Especially touching to read comments from people who were born after that terrible day. Lennon/Beatles continue to influence and inspire new generations of people, especially musicians and listeners. I was 8 yrs old when The Beatles played the Sullivan Show in '64. Every Beatles song I hear today reminds me of what was happening at the time.
You can see Jane Pauley's grief-stricken face throughout the broadcast. She recalled this day during TODAY AT 60 back in 2012: "I just put my head on the desk, and sobbed."
This is what I woke up to on December 9, 1980. I hadn’t heard anything from the night before. Jane Pauley’s words fell like hammers. They were playing “The Dream is Over…yesterday “, and it was. I was a senior in high school and a lifelong Beatles fan. It hurt so deeply.
I too was a Sr in high school at this time. I was driving home from my part time job when the radio broke the news. I was stunned to say the least…Even worse was my poor older brother who is the families Beatles freak. I ran into our house, he was watching Howard Cosell announce it on Monday night football. Then a few months later, it was Reagan, then the pope, then in the fall Anwar Sadat… and that was the world we joined when we graduated the next spring..sigh…
This video is surprisingly well preserved. As years pass, tape tends to fade and become blurred if not stored in the proper conditions. NBC must have recognized the futuristic relevance of this program and did just that. Who could have predicted the internet back then.
It’s from 1980…not 1940. The major networks were preserving full episodes of everything by then, and these were likely digitized in the early 2000s too. Not a big stretch of time.
Thank you for posting this. The whole world just seemed so sad. Wow. Everyone was so quiet and grieving even on the news. I was born a year after his death. I had no idea of who he was until I was 15 and started learning about him and hearing his music. I adore him, even his flaws.
This video popped up on my recommendation list. But after living through it and revisiting it from retro clips like this over the years, I need to retire from mourning for my own sanity. I can no longer allow such a tragedy to be compounded with further suffering. I prefer to celebrate his life instead of reliving his death.
You're right. Our community radio station played a special on Dec. 8 for 10 years after his murder, but then changed to Oct. 9 (his birthday) and said they would celebrate his life, as Yoko asked.
I was in my senior year in high school and was watching MNF because my favorite team was playing, the Miami Dolphins. When Cossell made the announcement, I didn't even know who John Lennon was until my older sister told me he was in the Beatles. Never listened to the Beatles.
There are some clips on YT detailing the commercial break banter between Cosell and Frank Gifford on if and how they should announce it. Cosell was uncharacteristically reluctant while Gifford was definitely up for the moment and convincing a reluctant Cosell that Howard had to get on with it. It's a fascinating piece that portrays how people act when a momentous event is thrust upon them and they have only seconds to act. They all passed the test.
I turned 13 in 1969, and knew every word to every Beatles song on the radio. I still have memorabilia from the Beatles fan club. I remember watching Sunday night football when the game was interrupted by the special report. I couldn't believe it was true! It had to be a mistake! I remember crying when the game resumed and had to listen to Howard Cossell comment on it. I held a resentment of him the rest of my life. Growing up in the 60's I felt the Beatles would be around forever. Never got to see them in concert as a group but did see Paul McCartney and Ringo in 2 separate concerts. And I still know every word to every song. Thank you for this video, it took me back to a simpler time.
Even in my grief at the time I remember wondering why every newscast was using 1967/68 photos of him as their backdrops. There were plenty of 1980 photos available, but no one dreamed they'd be needed for an obituary file soon.
On that night, the photo I kept seeing in TV coverage looks actually to be from the spring of 1972, probably arriving for or leaving deportation hearing.
Reportedly, Tom Brokaw was at first leery of devoting so much airtime that morning to John Lennon, but after that morning's "Today Show" ended, he realized that perhaps this story was indeed worth the amount of airtime it was given. It's also been claimed that Tom Brokaw's performance that morning on "Today" won him the "NBC Nightly News" anchor chair a little more than a year later when John Chancellor stepped aside from the anchor desk to become an on-air news analyst/commentator.
The look of grief on Jane's face was the same one everyone was wearing almost 43 years ago on December 9th...may John continue to rest in peace.😢😢😢😢❤❤❤
Dec. 8 '80 is a night I (along with millions of others) will never forget. The passing of 43 years has taken the sting off Lennon's murder but the disbelief still resonates to this day. Just a horrible, horrible night. I was 19 at the time and we fans were thrilled he was back into music...and then he was gone.
This is one of the most memorable and best produced broadcasts in Today's nearly 70 years on the air. The sense of grief is palpable - a photographer on the set took a poignant photo of Jane breaking down in tears while the final Lennon tribute rolled.
When the ladies started singing the verse from “We Love Beatles” at 5:50, it hurts so much. That’s was such an innocent song back in the 60s, expressing simple, fun, teenage adoration. Now it’s being sung in a time of unspeakable grief, almost like a desperate attempt to cling to the last vestiges of that innocence, when things like this just weren’t supposed to happen. which has died along with an icon of that generation...it’s gut wrenching.
