 108) on :
In a strange aside to the John Lennon murder, a few years later, a made for TV movie was being filmed on John Lennon. As it turned out, the actor initially picked for the part of John had the exact same given name as John's assassin, although the stage name as he was known by was different. They ended up choosing a another actor.
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