John Lennon: Remembering The Fallen Beatle 43 Years Later

John Lennon and the worst week ever in my musical life. Hard to believe it was 43 years ago. I remember shopping the week of Dec 1980 sitting in the car and the John Lennon single from his new album was on the radio. The song starts with a bell ringing 3 times at the beginning of, "Starting Over." The snow was falling on the car I was in and it felt so surreal. Happy to hear a new John Lennon song on the radio again.

The hardest day I had to go through. My father watched Monday Night Football on December 8, 1980, between the Patriots and the Miami Dolphins. Famed broadcaster Howard Cosell right before the next play started in the 4th quarter. In a monotone voice broke the news. “Remember, this is just a football game, no matter who wins or loses,” he said. “An unspeakable tragedy, confirmed to us by ABC News in New York City: John Lennon, outside of his apartment building on the West Side of New York City, the most famous perhaps of all of the Beatles, shot twice in the back, rushed to Roosevelt Hospital, dead on arrival.”

My father said to me, “You know that guy, don’t you?” I said yeah, the Beatles are my favorite band. My stomach turned sour. I went to bed, fighting back not to cry in front of my father. At high school the next day not much was said by many. I went to where my favorite place to be was: my high school radio station.

WPHS played nonstop Beatles and John Lennon solo records. The radio station was my escape that day and I didn’t even attend my other classes that day. Nothing including Elvis, Buddy Holly, or even the 1977 plane crash of band members of Lynyrd Skynyrd hit me as hard as the murder of John Lennon.

The death of John Lennon 43 years ago was like losing a close pal that you knew for years. Years have passed and the news cycle pretty much glances over the tragedy. I think John Lennon would have had a ball with social media. Even cheeky TikTok videos and his continued passion for peace in the world. We lost George Harrison 22 years ago and it seems like it wasn't that long ago.

The WCSX Staff share their favorite song by The Beatles! Today is the day that fans of The Beatles have been waiting for. Starting at 10am, you can enjoy 'The Holiday Beatles Blitz On CSX Hosted By Ken Calvert.'

You'll hear exclusive interviews with members of the band, stories from artists talking about how they were influenced by The Beatles, deep cuts, and of course their new single, "Now And Then."

The Beatles have special meaning to all of us, and all for different reasons. To celebrate 'The Holiday Beatles Blitz On CSX Hosted By Ken Calvert,' the WCSX staff has shared their favorite songs from the Fab Four.

It's awesome to see these music lovers share their favorite picks and give detailed reasons why. There's never been anyone like The Beatles before, and there probably won't be another one like them ever again.

The band's latest single "Now And Then" was brought to life decades after it was created using AI technology. It's amazing what they were able to do with this. Check out the "Now And Then" video and details by clicking here!

To play along with the "Now And Then" theme, we thought it would be fun to share pictures of the WCSX Staff from "Now And Then" with pictures of them when they were young paired with a picture from them today. So cool to see! Check out those images by clicking here!

That's not all the fun, either! We also have an excellent Must Have shopping list put together for you: 11 Of The Best Beatles Memorabilia  Items On The Internet.

Additionally, you can enter for a chance to win a Ron Campbell Beatles Lithograph! Ron was the director of the famous Saturday Morning Beatles Cartoon series that aired from 1965-1969. A great collection piece for you or The Beatles fan in your life. Let us help you make shopping this holiday season even easier.

Let's get to the list of the WCSX Staff and their favorite song from The Beatles!

I’ve always loved the energy of “Hey Bulldog” - it’s was John’s song originally titled “Hey Bullfrog” but he changed it when Paul was screwing around and started barking.

There’s a raw simple fun to this song - and it resonates with me. Always puts me in a good mood.

Ryan picked "Rocky Raccoon." A great choice!

I love “Tomorrow Never Knows.” It’s got a very different sound than most Beatles tracks but you still know who it is. Lennon said it was “my first psychedelic song.” Legend has it that Lennon would trip on LSD, read the book The Psychedelic Experience: A Manual Based on The Tibetan Book of The Dead aloud and record himself. Then he listened back to the recording, again while tripping, and wrote the song. The line “turn off your mind… relax and float downstream” is directly from the book.

Hard to pick just one Beatles song but if I had to it probably be Magical Mystery Tour. The bright horns and the beginning always changes my mood anytime it comes on. We would always play it on our way to a concert not knowing what fun was in store for me and my best buds. Later on knowing that there was a very cheesy movie that goes along with it it's a cult classic and I actually have it on Super 8 mm sound movie film. I've watched it so many times on the projector I had as a kid. There are so many Mysteries in this movie about the Beatles it'll keep you guessing for hours whether Paul is dead or not LOL

Scott Jameson is the brains behind 'The Holiday Beatles Blitz On CSX Hosted By Ken Calvert.' When asked for his favorite Beatles song, he responded:

You Never Give Me Your Money – Paperback Writer-  Rain-

Ooops. 2-2 many.