I remember exactly where I was the morning that I heard what had happened the night before. I was one of three people scheduled to speak before a college class, and before I started my part, I stopped for a minute and told everyone that I might not be at my best because I'd just heard the terrible news. They were very understanding. Thank you class.
I’m Brazilian, was a child and was 8 years old, already knew what the Beatles was but it was difficult to relate to the members separately such visual changes they made with beard and hair. The only one who always looked alike was Paul and I always recognized in the band and solo career, but that’s when I saw the size of the Beatles phenomenon. Today I’m happy with my tickets bought for Paul’s shows in Rio de Janeiro in December 2023 and find myself crying with these sad memories.
Jane Pauley looked liked she wanted to cry at many moments during this video. I don't blame her. I probably would have cried as well. I will never forget this night. My brother in law and I went to a friends house to watch Monday night Football. I am from New England and the Patriots were playing hence the reason for the party. Around 11:00 pm the host of the party said he heard an announcement from Howard Cosell that John Lennon was shot and killed. No one else in the room heard this announcement because most of us were talking. After our host announced this we were all in disbelief of the news. When the game ended my brother in law and I got in my car in haste to turn on the radio only to find out the truth for ourselves. Every radio station was playing Beatles or John Lennon Music. John Lennon was Dead. The day the music died.
Six events I remember clearly where I was when I learned about them. JFK in second grade, John Lennon third year at FSU and 911 in my office in St. Augustine and the birth of my two sons. In Dubai in 2016 learned of the death of my boy Jason.
I was 7 ,I'll never forget I just cried and listened to radio play my favorite bands music, just got 45 of just like starting over,still sads me ,now with dime losing his life on same day yrs later
I was program director for a rock station back then when I got the call. We immediately went all Lennon and Beatles and played nothing else for 3 days. We also organized several candlelight vigils and tributes.
yes, you can see it. I love you still, Jane. this is too much even now. my Dad was in the parlor watching Monday nite football hearing the news from Howard Cosell, and he alerted me to it. it was like a bad dream.
December 9th was a long, shitty day. I was a senior in high school. My best friend and I are huge fans. It was truly sad, and most people had that look on their faces.
At 7am in the morning, my mom would be watching Good Morning America on ABC. I don't recall watching Today until high school --- a few years after Tom Brokaw had left the show for NBC Nightly News..
I was only 3 years old when this happened but I will always remember listening to the Beatles music whenever my mom was cleaning the house. I love their music till this day I grew up on their music. I'm sure my mom and dad were very sad when theis happened. Especially my mom because that was her generation growing up on their music too being a teenager and her sisters too. I cant believe it's been 39 years since this occurred. Peace and love to everyone!💖✌
I was born about 2 years after the incident. I can only imagine the people who got the alert watching Monday Night Football were stunned when Howard Cosell gave the alert.
I first heard about it on local news with Mike Aherne (Indianapolis), they broke into their own late night newscast. It was the first bulletin, where he was known to be shot and in the hospital but not that he had died. A minute or so later the announcement that he was dead came over UPI via our community access cable channel.
I first heard about it on local news with Mike Aherne (Indianapolis), they broke into their own late night newscast. It was the first bulletin, where he was known to be shot and in the hospital but not that he had died. A minute or so later the announcement that he was dead came over UPI via our community access cable channel.
Frank Gifford did a masterful job convincing Cosell to sum up his courage to make the announcement, all during a commercial break. This can be seen on the YT video: ESPN OTL: John Lennon Murder, 30th Anniversary
I was six when this happened and I remember my parents freaking out and calling their friends, etc. I think I owe my existence to The Beatles. My mother loved them so much that she signed up for guitar lessons. Her guitar teacher would eventually become her husband and father to me and my siblings.
I was up later than usual but as I was turning off my TV there was a bulletin that he had been shot. I had the worst possible feeling and decided I would have one more night's sleep before dealing with what was to come. I dreamt I was at a news stand in central park and read the headline "lennon slain". I woke up to the reality and the first thing I saw was Joan Rivers of all people talking about him.
I remember being a kid we were watching this before going to school. Really took me back i remember the eyewitness because us kids asked who is yoko? Thank you for hosting this
I grew up listening to the Beatles and their solo works, still cannot comprehend today what happened to him, and then George died two decades later; now, Ringo and Paul are left to carry on the legacy. I just watched a story on Paul's 1964 photos exhibit titled "Eye of the Storm" and saw photos of John and George, young and ready to take on the world, not knowing how it would impact their lives. I heard about John's shooting from my late Mom; my Mom-Mom was watching Monday Night Football when Howard Cosell broke the tragic news. She called Mom, and Mom woke me up and told me. The next morning, news coverage was dedicated to John's life and death; they constantly showed clips of the Ed Sullivan Show and the fans gathering around the Dakota and Central Park. I was 12 and still in shock as I went to school. John's death was a topic around the school; some teachers were crying; you could see how he impacted people's lives. Many of us were happy he was returning to music, and I wanted the Double Fantasy album for Christmas; I didn't get it, but I finally got it years later.
