#cosomusic
Dec 8, 1980. As a 14YO Beatlemaniac, I was so excited to have new music from John Lennon. He sounded happy and settled and his new music was drifting from WNEW-FM multiple times a day. He said at the time "weren't the 70s a drag? Hopefully the 80s will be better". Here was a grounded 70s radical, celebrating his life, his marriage, and his son with some his most fully realized music. Later that day I cut school and found myself at the Dakota.
@MPCavalier
* hug * Even now, it beggars the imagination. I was 15 at the time, and had been doing my level best to learn the Beatles canon.
@Helical_Code
Same here. Every Saturday me and my then best friend would get together and listen to Beatles records and bootleg recordings, learning the songs on guitar and bass. We were in deep! We'd go into Greenwich Village and hit the record stores looking for import Beatle records and bootleg recordings. We'd walk past Hit Factory Studio hoping to get a glimpse of Lennon. That was a really happy time.
@Helical_Code
I remember vividly waking up that morning and turning on the TV (GMA) and seeing the news. I didn't know how to react. I went to school and my friend said "we need to go to the Dakota". I had never been that far north in Manhattan by myself by train. We didn't even know what to expect. There were so many people there, singing "Give Peace a Chance" and "Imagine". It was sad and beautiful.
@MPCavalier
Thank you for sharing your memories of that time. I'm so glad you and your friend went to the Dakota. The sea of mourners was a testament to the world.