Comments on: The Night John Lennon Died

By: Philip Smith (Lancaster, PA.)

Philip Smith (Lancaster, PA.) — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 03:09:48 +0000

I was only 14-years-old at the time, but I remember the night well. ABC’s Monday Night Football was being broadcast on channel 6. When the announcement was made by Howard Cosell, I turned to my father asking, “Who is John Lennon?” He replied, “He was in a band called the Beatles.” Interestingly, my father despised rock n’ roll; he was a devout fan of classical music. But my father’s tone was gentle, and I knew that I was witnessing something profoundly sad and deeply disturbing. As a direct result, I turned on WMMR and listened, intently. Then I wept as I was held captive by the music. Musical memories can haunt us and heal us…

By: Donna Greenberg

Donna Greenberg — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 04:24:39 +0000

I, too, feel that the loss of John Lennon was the most profoundly tragic and sad of all our rock n’ roll deaths. The night he was shot, I happened to go to bed early and missed the news (Oh, boy!)
The next morning, I turned on the radio and kept switching stations. Every single one was playing Beatles music, and I got a chill….I knew something was terribly wrong. When I heard the news, I was stunned and couldn’t stop crying. That day, I had to teach a class to a group of older women. I wore a black armband. One of the students asked if someone in my family had died. I said, “Yes.”
I attended the vigil on the Art Museum steps that weekend, in shocked silence with many compatriots who all gathered there, in desperation.
The only thing that made this period of time bearable was listening to Helen Leicht on WIOQ and her show, Breakfast with the Beatles. She was my guiding light. Thank you, Helen!

By: eileen

eileen — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 20:51:56 +0000

Indeed, for me, this was the Day that the Music Died.
I was in my attic garret, typing a college paper when I heard. I had MMR on at the time and they immediately played nothing but John and the Beatles.
Out of all of the rcok and roll tragedies, wasted lives, thwarted talent, crashes, burns, suicides, and ODs, the assassination of John Lennon is by far the saddest, most tragic loss of all. He had just come out with sparkling new material and moved with grace and joy into fatherhood. I miss the music he heard only in his heart and the man of peace and wit.
What would the the past 6 years have been like if John Lennon were alive? How would he have motivated the masses with music? How would hsi wit have skewered vanities and exposed lies?
In music - especially rock - so many are like meteors, flashing and falling. It is certainly a treacherous calling, and music lovers have suffered many senseless losses.
But w/ John Lennon, something far greater than a rock star was taken from us - a beacon of love and peace, a musical genius snatched from our sky.
I can take a lot of these losses in my stride, but I am STILL not over this tragedy.