|
Post by acebackwords on Dec 6, 2013 13:40:38 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by John S. Damm on Dec 6, 2013 16:11:58 GMT -5
I was 18 years old, in my bedroom in the countryside outside tiny Wanatah, Indiana playing Beatles or solo Beatles albums, kind of hiding from visiting, older female relatives out in the living areas of our home. I was in an otherwise great mood, it was warm that night and my intra-mural basketball team, of which I was captain, won our game earlier at the high school. Hey, this was Indiana where basketball is king!
My Dad and brother were watching Monday Night Football I think because my brother ran in our shared bedroom saying only that John Lennon had been shot. Off went my record, on went 95.5 WMET FM Chicago and the DJ first interrupted the music to announce that John had been shot, "and witnesses report blood everywhere" and then the DJ cut in just a few minutes later, audibly distressed, telling listeners to "brace themselves" because John Lennon had been pronounced dead.
The DJ went right into the song "Mind Games" which from that moment on took on a whole new poignancy to me and I cannot hear it to this day without going right back to that moment.
After the song, WMET went to all news until much later, after midnight(we were on Central Time, maybe an hour behind NYC) when finally it played the still brand new "Watching The Wheels." My first emotional response was extreme shock, but then extreme anger where I destroyed some things in my bedroom and my parents were telling me to calm down, "because we have guests." I was convinced from the start it was a government hit, I don't know why I thought that, gut reaction, but I kept screaming, "Those m_th_rf_ck_rs killed him!"
Man, I was really enraged and on the verge of being out of control. I then started getting telephone calls from friends across the State and that kind of snapped me back. I was only 18 but I wanted to go out and get really, really drunk but thankfully my parents persuaded me to stay in.
I should have been glued to a TV that night but instead I stayed in my bedroom listening to the radio. I didn't really want my family to see me so upset. Later I cried in bed and even my ornery, 16 year old brother didn't say anything across from me in his bed, he knew I was distraught and slightly demented thus perhaps dangerous.
Bad, bad night and next month or two.
|
|
|
Post by acebackwords on Dec 9, 2013 1:25:50 GMT -5
Appreciate your soulful account John.
And congrats on your hoops victory, Cap. One of my cherished dreams when I was in high school was to be the first 6 foot white power forward to make it to the NBA. Unfortunately I was the 12th man on the bench of the JV team my sophomore year. So much for that dream. Ha ha.
|
|
|
Post by vectisfabber on Dec 9, 2013 6:11:39 GMT -5
The news broke here first thing in the morning. I'm not good at mornings, but the 7.30am news on the radio woke me up as awake as I've ever been. I was 28. I didn't cry, but I felt damaged all day (and for days afterwards, though particularly that day). I went to work but didn't do a stroke all day. It just didn't seem possible. TV that evening was full of tribute stuff, and my Dad - not a Beatles fan - phoned to check that I was OK.
|
|
|
Post by John S. Damm on Dec 9, 2013 12:14:34 GMT -5
The news broke here first thing in the morning. I'm not good at mornings, but the 7.30am news on the radio woke me up as awake as I've ever been. I was 28. I didn't cry, but I felt damaged all day (and for days afterwards, though particularly that day). I went to work but didn't do a stroke all day. It just didn't seem possible. TV that evening was full of tribute stuff, and my Dad - not a Beatles fan - phoned to check that I was OK. That is so true how our families, sometimes thinking we went off the deep end on Beatles, would still circle the wagons for us in those moments of pain. Your Dad knew that you might be hurting by John's murder. My Dad didn't understand why I'd be so upset about a celebrity death but still he knew I was and was supportive as were my friends and even all the kids at my small high school. I must say my classmates were all quite kind to me and I was the only Beatles fan in that school. They treated me like I lost family and gave me my space which was very decent of young people. Only the teachers were jerks, making jokes. Even in happier times my Dad pulled an all-nighter outside a Ticketmaster location to get me four tickets for Paul's historic return to the U.S. in 1989/1990 for his opening Chicago show because he didn't want me missing work and he enjoyed meeting all of the actual Paul/Beatles fans. He knew that was something very important to me.
|
|
|
Post by Panther on Dec 9, 2013 19:07:01 GMT -5
I was 4 years old then, and my family had just moved across the country (Canada) to live in a crappy cowboy town and live in a white-trash basement apartment. It was a hell year for my parents... Anyway, I have a vague memory of Dad telling my Mom that someone named 'John Lennon' had died (over dinner), and of him being very surprised. But at the time I still had no idea who this person was.
