Categorical Aperitif

Hard to believe it's been thirty years since the death of John Lennon. I have a vivid memory (not that such things are always to be trusted) of hearing the news. I was up quite early in the morning on Dec. 9, 1980, well before 6:00, finishing up some work for school. Whatever radio station I had on, it was playing a lot of Beatles songs in a row—very strange. I think I was pulling on shoes when a somber DJ came on and announced that John had been shot and killed outside his apartment building in New York City. I wasn't even a Beatles fan in those days, but I understood their significance—and I had some inkling of what a wonderful cultural force John had been all by himself. I remember hanging my head and feeling a great sadness. And I feel the same f*cking thing today.

Lovely memories from Yoko and Ray Davies for the day (h/t Greg Mitchell)—and a recollection from Jon Weiner of what turned out to be Lennon's last interview:

The RKO interview was his last. When he finished it, he did a photo shoot at the Dakota with Annie Liebowitz for Rolling Stone, then headed off to the Record Plant with Yoko to work on her song "Walking on Thin Ice." At 10:30 pm their limo took them back to the Dakota and dropped them off at the curb. That's when he was killed.

Oh, John. It wasn't just The Sixties that gave us "a glimpse of the possibility." Rest in peace.