Remembering John Lennon on the anniversary of his passing

“Do you remember where you were and what you were doing when you heard John Lennon was murdered?”

It is a question I am sometimes asked by Beatles fans who were born long after everything had already happened.

Those of us who are a certain age all

remember where we were, what we were doing, what we were thinking, and whom we were with when an assassin shot down a friend we’d never met whose death touched off an orgy of worldwide mourning.

On the night of December 8, 1980 I was air directing at a low tier cable television station; popping in commercials whenever the screen went black.

When I found out about Lennon, I was not among the many who heard it announced by a passive Howard Cosell to Frank Gifford on Monday night football.

Being in a TV studio, I got the news perhaps before Howard announced it. I went into the teletype room and tore off a small sheet of paper with breaking news. I looked at it. My eyes went blurry as I started to read, then slowly focused.

Former Beatle John Lennon shot to death outside his apartment building in New York by local screwball. More to follow.

I staggered into the news room and handed it to the head guy. Almost immeidately a newscaster went on the air, interrupting programming. He burst into tears as he read the report.

Late that night I left the studio to head for home. It had been snowing hard, and took me a while to wipe off my car. I had the engine running to warm it up, and sat inside turning the radio dial. Every station was playing Beatle music, despite if they usually presented rock, soul, jazz, country, classical, or just talk. It was a testament to the versatility of the group, as well as the impact of the man.

When I got home I sat in the dark all night with the radio on. I sat in the dark hearing John sing over the radio: “And so my friends, you’ll just have to carry on. The Dream is Over....”

The dream might be over, but the music will live forever.

“...and we all shine on....”