Andy Peebles the British DJ did a 3 hour interview for Radio 1 with John Lennon a couple of hours before he was killed. When he arrived in London he got a call at the airport to tell him Lennon had just been shot, he couldn't believe it. Lennon after speaking to Peebles said he wouldn't definitely come to England in1981.
I’m trying to watch this dispassionately. I’ve gone down this UA-cam rabbit hole before, but it still gives me a pain in my gut. When I saw they were interviewing Dick Lester, I thought it was silly, seeing how his Lennon connection ended 15 years previously, but he was the only one who mentioned gun control, so that was interesting. I’m happy that’s all been fixed now🤨
I agree & they shut him down. The question is still relevant today 40 years later how many people have to needlessly die, murdered by unstable individuals because guns are so freely available?
Like many it was like losing a family member. Devastating. Shot by a coward. Never mention it's name. That's all it wants. Now at least there is still that fantastic unsurpassed music we all love. Peace
Thank you for sharing this slice of history , I watched this with my mom that morning getting ready for school, I was 10 I didn't really know who he was then .
Can't believe it's been 39 years. I was just eight years old, but I remember it vividly, probably because it was a big deal to my parents, and older brother.
Jane coming from Indianapolis Indiana girling up at also a very well-known music fannin rock-and-roller still to this day. she would have been right at the age of beatlemania in the states..
I remember this day very well. Just a tough time in the world where John Lennon, President Reagan, and the Pope were all shot at in a 6 month span. Elton Johns tribute song to John Lennon in '81 still brings tears to my eyes.
He wasn't murdered but Bob Marley died in that 6 month span as well. He died just two days before The Pope was shot. Also interesting in that there had been an attempt on Bob's life as well when *HE* was shot in Jamaica in 1976.
For a significant number of people, this would have been the first they heard of the murder. News did not break nationwide until nearly midnight on Monday Night Football, near the end of the game. Many people who didn't watch football probably went to bed without knowing of the killing. In 1980 before the spread of 24/7 cable teevee, people went to bed earlier. Staying up to 1 am to watch Johnny Carson was really unusual.
It’s crazy that back In the 50s nobody even really had bands, a group of people who played instruments together and harmonized and made catchy memorable songs. It’s like they invented pop music. People were talented, it was something new, the Beatles were like the first band and in the beginning Lennon was the confident leader, later in their career, McCartney seemed to take the control
For all the commentators out there who remembered this night like it was yesterday, this is same I felt when the 9/11 attacks happened in which it'll be 20 years next year in September as well as George Harrison's death from cancer in November of next year.
@@davidellis5141 Me too. As my phone rang, it was my father telling my mother. I heard her wailing downstairs. Pretty scary. I heard it as the phone was ringing kind of thing. I was 11.
I know! This news reports going on is sad, but if I was born when “Today” played music like that I would be dancing while getting ready for school or work.
Do you by chance have The Today Show broadcast from Wednesday, August 17 1977, the day after Elvis tragically died? I was 13 at the time and I remember that tragic summer day so vividly. I do remember all three networks had wall to wall coverage that afternoon. But I don't remember much coverage like the day after. So just curious if you have that Today Show broadcast, noting that today, Sunday, August 16, 2020 marks the 43rd anniversary of Elvis's death. 😞😞
Do you happen to have the March 29th 1972 broadcast of the Today Show on NBC? Specifically a segment with the late John Cazale, probably aired on or about the 29th of March.
As a kid I recognized Lennon in photos, & didn't understand him until I was 18 and was forever a fan. The greatest singer/songwriter in history. Why the aliens had even had to get a look. Too many wackos out there.
I saw (but didnt' hear) the Beatles in Shea Stadium. When the special news report came on that night that John Lennon had been shot dead, I just dropped to my knees and sobbed. Part of my being had been ripped away.
@@FredGSanford. You can’t remember something if you’re a newborn. By the time this person was old enough to remember things, 1980 would’ve been old news (especially with no internet) and they would most likely be focused on other things during their childhood and teen years. The great thing about UA-cam now is folks can see all the stuff they missed in their early childhood years or before they were born, like myself. This happened 18 years before I was born, yet I can feel the impact it had on people, like the ladies singing “We Love You John” with tears in their eyes, and it hurts, knowing that I will never get to see my favorite Beatle in concert, or hear any new music from him after 1980.
In the description of the broadcast it says there's an excerpt of "hello goodbye" played, Lennon hated that song, plus given the nature of the broadcast was that really the appropriate song to play?
I saw the whole thing of this today show as it played out on TV that day. I saw Elvis Presley 's death in 77 too. Two very sad events that are now actual history.
It was interesting to note the movie director, Fred Lester's comment that it was " deplorable that no one is talking about gun control in America". Even interesting, this comment was imade in 1980.
That radio journalist said Yoko sent him out into the world alone to be alone by himself "COUGH, COUGH" umm no he was with May Pang and she made him happy even got him to include Julian in some of their trips and May got friendly with John's ex wife Cynthia, so my attitude is and was that maybe John should have stuck with May because Yoko was basically John's handler
Mark David Chapman was the one who killed John Lennon. I will never, never forget that. I cried a lot. I was only 20 years old. I 'm almost 60 now. It's funny how time passes so quickly.
