(The Praeger Singer-Songwriter Collection) Ben Urish, Ken Bielen-The Words and Music of John Lennon-Praeger (2007) by Ben Urich Ken Bielen

Author:Ben Urich, Ken Bielen [Ben Urich, Ken Bielen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

EpiloguE

I was working a third-shift job at a convenience store and going to gradu-

ate school. I had eagerly set an alarm so I could wake up and hear the debut

broadcast of the new John Lennon single “(Just Like) Starting Over.” A few

days later, it was on a jukebox at a local Pizza Hut and I heard it again, and

got to play Yoko’s flip side “Kiss Kiss Kiss.” Patrons were not amused, but

I relished their annoyance. John and Yoko were back, and shaking up the

complacent once again. I played both sides of the single every chance I had.

The album Double Fantasy came out a few weeks later and a friend and I

rushed out to buy it. I liked it more than he did. He thought Lennon’s work

wasn’t tough enough. We joked that if something bad happened to Yoko, the

anguish might spur John to write gutsier songs.

I’d had a minor car accident, and my car radio didn’t work. Usually I lis-

tened to the radio as I got ready for work, but on December 8, 1980, I over-

slept and was so rushed that I didn’t have time to turn on the radio. When I

got to my job, I was surprised to see my friend waiting for me. He said he was

there since he knew how upset I’d be about the news. What news? Hadn’t I

heard on the radio that John Lennon had been shot? I thought it was a sort

of practical joke, because he sometimes had a grim sense of humor and we

sometimes imagined elaborate practical jokes we might play on friends. In

view of our comments about Yoko, it seemed plausible to me that he might

be pulling a joke on me. I even thought a coworker and customers in the

convenience store were in on the gag until my exasperated coworker had me

go out to his car and listen to the radio. I spun the dial, and station after sta-

tion was playing Beatles and Lennon recordings.

I went back inside and asked my friend if the news had said how badly hurt

Lennon was; and where was Yoko, was she hurt, too? He seemed startled. “I

told you he’s dead!” “No,” I said, “you just said he’d been shot, you never

said he was dead.” “Well he is, he’s dead” was his blunt reply, as my coworker

nodded in assent. My friend later said it felt like he was saying Mickey Mouse

had been killed. We all knew Lennon was a real person, but he was such an

iconic figure that it was easy to lose sight of that fact—somewhat ironic in

view of Lennon’s uncanny ability to make his art so directly personal and

simultaneously so popular. Or perhaps that’s exactly why he seemed so real

as to become unreal to us.

Afterword    123

I called my girlfriend as soon as I thought she’d be home from her second-

shift job. She picked up the phone, and, without saying hello, said, “Well,

they finally got him.” Another friend came to the store and stayed for five

hours. In the morning I called my dad, a decorated Army

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