OT: Another do you remember when: John Lennon's assassination

[Centerstream]

I remember December 8,1980.
I was in a hotel in Pittsfield MA watching MNF when Howard Cosell announced Lennon's death during the Dolphins and Patriots game. I was born in Pittsfield but at the time I was working and living in MD and was on a business trip to the Berkshires.

 

[Kaizen]

On the evening of 8 December 1980, English musician John Lennon, formerly of the Beatles, was shot dead in the archway of the Dakota, his residence in New York City.

 

[triaddukefan]

I was in 3rd grade.... watching MNF. I had no idea who he was, but figured he must have been a person of some importance for them to mention it during a football game.

 

[Skeets]

Yes, but it doesn't stick in my mind like the Kennedy assassination, man landing on the moon, or 9/11. It might come in 4th...

 

[JonathanXIV]

I had just gotten back from a Bruce Springstein concert when I heard the news from my friends.

 

[Skeets]

I was in 3rd grade.... watching MNF. I had no idea who he was, but figured he must have been a person of some importance for them to mention it during a football game.

This is going to sound like a littler bit snarky, but a 3rd grader watching MNF? I don't think I watched an entire MNF game until I was 18... In 3rd grade, I am pretty sure there was no MNF. How'd you get up in the morning?

 

[EdSaid]

Sophomore in college. Used to leave the dorm room (Sahuaro Hall at Arizona State, knocked down long ago) doors open. A couple of people walking by told me. It didn't hit me big time, but I clearly remember. Those were the days of big speakers and soon we were hearing Imagine and other Beattle songs throughout. Earlier that year, from the same dorm, I watched the US Olympic Hockey Team beat the Russians after we knew the results before the game started.

 

[Bigboote]

Drinking beers at the Blue Goose in Lewiston, ME.

 

[Martin]

I was 12; 8th grade?? I was getting into hard rock. KISS Van Halen Aerosmith etc. I don’t remember where i was. Probably hanging out in my neighborhood. The Beatles were old to me. Didn’t like them then; barely like them now. But still love classic Van Halen!!

 

[ClifSpliffy]

This is going to sound like a littler bit snarky, but a 3rd grader watching MNF? I don't think I watched an entire MNF game until I was 18... In 3rd grade, I am pretty sure there was no MNF. How'd you get up in the morning?

'but a 3rd grader watching MNF? '
ur kidding, right?

 

[triaddukefan]

This is going to sound like a littler bit snarky, but a 3rd grader watching MNF? I don't think I watched an entire MNF game until I was 18... In 3rd grade, I am pretty sure there was no MNF. How'd you get up in the morning?

Well I usually just watched the first quarter or the first half.

 

[JonathanXIV]

I had just gotten back from a Bruce Springstein concert when I heard the news from my friends.

Should clarify I was at UConn and living in the Jungle.

 

[LETTERL]

I was in 9th grade...and hadn't had the Double Fantasy album very long. "Just Like Starting Over" took on a whole new, and haunting, meaning whenever it was played after Lennon's murder.

 

[HCCForever]

Should clarify I was at UConn and living in the Jungle.

You were at the Spectrum in Philly? Those were some great shows for The River Tour.

 

[Jingo]

I was working at the City Desk in the newsroom of the New York Post when word came in that John Lennon had been shot outside the Dakota apartments where he lived with Yoko. Someone nearby, I don't remember who, was tasked with calling Rupert Murdoch to decide how to proceed. I remember Lennon's death was an enormous shock to the newsroom unlike John Wayne's recent prior death which was not unexpected, and for which we were prepared [i.e. a lengthy obituary]. In a nutshell, most of us in the newsroom were dumbstruck!

 

[Littlemin]

I remember December 8,1980.
I was in a hotel in Pittsfield MA watching MNF when Howard Cosell announced Lennon's death during the Dolphins and Patriots game. I was born in Pittsfield but at the time I was working and living in MD and was on a business trip to the Berkshires.

File under completely, completely irrelevant but coincidentally interesting; I grew up in Queens, NY, live in Jersey, but do (did?) most of my work in southern Maryland where I have an office and an apartment (pre-Covid, now mostly from home with occasional trips south) but do a great deal of work with the General Dynamics sector in Pittsfield.

 

[meyers7]

I was in college. Made me stop and wonder. The biggest thing for me wasn't necessarily his death, but that a "fan" had committed the murder. Didn't make any sense to me. I think someone mentioned it, and not really believing it, I think we turned on the radio to hear. It was like, wow, that really happened.

I always, from when I was old enough, liked the Beatles. However, was never a big fan of Lennon though.

When I was young I watched MNF also. But I remember I could only watch through half time. I wanted to stay up til then so I could watch Cosell do the highlites.