I remember I was in high school and woke up first and turned on the TV. The reporter kept referring to "Lennon was here last night" or "Lennon was shot". I though he was saying "Lenin" and was like didn't he die 50 or 60 years ago?
One wonders why this tragic shooting at a famous building like The Dakota happened at all. Where was the doorman?? I’ve never seen any news coverage of who was the doorman on duty, where exactly was he at the time, and why he wasn’t able to stop the shooter from gaining access to the area where this happened.
Jane Pauley (6:28): "John Lennon, from the slums of Liverpool to the top of the world..." John Lennon: "I lived in the suburbs in a nice semi-detached place with a small garden and doctors and lawyers and that ilk living around...not the poor slummy kind of image that was projected in all the Beatles stories."
I remember the night this happened. I was watching television at my friends place and a news flash came on across the bottom of the screen saying a man was shot. Then it said the man is believed to be former Beatle John Lennon. It was beyond shocking and the worst news ever! I went home and turned on the radio here in New York and radio personality Vince Selsa from WNEW FM said Lennon had just perished.
I had just seen Beatlemania the night before. This night, I received a call from my sister's husband. I had been watching Monday Night Football, but missed the announcement from Howard Cosell. I started playing guitar seriously that week.
Frank Gifford can be heard convincing Cosell to make the announcement during a commercial break. This can be seen on the compelling YT video: ESPN OTL: John Lennon Murder, 30th Anniversary
Especially touching to read comments from people who were born after that terrible day. Lennon/Beatles continue to influence and inspire new generations of people, especially musicians and listeners. I was 8 yrs old when The Beatles played the Sullivan Show in '64. Every Beatles song I hear today reminds me of what was happening at the time.
You can see Jane Pauley's grief-stricken face throughout the broadcast. She recalled this day during TODAY AT 60 back in 2012: "I just put my head on the desk, and sobbed."
2020 is 40 yrs since his death which is how old Lennon was when he died. He's been gone for as long as he was around.
He was shot in December, so it is 11 months until the 40th anniversary of the shooting.
December 8, 2020 will be 40 years to the day
I guess thanks for that observation. A sad anniversary to reach.
Imagine John Lennon at 80
@@arricammarques1955 Paul and Ringo are still performing, I imagine John would be too. I can imagine him doing projects with Julian and Sean.
This really is a piece of broadcasting history
The CIA really murdered John!
@@vinylcity1599 you think? Hmmm🤔🧐😲could be! Maybe the limo driver was in on it too. He dropped them off at a different spot the guy said
@@vinylcity1599 Moron.
@@vinylcity1599Rubbish.
I was there. Remember it well.
This is what I woke up to on December 9, 1980. I hadn’t heard anything from the night before. Jane Pauley’s words fell like hammers. They were playing “The Dream is Over…yesterday “, and it was. I was a senior in high school and a lifelong Beatles fan. It hurt so deeply.
I remember my grandmother turning on NBC and seeing Tom Brokaw and Jane Pauley and my grandmother could tell that Jane was grief-stricken throughout.
Kevin, you and I are the same age. I was a freshman in college - 18 years old😢 when I heard this
I too was a Sr in high school at this time. I was driving home from my part time job when the radio broke the news.
I was stunned to say the least…Even worse was my poor older brother who is the families Beatles freak. I ran into our house, he was watching Howard Cosell announce it on Monday night football.
Then a few months later, it was Reagan, then the pope, then in the fall Anwar Sadat… and that was the world we joined when we graduated the next spring..sigh…
Same. Because my dad was in the room, I had to remain stoic.
This video is surprisingly well preserved. As years pass, tape tends to fade and become blurred if not stored in the proper conditions. NBC must have recognized the futuristic relevance of this program and did just that. Who could have predicted the internet back then.
Actually…we already had an internet back then. But just for government agencies, universities and the like.
If it's important enough to someone, it will be preserved.
It’s from 1980…not 1940. The major networks were preserving full episodes of everything by then, and these were likely digitized in the early 2000s too. Not a big stretch of time.
who could have preeicted the internet? the internet already existed. you mean the world wide web?
@@Me97202there was no way to transmit video on the primitive 1980 internet though
I was an adult when this happened and remember the Beatles arriving in NYC for their first concert- I grew up with the Beatles and loved John’s music.
Thank you for posting this. The whole world just seemed so sad. Wow. Everyone was so quiet and grieving even on the news. I was born a year after his death. I had no idea of who he was until I was 15 and started learning about him and hearing his music. I adore him, even his flaws.
Man what horrible day in music history.
This video popped up on my recommendation list. But after living through it and revisiting it from retro clips like this over the years, I need to retire from mourning for my own sanity. I can no longer allow such a tragedy to be compounded with further suffering. I prefer to celebrate his life instead of reliving his death.
That's the saner choice and I'm (and most others) certain he'd want that, too.
You're right. Our community radio station played a special on Dec. 8 for 10 years after his murder, but then changed to Oct. 9 (his birthday) and said they would celebrate his life, as Yoko asked.