|
|
|
Post by coachbk on Dec 10, 2013 9:54:08 GMT -5
I was 22 and in my first year of teaching, living alone in Farmington, Maine. My girlfriend (now my wife) was finishing up her senior year at Wellesley College. She called me the following morning with the news. I was in total shock. I looked at my turntable and DOUBLE FANTASY was there. I didn't touch it for about a week as all my listening was to the radio where every station was playing John Lennon and/or Beatles music. My apartment was right by University of Maine at Farmington and I had a good friend who attended there and she invited me over to have pizza with her and her friends. We just listened to the radio and talked. My girlfriend came up to Maine for the weekend and we listened to all the tributes together. We had been so excited about John & Yoko's new album and the possibility of him touring. The death of people I actually know (family, friends) is the worst, but of all "celebrity" deaths, the death of John Lennon was the most shocking and hardest to take. Still painful today.
|
|
cosmo
Very Clean
Posts: 264
|
Post by cosmo on Jan 2, 2014 13:19:17 GMT -5
I was 24, sitting in my room at home (parents' house) with the radio on, when the dj said there were reports that John had been shot in NYC. I went downstairs to the tv to see if there was further news and heard the infamous Howard Cosell announcement. I'll never forget that moment, and there have been few in my life since then to equal its combination of shock and grief. I burst into wailimg, which brought my parents from their room where they had been sleeping. I think my dad was annoyed that I had scared them for "just" a Beatle being murdered, but my mom was sympathetic. It was an awful, awful night.
|
|
|
Post by John S. Damm on Jan 2, 2014 17:39:30 GMT -5
Wow, thanks for sharing that cosmo! Now that I am 51, I can understand your Dad's response and the response of others his age better. "Hey, it is just a celebrity, you didn't cry that hard when your own Aunt Viola died!" I understand it better but I still remember why I(and the rest of us here) crashed in grief that night.
As young people we threw our hearts and souls into our favorite musicians and sorry parents, an old Aunt we saw once a year and who always pinched our cheek just didn't have the emotional connect as John Lennon. If immediate family died, hell yes we would have had greater and more personal grief but I had that dead aunt example thrown at me when John was murdered and I wasn't too diplomatic about my response!
Another thing that angered me was a local newspaper columnist slammed John upon his murder, called him a druggie, not very talented, etc. This was a then 60 something crew-cut dude and I wrote a reply to draw blood but I made the mistake of telling my Mom who would not let me send it because this journalist had written some very nice articles about my Dad, a local elementary school Principal. My loyalties were greatly tested as I wanted to rip that guy a new one but this was in the days(1980) when you wrote letters to the newspaper, no internet or web responses where I could make up a fake name and be published. I wanted my name on that letter.
I backed down under duress, probably the threat my laundry and cooking wouldn't be done!
|
|
|
Post by winstonoboogie on Jan 3, 2014 22:19:13 GMT -5
I remember coming into the kitchen the next morning and my mom told me the news with a shocked look on her face. I was more of a Paul fan than a John fan - my impression was John was more of an eccentric (the Jesus comments, the Bagism, Two Virgins, Revolution #9 etc. etc.) If Paul had been killed I would have been a basket case! I remember talking later that day to one of my teachers who had gone to my high school in the 60's, so I (mistakenly) thought he'd be sympathetic. He shrugged and said, "Ah well, he was a druggy anyway..." I was so shocked I just walked away. For weeks afterwards, when my (older) sister's friends would come over, they would come over and in a big-sisterly way say, "Tom, are you OK?" (They all knew what a Beatle fanatic I was). It wasn't until I read Rolling Stone's tribute issue until I realized just exactly what we had lost. :-(
|
|
|
Post by Snookeroo on Jan 11, 2014 23:37:40 GMT -5
I was 20, and still living in my parents house. Believe it or not I was upstairs lying in bed reading the book, "A Twist of Lennon" by Cynthia Twist (Lennon).
My father had the TV on downstairs and I could faintly hear it when I heard the words, "a man tentatively identified as former Beatle John Lennon has been shot outside the Dakota apartment building". After that it gets weird. Once it was confirmed he was dead I got a couple of phone calls from people offering condolences. They knew how I was a fan. Being that I was into recording tapes all the time I started recording the audio from the TV of all the news reports during the night. To this day I have three full cassettes that I have not played since that night.
The next day, me and some others drove into the city to join the throng of fans outside the Dakota. Not sure what we went for exactly but it seemed like a good thing to do. Just wandering around in a freaking daze wondering WHY WHY WHY WHY. Still no good answer to that.
That Sunday I joined the enormous crowd in Central Park for the vigil. It was an experience I will never forget.
|
|
|
Post by acebackwords on Jan 11, 2014 23:42:16 GMT -5
Oh man Snookeroo. What a cosmic account!
|
|
|
Post by Joe Karlosi on Jan 12, 2014 6:27:49 GMT -5
I was 18 that horrible day, and it was my mother's 40th birthday. There was a weekly Monday Night Beatles radio show called "The Beatles Hour" which used to broadcast from a college campus. It ran from 7 to 8pm, and featured three hosts chatting about The Beatles, playing their music, and taking live phone calls from the listeners. There were about 10 of us regular callers, and after awhile it was like friends here on the AbbeyRd boards, getting to know each other. After the show ended that evening, none of us could have imagined the horror that would unfold just three hours later.
