30 Years Ago Today

[RJDiogenes]

I was 19. I don't remember why, but I didn't learn of it until the next morning when I went downstairs and saw the headline on the Globe. I almost tipped over. Lennon was part of the fabric of the world for about as long as I could remember, and he was always a symbol of the better world that we all "imagined." His death was like a knife in the heart.

 

[Trekker4747]

I was like 2 at the time so I was likely in a crib pooping in my diaper.

 

[Lookingglassman]

I was 14 and it was no big deal to me because I never was a Beatles fan.

 

[Kira's Mom]

I was nine (and heard it through Monday Night Football with my dad), and couldn't understand what had happened. I mean, I knew he was dead from being shot, but my nine-year-old brain couldn't comprehend WHY someone would shoot John Lennon. Actually, I still don't understand...

 

[Tom Riley]

My parents weren't even in high school yet. 9 years till I was to show up.

 

[sbk1234]

I remember that. For a while, it seemed like th whole world just revolved around that. It was the first time I ever experienced death in any understandable way. I remember that I felt pretty alone, since my family really didn't understand my feelings, or why I was so devastated.

 

[M'Sharak]

What memories do you have of that night, if you're willing to share. I didn't realize this was the 30 year anniversary until I heard it on the Radio maybe an hour ago.

I would have been 22 and living at the first apartment I had after moving to Thousand Oaks at the beginning of that year. I was listening to an evening-long special program about The Doors on one of the big L.A. FM rock stations (KMET or KLOS) and they broke in right in the middle of a song to announce that Lennon had been shot and killed outside his apartment building in Manhattan.

I think the Doors program got shelved right then and there in favor of an impromptu mixture of Lennon/Beatles tunes and people calling in to talk about favorite songs and/or memories associated with John Lennon. The next few days were a little strange because the news seemed to have affected a huge number of people - you couldn't go anywhere without bumping into someone who wanted to talk about it.

 

[Small White Car]

I was 1 day old.

Well, about 32 hours old, technically. It's not clear that I had anything to do with this, but the timing is suspicious, I'll admit.

I mean, when something bad happens you probably should suspect the new guy.

 

[M'Sharak]

I was 1 day old.

Well, about 32 hours old, technically. It's not clear that I had anything to do with this, but the timing is suspicious, I'll admit.

I mean, when something bad happens you probably should suspect the new guy.

Say, where were you on or about the night of...

 

[Skywalker]

I was 1 day old.

Well, about 32 hours old, technically. It's not clear that I had anything to do with this, but the timing is suspicious, I'll admit.

I mean, when something bad happens you probably should suspect the new guy.

Dang, you were this close to being the reincarnation of John Lennon.

 

[Trekker4747]

I was 1 day old.

Well, about 32 hours old, technically. It's not clear that I had anything to do with this, but the timing is suspicious, I'll admit.

I mean, when something bad happens you probably should suspect the new guy.

Dang, you were this close to being the reincarnation of John Lennon.

Off by nine months actually.

Considering, you know, conception and all.

 

[Skywalker]

Maybe your Premium title should be "Humorless" instead of "Heartless."

 

[Franklin]

As I posted above, I found out from Howard Cosell on "Monday Night Football."

Here's a couple of links I found this morning. The first is on ESPN's site. It's the off-air debate between Cosell and Frank Gifford about whether or not they should break the news during the football game.

The second link is the announcement.

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=5884604&categoryid=2378529

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/08/john-lennon-death-mnf_n_793710.html

Cosell and Gifford had met Lennon before when Lennon showed up in their booth one game in 1974. Cosell had interviewed him.

 

[Nardpuncher]

I was 7 or 8, and even then I blamed goddamned YOKO ONO!!!!!!

 

[PianoWizzy]

A long time before I was born. But he was a good man, and I know at least that much. A true musical inspiration.

 

[Satyrquaze]

I was 4 at the time, I had no real idea of who he was at the time. I recall my mother crying about it and I didn't understand why.

It wasn't until I was like 15 that I started getting into music and listening to the Beatles and some of Lennon's later works that I really developed a level of admiration for the man and his princaples.

He was taken far too early.

 

[Epsilon IX]

I wasn't around at the time. All of this occured around 5 years and 4 months before my birth.

I have found this rather amusing parody about John Lennon having a day back on Earth though which I would like to share (some of you may already be familiar with the series from which it's from). You will probably all agree that the portrayal of Ringo Starr is somewhat predictable: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXILMn7fk7g.

 

[RJDiogenes]

As I posted above, I found out from Howard Cosell on "Monday Night Football."

Here's a couple of links I found this morning. The first is on ESPN's site. It's the off-air debate between Cosell and Frank Gifford about whether or not they should break the news during the football game.

The second link is the announcement.

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=5884604&categoryid=2378529

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/08/john-lennon-death-mnf_n_793710.html

Cosell and Gifford had met Lennon before when Lennon showed up in their booth one game in 1974. Cosell had interviewed him.

Interesting clips. Thanks for Posting them.

 

[Red Ranger]

I'm a huge Beatles fan and I remember that awful day 30 years ago. I had just graduated from high school and about a week or so before he died, I bought the Double Fantasy album. We all heard the news and couldn't believe it. That was also the year my dad died, so I was in a deep funk for about a week after Lennon was shot.

I played all the Beatles albums I owned at the time for weeks after. My other thought at the time was disbelief, that Lennon would be assasinated like a political figure. Sure, he was political, but in other respects, he wasn't.

My other thought is he actually became the subject of the news today, oh boy -- as some of you know, those are some of the lyrics of A Day in the Life from the Sgt. Pepper album.