I remember Howard Cossell announcement of the death on Monday Night Football ! He called it correctly " An unspeakable Tragedy "
I was in my senior year in high school and was watching MNF because my favorite team was playing, the Miami Dolphins. When Cossell made the announcement, I didn't even know who John Lennon was until my older sister told me he was in the Beatles. Never listened to the Beatles.
There are some clips on YT detailing the commercial break banter between Cosell and Frank Gifford on if and how they should announce it. Cosell was uncharacteristically reluctant while Gifford was definitely up for the moment and convincing a reluctant Cosell that Howard had to get on with it. It's a fascinating piece that portrays how people act when a momentous event is thrust upon them and they have only seconds to act. They all passed the test.
I turned 13 in 1969, and knew every word to every Beatles song on the radio. I still have memorabilia from the Beatles fan club. I remember watching Sunday night football when the game was interrupted by the special report. I couldn't believe it was true! It had to be a mistake! I remember crying when the game resumed and had to listen to Howard Cossell comment on it. I held a resentment of him the rest of my life. Growing up in the 60's I felt the Beatles would be around forever. Never got to see them in concert as a group but did see Paul McCartney and Ringo in 2 separate concerts. And I still know every word to every song. Thank you for this video, it took me back to a simpler time.
Even in my grief at the time I remember wondering why every newscast was using 1967/68 photos of him as their backdrops. There were plenty of 1980 photos available, but no one dreamed they'd be needed for an obituary file soon.
On that night, the photo I kept seeing in TV coverage looks actually to be from the spring of 1972, probably arriving for or leaving deportation hearing.
Reportedly, Tom Brokaw was at first leery of devoting so much airtime that morning to John Lennon, but after that morning's "Today Show" ended, he realized that perhaps this story was indeed worth the amount of airtime it was given.
It's also been claimed that Tom Brokaw's performance that morning on "Today" won him the "NBC Nightly News" anchor chair a little more than a year later when John Chancellor stepped aside from the anchor desk to become an on-air news analyst/commentator.
Very interesting details. Where did you hear that about Brokaw being initially leery of the amount of airtime?
@@FuzzyMemoriesTV It was in a 2012 book about "The Today Show" that NBC published.
@@altfactor Thanks!
@Rob Fiss one wrong constant, but okay
The look of grief on Jane's face was the same one everyone was wearing almost 43 years ago on December 9th...may John continue to rest in peace.😢😢😢😢❤❤❤
Dec. 8 '80 is a night I (along with millions of others) will never forget. The passing of 43 years has taken the sting off Lennon's murder but the disbelief still resonates to this day. Just a horrible, horrible night. I was 19 at the time and we fans were thrilled he was back into music...and then he was gone.
My dad was watching Monday night football 🏈 and cried when Howard broke the news to millions of fans
This is one of the most memorable and best produced broadcasts in Today's nearly 70 years on the air. The sense of grief is palpable - a photographer on the set took a poignant photo of Jane breaking down in tears while the final Lennon tribute rolled.
Jane was a huge beatle fan and still is the resident rock-and-roller now over at CBS This Morning😍
I had a huge crush on Jane Pauley. Still do.❤
I was 23 at the time had my first daughter that year 3 mo old, my step brother gave me double fantasy LP for xmas..still have it..RIP John.
When the ladies started singing the verse from “We Love Beatles” at 5:50, it hurts so much. That’s was such an innocent song back in the 60s, expressing simple, fun, teenage adoration. Now it’s being sung in a time of unspeakable grief, almost like a desperate attempt to cling to the last vestiges of that innocence, when things like this just weren’t supposed to happen. which has died along with an icon of that generation...it’s gut wrenching.
Very well said. And very true.
Great quality visually, for the time of the broadcast.
EXCELLENT!!!! Nothing beats classic today
I remember exactly where I was the morning that I heard what had happened the night before. I was one of three people scheduled to speak before a college class, and before I started my part, I stopped for a minute and told everyone that I might not be at my best because I'd just heard the terrible news. They were very understanding. Thank you class.
I’m Brazilian, was a child and was 8 years old, already knew what the Beatles was but it was difficult to relate to the members separately such visual changes they made with beard and hair. The only one who always looked alike was Paul and I always recognized in the band and solo career, but that’s when I saw the size of the Beatles phenomenon. Today I’m happy with my tickets bought for Paul’s shows in Rio de Janeiro in December 2023 and find myself crying with these sad memories.
Jane Pauley looked liked she wanted to cry at many moments during this video. I don't blame her. I probably would have cried as well. I will never forget this night. My brother in law and I went to a friends house to watch Monday night Football. I am from New England and the Patriots were playing hence the reason for the party. Around 11:00 pm the host of the party said he heard an announcement from Howard Cosell that John Lennon was shot and killed. No one else in the room heard this announcement because most of us were talking. After our host announced this we were all in disbelief of the news. When the game ended my brother in law and I got in my car in haste to turn on the radio only to find out the truth for ourselves. Every radio station was playing Beatles or John Lennon Music. John Lennon was Dead. The day the music died.
Jane Pauley cried off camera when the Today was signing off that day.
