JohnLennonLegend1

Do you remember where you were on December 8, 1980?

Like a lot of you, I remember exactly where I was when I heard the news. On December 8th, 1980, I was on the 5th floor of 126 York Street, preparing for the overnight shift at CHEZ 106. At the time, I was the newest member of the on-air crew and liked to arrive early to get organized and enjoy the free coffee.

Our Newsroom was adjacent to the on-air studio and was filled with typewriters and a rip-and-read Broadcast News-wire machine. The room was usually empty after 7 pm, so it was a great place to get some work done. Around 11:00 pm, the News-wire alarm sounded and the first story about the shooting was printed. Not long after that, the alarm sounded again. Somewhere in my many scrapbooks of concert ticket stubs and faded pictures, I still have the original printout: “John Lennon Has Died”. By the time I started my shift, the rest of the world was slowly learning about what had happened. We didn’t have Social Media to spread the word and many didn’t know until the morning after. Through what was usually a long and quiet night, the phone calls kept coming. Many of you just wanted to know if the news was true, and to share your shock and disbelief. Some of you cried.

So many horrifying and unnecessary acts of violence have filled the news since then, and a lot of our memories have faded around the edges, but for many of us, the death of John Lennon stands out as a defining moment in rock.

-Jacki