I seem to recall making some audio cassette Beatles tapes after that, and I think I even played the SGT PEPPER album, with "A Day In The Life" being the last song I heard before deciding to go to bed. I was 18 and just out of high school, and not in college -- I had begun my first serious full-time top weeks earlier, and I was still under a three-month probation period where I wanted to be the best I could be.
It was almost 11pm, and as I sat on the edge of the bed in the dark getting ready to undress, I got a late phone call from my good friend (now deceased) who told me John Lennon had been shot, and it was on the news. I didn't believe him because he always had this weird sense of humor... but it was confirmed that a man "tentatively identified as former Beatle John Lennon" had been shot, so I kept waiting for updates. Of course, we all know what happened -- John's identity was confirmed, and then my friend and I kept contact on the phone, with us hoping that perhaps it was just a flesh wound, possibly in the arm or leg. As the news got worse, we heard John had received numerous wounds in the chest, the back, etc... and then all good hopes were vanishing...
As Snookeroo said in his post, I too was always recording things on tape... so I frantically popped a cassette into my radio/recorder.... it was a surreal feeling, always being accustomed to recording news and yet here was the worst news of all, and I had to keep up my typical taping routine. As I switched stations, I heard a news announcer verify the outcome... and like Snookeroo, I had this all captured on tape. It is a tape I have only played back maybe four or five times in the last 33 years. The man's voice was a little too intense, he was in mid-report, and he was speaking in a "past tense": " --where Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, had a permanent residence. Repeating: former Beatle John Lennon was shot - and killed - ... err....c-critically.... outside his home tonight."
I didn't sleep that night, and I listened to the radio and tribute to John. I heard all sorts of album tracks you just never heard played on the radio and I sometimes thought: "amazing... is this what it takes for them to play some of this music??". I wanted to take off from work in the morning, but I did not dare... as I mentioned earlier, I had a new job and needed to make good probation time, so I didn't want to call in sick. But in the morning I had to walk several blocks to a bus stop (I had no car yet) and the New York sky was still kind of dark gray at 6 or 7 am, as the sun hadn't yet risen entirely. I walked past a candy store that was still closed, but the morning newspapers were in a bundle in front of the door. I bent down to see the front page -- JOHN LENNON SLAIN HERE -- EX-BEATLE SHOT...NAB SUSPECT. It was just.... not real...
|
|
|
Post by joeyself on Jan 12, 2014 17:27:25 GMT -5
I was 22 and in law school. It was finals week. I turned on the tv after a night of studying for, of all things, a course called Decedents' Estates. I wanted to see how the football game was going; I'd probably seen some of it earlier when taking a break. Howard Cosell is the one that broke it to me, but I didn't want to believe it. I went to my bedroom and turned on the radio, and after hearing it for about an hour, it started to be real. I finally went to bed as I had a test the next morning, but don't think I slept too well. I saw a buddy the next morning as we were going into the classroom, and said simply "I heard the news today, oh boy."
Paul was right--it WAS a drag.
JcS
|
|
|
Post by coachbk on Jan 14, 2014 12:35:40 GMT -5
It is comforting to see so many similar experiences. My girlfriend (now wife) and I taped many of the tributes. We still have them. I also got lots of sympathy from those who knew me as a Beatles freak. When I went to visit my college (I had several friends still there) over spring break one of the guys who lived on my floor told me I was a big topic of discussion that week at school and everyone hoped I was OK. (again the days before internet-and a long distance phone call would be very expensive for a college student). It was the worst death I'd experienced at the time because of the shock and unexpectedness of it.
|
|
|
Post by nicole21290 on Jan 15, 2014 0:48:44 GMT -5
I was minus ten years old at the time so... My mother on the other hand was 17 and a bridesmaid at a wedding that day, if I recall correctly. She remembers hearing about it and being very upset at the time - make up got all messed up from crying. John was her favourite.
|
|
|
Post by John S. Damm on Jan 15, 2014 16:38:54 GMT -5
I was not a fan long enough to enjoy and savor John's time here other than that glorious Fall of 1980. As I've related, I became a Beatles fan in September 1975(basically the start of school) and that's right when John was ending a pretty prolific period and he went completely private for over four years to raise Sean! Damn bad timing on my part as a Beatles fan but such is life and I did get to enjoy as a newbie fan Paul's greatest era as a major superstar which was 1974 to 1977 when he owned the Pop World! I am sorry that Nicole and others missed John Lennon even if fans like me only got a small time with him. Same with George Harrison for even younger fans just becoming fans within these past several years. The First Generation Beatles fans have it best as they were there and celebrated and enjoyed the Golden Beatles years when The Beatles were Gods! But that comes with the price that Firsties are now senior citizens and old! [As I duck the thrown objects at me!]