One of the saddest days of my life.
I was listening to "A Day in the Life" when the alert popped up for this. Thanks! Happy Christmas Yoko.
Six events I remember clearly where I was when I learned about them. JFK in second grade, John Lennon third year at FSU and 911 in my office in St. Augustine and the birth of my two sons. In Dubai in 2016 learned of the death of my boy Jason.
I was 7 ,I'll never forget I just cried and listened to radio play my favorite bands music, just got 45 of just like starting over,still sads me ,now with dime losing his life on same day yrs later
I was program director for a rock station back then when I got the call. We immediately went all Lennon and Beatles and played nothing else for 3 days. We also organized several candlelight vigils and tributes.
Thanks for the post-I know he had his shortcomings-but it's a reminder of what a real role model is-as an artist and person.
Thanks for posting this-I'm a first generation Beatles fan.
Jane Pauly looked devastated!
Everyone was devastated.
Poor Jane……hurts to see her like that.
Yes, she looked close to tears.
She was. She wrote that after the show was over she put her head down on the desk and cried.
Jane pauly is clearly overwhelmed with emotion when walking on set to begin this sad tragic story about the murder of john Lennon
yes, you can see it. I love you still, Jane. this is too much even now. my Dad was in the parlor watching Monday nite football hearing the news from Howard Cosell, and he alerted me to it. it was like a bad dream.
She was probably pretty giddy over the Beatles as a teen.
Yes. Isn't it obvious?
I was a college student when John Lennon was murdered-Can't believe it's been almost forty years since that happened.
December 9th was a long, shitty day. I was a senior in high school. My best friend and I are huge fans. It was truly sad, and most people had that look on their faces.
I watched this on TV the morning after while getting ready to go to school. I was 14 years old & it changed my life.
I was 15 when this happened. I'll never forget it.
I was on my way out the door to catch the bus to school and saw the beginning of this.
i was walking to school and i heard it from a car radio.
It happened on a Monday night in the east coast.
At 7am in the morning, my mom would be watching Good Morning America on ABC. I don't recall watching Today until high school --- a few years after Tom Brokaw had left the show for NBC Nightly News..
I was only 3 years old when this happened but I will always remember listening to the Beatles music whenever my mom was cleaning the house. I love their music till this day I grew up on their music. I'm sure my mom and dad were very sad when theis happened. Especially my mom because that was her generation growing up on their music too being a teenager and her sisters too. I cant believe it's been 39 years since this occurred. Peace and love to everyone!💖✌
I was born about 2 years after the incident. I can only imagine the people who got the alert watching Monday Night Football were stunned when Howard Cosell gave the alert.
I first heard about it on the bathroom radio.
newstarcadefan
I am a Beatles fan born in 1982; it still hurts for me.
I first heard about it on local news with Mike Aherne (Indianapolis), they broke into their own late night newscast. It was the first bulletin, where he was known to be shot and in the hospital but not that he had died. A minute or so later the announcement that he was dead came over UPI via our community access cable channel.
I first heard about it on local news with Mike Aherne (Indianapolis), they broke into their own late night newscast. It was the first bulletin, where he was known to be shot and in the hospital but not that he had died. A minute or so later the announcement that he was dead came over UPI via our community access cable channel.
Frank Gifford did a masterful job convincing Cosell to sum up his courage to make the announcement, all during a commercial break. This can be seen on the YT video: ESPN OTL: John Lennon Murder, 30th Anniversary
I was six when this happened and I remember my parents freaking out and calling their friends, etc. I think I owe my existence to The Beatles. My mother loved them so much that she signed up for guitar lessons. Her guitar teacher would eventually become her husband and father to me and my siblings.
Rest in peace, John.
I was up later than usual but as I was turning off my TV there was a bulletin that he had been shot. I had the worst possible feeling and decided I would have one more night's sleep before dealing with what was to come. I dreamt I was at a news stand in central park and read the headline "lennon slain". I woke up to the reality and the first thing I saw was Joan Rivers of all people talking about him.
I remember when Today did those weather crawls with each city and its NBC affiliate there.
They still do
I was 10 when this happened. The day music mourned💔🎸🎹🎼
I remember being a kid we were watching this before going to school. Really took me back i remember the eyewitness because us kids asked who is yoko? Thank you for hosting this
The day before my 9th birthday. My mom told me about it that morning. Kids at school talked about it. We were kids but, knew who he was.
I grew up listening to the Beatles and their solo works, still cannot comprehend today what happened to him, and then George died two decades later; now, Ringo and Paul are left to carry on the legacy. I just watched a story on Paul's 1964 photos exhibit titled "Eye of the Storm" and saw photos of John and George, young and ready to take on the world, not knowing how it would impact their lives. I heard about John's shooting from my late Mom; my Mom-Mom was watching Monday Night Football when Howard Cosell broke the tragic news. She called Mom, and Mom woke me up and told me. The next morning, news coverage was dedicated to John's life and death; they constantly showed clips of the Ed Sullivan Show and the fans gathering around the Dakota and Central Park. I was 12 and still in shock as I went to school. John's death was a topic around the school; some teachers were crying; you could see how he impacted people's lives. Many of us were happy he was returning to music, and I wanted the Double Fantasy album for Christmas; I didn't get it, but I finally got it years later.