Anyway, here's Elton's tribute.

Empty Garden (Hey, Hey, Johnny)

 

[Tonyc]

I was in my room and my old drummer called to tell me. I was shocked and disbelief. Didnt wanna believe it. Turned on the TV. The thought of the Beatles getting back together was gone, will never happen. The day the music died.

 

[Ozimoto]

Since I was a my junior year of college and it was the week before finals I was in full blown cramming mode. Honestly, the news was background noise for me.

 

[JonathanXIV]

You were at the Spectrum in Philly? Those were some great shows for The River Tour.

Springstein played at the Hartford Civic Center that night.

 

[Centerstream]

File under completely, completely irrelevant but coincidentally interesting; I grew up in Queens, NY, live in Jersey, but do (did?) most of my work in southern Maryland where I have an office and an apartment (pre-Covid, now mostly from home with occasional trips south) but do a great deal of work with the General Dynamics sector in Pittsfield.

My business in Pittsfield was with General Electric Ordinance System, the predecessor of General Dynamics.

 

[NEforceUConn]

I was in my apartment on 87th and Lex, which is almost directly across the Park from the Dakoda, watching MNF.

 

[OviedoFLHusky]

I was up in my bedroom at my parents' house in Tolland, CT. I was writing letters to friends of mine from our college year abroad in London, and we all missed each other. (And yes, Snail Mail - remember, this was way before the Internet!) My mom came upstairs to tell me about it; my dad had heard the announcement on MNF. My mom hugged me as I cried. Later, one of those same friends of mine from the London year abroad program called me to commiserate. We were in shock and disbelief. To this day, I tear up if I hear "Happy Xmas" or anything from "Double Fantasy."

 

[dbmill]

I was a student at UConn, and was watching Monday Night Football at the Student Union when Howard Cosell made his announcement. I immediately went back to my dorm. A huge John Lennon fan lived on my floor a couple of rooms away from mine, so I wanted to be with him at that moment. It was definitely a memorable night.

 

[veryolddog]

No, I don't remember that at all. I must have been working for my country. But I do remember Lincoln's assassination. Also, John F. Kennedy. Nope, that just was not important for me at the time. The death of Elvis affected me more.

 

[PacoSwede]

it's interesting how tepid so many of the responses have been. maybe a generational thing?
i remember it as a significant marker, a time stamp, for the 'youth' culture that started to emerge in the early '60s and was losing its promise as to '70s waned. .. a whole lot of major changes came to America as a result .... i won't go on -- but here we are now. fill in the blanks.
on dec 8. i was making odd sounds with her piano in the too-large new haven house my fiancé (we never wed) had bought that summer. the report about lennon came as a bulletin over the radio.
it was unbelievable, coming out of nowhere in the holiday season
why john lennon????? he was just 40 and starting to write again. what could he have created in the extra years we were denied?

 

[dbmill]

I was a student at UConn, and was watching Monday Night Football at the Student Union when Howard Cosell made his announcement. I immediately went back to my dorm. A huge John Lennon fan lived on my floor a couple of rooms away from mine, so I wanted to be with him at that moment. It was definitely a memorable night.

A couple other deaths I clearly remember hearing about at UConn.

First, early on in my freshman year at UConn. I was trying to sleep. I started hearing a drunk shouting out a window at about 1:30 in the morning. I thought he was saying "Paul is dead", the well known Beatles saying. Then instead of Paul, I thought I heard "John Paul is dead". The Pope? I immediately turned on my radio to a news station, and sure enough, they were reporting on the Pope's death. That's some way to get your news.

Next, I recall getting a haircut at the barbershop in Storrs. The radio was on, and up came a report on the death of Alfred Hitchcock, who is now one of my favorite movie directors of all time.

 

[Centerstream]

I felt from a lot of the BYer's posts on the various OT threads that many probably grew up in the 50s, 60s and/or 70s and that the shocking assassination of John Lennon was not quite as memorable as the assassinations of JFK, RFK or MLK or the first Moon landing but was close. I believe that The Beatles redefined music for "my" generation and for future generations, which in my mind made it so memorable.
I guess I was mistaken.

 

[Scud49]

I was living in Denver at the time, watching MNF, and it was simply a massive stunner for me, totally unexpected of course. I grew up with the Beatles, and they remain my all time favorite group. JFK's assassination is still the biggest in my mind, closely followed by 9/11, the Moon Landing, and the RFK, MLK, and John Lennon murders.

 

[Blue Huskie]

Like it was yesterday. Not the night of, but the following morning on the way to work. Heard it on the radio and went into an immediate funk. I had to hear them say it twice because I couldn't believe they actually said he was shot and killed. What an incredibly sad day.