|
|
|
Post by vectisfabber on Jan 15, 2014 19:26:37 GMT -5
Why, I oughta - !
|
|
|
Post by Joe Karlosi on Jan 15, 2014 22:44:15 GMT -5
The First Generation Beatles fans have it best as they were there and celebrated and enjoyed the Golden Beatles years when The Beatles were Gods! But that comes with the price that Firsties are now senior citizens and old! I have never understood this POV. (And I do realize you were only playing here, JSD)... Whenever people say "well I wish I was around back then, but if I was I would be OLD now".. the thing is. it's not like they got "cheated out of their time". 60 years is 60 years ... the difference is only that they've lived it at a different time from the person making the observation. (And for my money, the older a person can be these days, having had the bulk of their time spent in the preferred days of yore -- the better! ) .
|
|
|
Post by debjorgo on Jan 26, 2014 1:31:31 GMT -5
Here's John on that day. I've photo shopped two pictures from Greg's Beatle Photo Blog. Attachments:
|
|
|
Post by winstonoboogie on Jan 26, 2014 13:34:23 GMT -5
Yes, that photo gave me chills, as well as the White Album session photo of John with his eyes closed. :-(
|
|
|
Post by debjorgo on Jan 26, 2014 13:58:34 GMT -5
Yes, that photo gave me chills, as well as the White Album session photo of John with his eyes closed. :-( I haven't seen the White Album pic. Can you post it? The one above is a high definition photo of a picture that was out before. It's from a magazine cover. I erased the logo and story lines and replaced those areas with the low definition photo. You can tell the top of Johns head is low-fi. The background colors were different so it took a lot of time just to get it as good as I did. I quit before I got done.
|
|
|
Post by winstonoboogie on Jan 26, 2014 16:56:09 GMT -5
Here is what I could find on Google Images - I hope it comes through!
|
|
|
Post by winstonoboogie on Jan 26, 2014 17:01:06 GMT -5
Let's try this again.....
|
|
|
Post by debjorgo on Jan 26, 2014 17:30:20 GMT -5
Cool! I hadn't seen that before. I guess there is a colored print somewhere too.
|
|
lowbasso
A Hard Day's Knight
Posts: 2,776
|
Post by lowbasso on Jan 26, 2014 17:34:25 GMT -5
Great subject to talk about on the day The Beatles get a Lifetime Achievement Award at The Grammy's, and the upcoming 50th Anniversary of The Beatles in America.
Can't we give it a rest for just the next two weeks and celebrate the good times 1964 brought?
|
|
|
Post by John S. Damm on Jan 26, 2014 22:21:29 GMT -5
This anniversary of The Beatles conquering America makes it more important than ever to remember John and what he meant to us. I like the photos debjorgo and Winston posted. At the Grammys tonight we are seeing a lot of Paul and Ringo but we need to remember John and George too.
|
|
lowbasso
A Hard Day's Knight
Posts: 2,776
|
Post by lowbasso on Jan 26, 2014 22:45:44 GMT -5
This anniversary of The Beatles conquering America makes it more important than ever to remember John and what he meant to us. I like the photos debjorgo and Winston posted. At the Grammys tonight we are seeing a lot of Paul and Ringo but we need to remember John and George too. Photos of John looking like he's dead under this thread? I don't understand the point. I remember John & George just fine tonite without remembering what happened in Dec. 1980. Yea, I know the routine; just ignore the thread if you're not interested. But hard to do when you're scanning down thru recent postings. Tonite was wonderful! Ringo brought George into the fold with his song Photograph. And it is pretty hard to forget John when you talk about The Beatles.
|
|
|
Post by debjorgo on Jan 26, 2014 23:41:40 GMT -5
Every time I see your face, it reminds me of the places we used to go. And all I got it a photograph and I realize your not coming back any more.
|
|
|
Post by John S. Damm on Jan 26, 2014 23:48:14 GMT -5
The photos are of John with his eyes closed and the one was just featured on Beatle Photo Blog this week so it is topical.
A lot of the pure fun of being a Beatles fan went out the window on December 8, 1980, so the tragic event is really with us every day. This Thread has been nothing but respectful and loving.
Every picture I see of John reminds me that he is no longer here and the circumstances that caused it. Ringo's slide-show tonight at the Grammys painfully reminded me of John's absence and why but Ringo met no disrespect nor did our friends here.
|
|