I have too! Hurrah! I have one name in mind, but I can’t remember if he was Lennon’s killer or the guy who shot Reagan.
I could tell you the guy’s name but that wouldn’t be in the spirit of the thread.
I was 18, in my older brother’s room lying on his bed reading a book when my younger brother walked in, said, “someone shot John Lennon. He’s dead,” and walked out.
I was born in December 1961–guess what birthday is coming up. I was 8 when I asked my sister when the Beatles were going to put out another song and she said, “never. They broke up”.
I wasn’t that conscious of music in the '60s. I remember my older sisters playing the hell out of the “Please, Please me” album (called “Twist and Shout” in Canada), “With the Beatles” (“Beatlemania” I loved the cover even then) and “Beatles for Sale” (“Beatles '65”).
I remember seeing them play “All You Need is Love” live on TV. I was shocked to see facial hair. Paul was the only one who looked like a Beatle to me when I was 5. I remember “The Ballad of John and Yoko” being on the radio a lot but I didn’t even know it was them until later.
In the '70s I got a paper route and began buying their albums. There’s no nostalgia like a 12 year old coming home with a 9 year old album, putting it on and hearing “No Reply” for the first time in half a lifetime.
Didn’t appreciate John’s post Beatle output much at that age. More into Ringo singing “No No Song”. “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey” was fun and “My Sweet Lord” was beautiful but I was not ready for thoughtful stuff until my later teens.
And then they killed him…
I was 13. I guess my bedtime was before the news broke. I found out the next day when my parents woke me up with the news. It was the topic of conversation all day in school. Everyone knew that Scott Muni the afternoon DJ on WNEW was a friend of Lennon and the family. I hurried home to listen to his show.
I was working the night shift in the Wall Street Journal composing room when I heard about it.
I don’t remember if we did a replate to reflect the news.