Andy Peebles the British DJ did a 3 hour interview for Radio 1 with John Lennon a couple of hours before he was killed. When he arrived in London he got a call at the airport to tell him Lennon had just been shot, he couldn't believe it. Lennon after speaking to Peebles said he wouldn't definitely come to England in1981.
I’m trying to watch this dispassionately. I’ve gone down this UA-cam rabbit hole before, but it still gives me a pain in my gut.
When I saw they were interviewing Dick Lester, I thought it was silly, seeing how his Lennon connection ended 15 years previously, but he was the only one who mentioned gun control, so that was interesting. I’m happy that’s all been fixed now🤨
@AnEn please
I agree & they shut him down. The question is still relevant today 40 years later how many people have to needlessly die, murdered by unstable individuals because guns are so freely available?
I remember this like it was yesterday… I heard it on breaking news the night he died and I was a freshman in college
Like many it was like losing a family member. Devastating. Shot by a coward. Never mention it's name. That's all it wants. Now at least there is still that fantastic unsurpassed music we all love. Peace
Thank you for sharing this slice of history , I watched this with my mom that morning getting ready for school, I was 10 I didn't really know who he was then .
This was such a Sad day in History , gee , I Miss Him . :(
Can't believe it's been 39 years. I was just eight years old, but I remember it vividly, probably because it was a big deal to my parents, and older brother.
I'm not ashamed to say that I cried..😪
Jane was so upset .
Jane coming from Indianapolis Indiana girling up at also a very well-known music fannin rock-and-roller still to this day.
she would have been right at the age of beatlemania in the states..
Y yummy
40 years later & his death still sting
Back when NBC actually broadcasted _news_
August 10th, 2023. Tantos años después, y me dan ganas de llorar.
I remember this day very well. Just a tough time in the world where John Lennon, President Reagan, and the Pope were all shot at in a 6 month span. Elton Johns tribute song to John Lennon in '81 still brings tears to my eyes.
He wasn't murdered but Bob Marley died in that 6 month span as well. He died just two days before The Pope was shot. Also interesting in that there had been an attempt on Bob's life as well when *HE* was shot in Jamaica in 1976.
For a significant number of people, this would have been the first they heard of the murder.
News did not break nationwide until nearly midnight on Monday Night Football, near the end of the game. Many people who didn't watch football probably went to bed without knowing of the killing.
In 1980 before the spread of 24/7 cable teevee, people went to bed earlier. Staying up to 1 am to watch Johnny Carson was really unusual.
Well, CNN already existed by then, but probably part of it also is that cable wasn't a fraction as widespread back then as it is today.
It’s crazy that back In the 50s nobody even really had bands, a group of people who played instruments together and harmonized and made catchy memorable songs. It’s like they invented pop music. People were talented, it was something new, the Beatles were like the first band and in the beginning Lennon was the confident leader, later in their career, McCartney seemed to take the control
Great footage. I remember the day.
For all the commentators out there who remembered this night like it was yesterday, this is same I felt when the 9/11 attacks happened in which it'll be 20 years next year in September as well as George Harrison's death from cancer in November of next year.
1980. Seems like yesterday.
40 years ago ! I was in High School. Heard about it on Monday Night Football.
@@davidellis5141 Me too. As my phone rang, it was my father telling my mother. I heard her wailing downstairs. Pretty scary. I heard it as the phone was ringing kind of thing. I was 11.
The elevator music when they do the weather is cool
I know! This news reports going on is sad, but if I was born when “Today” played music like that I would be dancing while getting ready for school or work.
Do you by chance have The Today Show broadcast from Wednesday, August 17 1977, the day after Elvis tragically died? I was 13 at the time and I remember that tragic summer day so vividly. I do remember all three networks had wall to wall coverage that afternoon. But I don't remember much coverage like the day after. So just curious if you have that Today Show broadcast, noting that today, Sunday, August 16, 2020 marks the 43rd anniversary of Elvis's death. 😞😞
Also would like to see if the Today show still has the broadcast from September 1, 1997, on the death of Princess Diana.
I was 15 in 1980. I was at home watching tv and they announced it.
Tigermantcb 1977 I was 12 and still remember it well.
I was born in 1980 John and The Beatles music has been the soundtrack to my life
I wasn't old enough to remember. But I've seen enough tragedy to imagine (no pun).
Good thing nbc was improving by then to give a good report on this important event
Besides the main point of this video, I had that very same Fisher-Price Fire Station! I was born about a year after Lennon was assassinated.
Do you happen to have the March 29th 1972 broadcast of the Today Show on NBC? Specifically a segment with the late John Cazale, probably aired on or about the 29th of March.
As a kid I recognized Lennon in photos, & didn't understand him until I was 18 and was forever a fan. The greatest singer/songwriter in history. Why the aliens had even had to get a look. Too many wackos out there.
I saw that commercial for Different Strokes in this video. I can't believe Dana Plato has been gone 25 years now.
