Steve Wiley Shares Thoughts Of John Lennon [Video]

Today's the 35th anniversary of John Lennon's murder. It was first reported during a Monday night football game. I don't remember if I was watching the game, or first heard about it the next morning from Kenny Hazelette & Jay Walker on "K-94." All I clearly remember is thinking, "Why the Hell would anyone want to kill John Lennon??!!"

When I was 7, the Beatles came to America, and performed on the Ed Sullivan Show 3 weeks in a row. It was captivating! Then came the movies, "A Hard Day's Night," "Help," "Yellow Submarine." A family friend invited my brothers & me to go see "Help" with her & her sons. Mom & Dad didn't want to let me go, fearing I'd somehow be corrupted by it. They relented after much tearful begging.

I learned of the Beatles' breakup on the radio, while painting at my family's new home. I though the world was coming to an end. How could we possibly go on? We did. So did they, as individuals, and adults.

Mr. Lennon wasn't a subtle individual. That offended some people. I admired his frankness. David Bowie referred to it as "cutting through all the bullshit." The strength of his writing was in melody and poetic lyrics. It sometimes seem there's too little of that today. Jack Douglas once said in an interview he was very careful not to over produce The "Double Fantasy" album. He did well! When I was a high school senior, my girlfriend taught me to play "Imagine" on the piano. It's the only song I ever learned.