It’s hard to believe it’s been thirty years since John Lennon was shot outside his home at the Dakota in Manhattan. Amazing how time has fled and we remember Lennon as a still vibrant artist at age 40 rather than as a 70 year old, as he would be today. It still seems shocking even after all these years. I remember hearing of his shooting first from the lips of Howard Cosell as I watched Monday Night Football. It was before the time of instant information, before the days of the internet and 24/7 news coverage, so you couldn’t simply flip to CNN and catch on the spot information. All you had was Howard Cosell, who fortunately , being a very astute newsman, understood the gravity of the news he delivered.
Strange days, indeed.
I always carry the memory of John Lennon in his earlier incarnation as a Beatle, when he shared the mic with Paul as frontmen and was the wiseass with a quick comeback in A Hard Day’s Night, which stands as a very fine film today. It’s hard to get across to a younger generation how vast the influence and reach of the Beatles was in the 60’s. Early on, my sister was a big Beatles fan and had a copy of his book of scrawlings and verse, In His Own Write. I loved to flip through the pages of this book, taking in his rough drawings and witty little ditties. I wonder what became of that book?
So thirty years have come and gone since Lennon came and went and we’re left with a treasure trove of music that lives on. I wanted to show a video and had a lot to choose from. I first thought of Power to the People, a song which I can still hear in my memory coming from a tinny transistor radio speaker. Or one of the songs from his final LP, such as Nobody Told Me. But I settled on Instant Karma. Maybe it was its chorus of “we all shine on… ” that attracted me. Seemed fitting. Shine on, John.
Redtree Times 
If you haven’t seen it, you might enjoy “Nowhere Boy”, a film about Lennon’s youth.
I watched it on the recommendation of the reviewer I linked here, and thought it very good.
Thanks for the recommendation. The film sounds very intriguing and I’m a fan of Kristin Scott Thomas’ work. I will look for it.
I remember that night so well. Jenny was pregnant, so she had gone to bed early. I stayed up and heard the news on TV. When I did go to bed, Jenny sensed something was wrong and asked me. I told her “Someone shot John Lennon.” I was in shock, saddened by the waste. And since I had literally grown up with his music in my ears, I felt like Chapman had put a bullet in my youth, as well.
It is impossible to imagine what the world would be like if The Beatles had never existed.
Your not being able to imagine the world without the Beatles is that sense you will never be able to fully convey to a younger generation. They can’t see the context of the time and situation, don’t know the world as it existed then and therefore can’t even imagine how transcendent the Beatles were at that point. How they influenced an entire generation.