My brother was born December 7 1980. So sad
I saw (but didnt' hear) the Beatles in Shea Stadium. When the special news report came on that night that John Lennon had been shot dead, I just dropped to my knees and sobbed. Part of my being had been ripped away.
Never seen this broadcast before, but I don’t remember 1980 because I was still barely a newborn.
That's no excuse. 1980 was a remarkable year. If you were on this planet I dont care how young or old u were u should remember it.
I was born 6 weeks after this sad event.
@@FredGSanford. You can’t remember something if you’re a newborn. By the time this person was old enough to remember things, 1980 would’ve been old news (especially with no internet) and they would most likely be focused on other things during their childhood and teen years. The great thing about UA-cam now is folks can see all the stuff they missed in their early childhood years or before they were born, like myself. This happened 18 years before I was born, yet I can feel the impact it had on people, like the ladies singing “We Love You John” with tears in their eyes, and it hurts, knowing that I will never get to see my favorite Beatle in concert, or hear any new music from him after 1980.
I was born in early 1976. This was one of the first musican deaths I remember seeing on TV in 1980.
Even at eight years old, I felt that John Lennon's death represented an end of an era. We were in for some crazy times during the 80s.
The 80's was a decade of aggression........"SLAYER"
@@christopherseat9871 The decade where everybody smoked, snorted, drank, screwed, and spent their lives away.
That was just the tip of the iceberg
LOL
December 8, 1980, the night the World Cried :-(
Yeah I remember that day like it was yesterday. Can’t help but feel like a piece of me died with him 😢
@@MeeMee-gz5vp I felt exactly the same way as you, we must be related.. :-) Thank you sooo much for your comment♪ "All We Need Is Love"♪♫♪
In the description of the broadcast it says there's an excerpt of "hello goodbye" played, Lennon hated that song, plus given the nature of the broadcast was that really the appropriate song to play?
I saw the whole thing of this today show as it played out on TV that day. I saw Elvis Presley 's death in 77 too. Two very sad events that are now actual history.
It was interesting to note the movie director, Fred Lester's comment that it was " deplorable that no one is talking about gun control in America". Even interesting, this comment was imade in 1980.
Jane Pauley's thick braid...amazing magic...
I was eleven at the time and remember it very well
That radio journalist said Yoko sent him out into the world alone to be alone by himself "COUGH, COUGH" umm no he was with May Pang and she made him happy even got him to include Julian in some of their trips and May got friendly with John's ex wife Cynthia, so my attitude is and was that maybe John should have stuck with May because Yoko was basically John's handler
Mark David Chapman was the one who killed John Lennon. I will never, never forget that. I cried a lot. I was only 20 years old. I 'm almost 60 now. It's funny how time passes so quickly.
The Lennon murder and the assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan were connected.
Mark David Chapman, the "local screwball".
Robin Keiger chapman only gets out of prison in a body bag
I don't think Aunt Mimi would consider her house a 'slum'...(6:28)
Yeah wasn’t Lennon middle class?
Just a little over 2 months prior to this happening we lost John Bonham.
@@davidellis5141 umm, what?
@@leedevereaux7644the drummer for Led Zeppelin
I thought it was a great tribute to John. Also interesting to see the commercials from that time and Swoosie Kurtz. Do you have any more editions?
We also have a complete hour of Today from Good Friday 1978:
ua-cam.com/video/hFagRQrlr1A/v-deo.html
Lots more as well, just not posted yet.
I remember I was in high school and woke up first and turned on the TV. The reporter kept referring to "Lennon was here last night" or "Lennon was shot". I though he was saying "Lenin" and was like didn't he die 50 or 60 years ago?
I remember that Tuesday morning. I was so upset I called in sick to work.
One wonders why this tragic shooting at a famous building like The Dakota happened at all. Where was the doorman?? I’ve never seen any news coverage of who was the doorman on duty, where exactly was he at the time, and why he wasn’t able to stop the shooter from gaining access to the area where this happened.
I never knew they played Imagine as a tribute to him!! Cool!!
Jane Pauley (6:28): "John Lennon, from the slums of Liverpool to the top of the world..."
John Lennon: "I lived in the suburbs in a nice semi-detached place with a small garden and doctors and lawyers and that ilk living around...not the poor slummy kind of image that was projected in all the Beatles stories."
That was John!!!!
That happy opening music feels outta place with the tragic news
I remember the night this happened. I was watching television at my friends place and a news flash came on across the bottom of the screen saying a man was shot. Then it said the man is believed to be former Beatle John Lennon. It was beyond shocking and the worst news ever! I went home and turned on the radio here in New York and radio personality Vince Selsa from WNEW FM said Lennon had just perished.
I had just seen Beatlemania the night before. This night, I received a call from my sister's husband. I had been watching Monday Night Football, but missed the announcement from Howard Cosell. I started playing guitar seriously that week.
Frank Gifford can be heard convincing Cosell to make the announcement during a commercial break. This can be seen on the compelling YT video: ESPN OTL: John Lennon Murder, 30th Anniversary