SamboraBlog

Imagine, after 25 years . . .

Music stars share the moment they learned of Lennon's slaying

By JON BREAM
Minneapolis Star Tribune

Posted: Dec. 6, 2005

Minneapolis - Thursday is the 25th anniversary of John Lennon's death. The Star Tribune asked music stars: Where were you when you found out that Lennon had been shot outside the Dakota, his apartment building in New York?

Bruce Springsteen: I was in Philadelphia. I had to play that night. Very, very tough night to play. It still bothers me. He made some amazing music on his own and was really quite out on the frontier in a lot of things. . . . He was wonderful to have in the world. I'm still angry he's not here.

Bonnie Raitt: I remember being devastated. He was my favorite (Beatle), and it was so senseless and heartbreaking. . . . Because I was pubescing at the time (of the Beatles) and I was totally in love with John, I had a wall of pictures of him that covered an entire floor to ceiling in a whole wall in my bedroom. And I had a little picture of him taped to the inside of my pillow, which I would kiss goodnight every night. I had it bad.

Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day: I remember getting ready for school and hearing about it on the radio. I was 8 years old. I remember at the time, the song "Woman" was really popular. I remember loving that song and "(Just Like) Starting Over."

John Oates of Hall & Oates: I was in my apartment in Greenwich Village, New York, watching "Monday Night Football." They came on at halftime and made the announcement that he'd been shot. It was right up the block. I'd known him. I'd hung out with him in various places. I knew the building (Dakota). I was like, "Whoa!"

Kenny Chesney: I was at little league basketball practice. My mom picked me up and she was almost, like, in tears. I said, "What's the matter?" She said, "John Lennon died." I was really young; I knew the songs, but I didn't really know the person.

Les Claypool of Primus: I was at home, watching television, and it just came on the news, one of those things across the bottom of the screen. We had a dance at our high school a couple weeks later, and I was director of entertainment, so I programmed this montage of Beatles songs that ended with "And in the End." . . . Most kids didn't want to hear any song that was over six months old.

Lionel Richie: I was on tour. We had just come offstage and someone came to me, they'd turned on the news and said, "John Lennon has been shot." I never thought of "shot and wounded." I knew they meant dead.

Richie Sambora of Bon Jovi: I was driving in my car, coming back from band rehearsal, and I had to pull over. I was shocked, in tears. It was a heavy moment. I remember like it was yesterday. It was somewhere around 9:30 at night. I was listening to WNEW in New York. I just got a chill right now thinking about it. I'm a huge Beatles fan; it definitely invaded my brain and my heart.

Trey Anastasio: I was in New Jersey; I don't remember exactly (where), but I remember where I was when the Beatles broke up - in a supermarket, and I picked up a paper. I remember the couple of days after John Lennon was shot and the feeling that it was unimaginably senseless - still to this day.

Carlos Santana: I was in the studio. Everything just stopped like 9-11 or when they shot (John) Kennedy or Martin Luther King. All of them were spokesmen for higher truth; all of them wanted to change this planet into a better place. That's why they got shot.