{"id":127302,"date":"2020-12-06T01:31:50","date_gmt":"2020-12-05T22:31:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/inside-john-lennons-last-days-in-nyc-before-his-1980-death\/"},"modified":"2020-12-06T01:31:50","modified_gmt":"2020-12-05T22:31:50","slug":"inside-john-lennons-last-days-in-nyc-before-his-1980-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/inside-john-lennons-last-days-in-nyc-before-his-1980-death\/","title":{"rendered":"#Inside John Lennon’s last days in NYC before his 1980 death"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Inside John Lennon’s last days in NYC before his 1980 death<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

\n

John Lennon\u2019s new Yohji Yamamoto jacket was gorgeous. So much so that he wanted to be photographed in his luxurious garment \u2014 with gold Asian characters running down the left arm, roughly translating to \u201cThe truth of the universe is in your heart and in your mind.\u201d He called his friend, rock \u2019n\u2019 roll photographer Bob Gruen<\/a>, and invited him to the Record Plant studio in Midtown Manhattan. Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, were working on a new song there, called \u201cWalking on Thin Ice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gruen had shot the iconic photo of Lennon wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the words \u201cNew York City,\u201d and they had established a friendship where the singer would regularly ask \u00a0Gruen to photograph him.<\/p>\n

It was Friday afternoon, Dec. 5, 1980, when Gruen arrived at the Record Plant for what would be their final session together. Three days later, on Dec. 8, the former Beatle and hero to millions would be gunned down by an obsessed fan, Mark David Chapman, in front of The Dakota, where Lennon lived with his family.<\/p>\n

Gruen recalled that Lennon, 40, was in an upbeat state of mind. He looked forward to seeing the pictures, which the photographer developed in his darkroom two days later. He was hoping to have them done in time to drop by the Record Plant studio and catch Lennon and Ono there.<\/p>\n

\"Hours
Hours before fan Mark David Chapman (right) shot Lennon to death, the two were caught together in this photograph as Lennon signed an \u00adautograph for him.<\/figcaption>
Popperfoto via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cBut,\u201d said Gruen, \u201cI was running late. A friend from California called with the news<\/a> about John. I sunk to the floor.\u201d Emerging details brought a troubling thought: \u201cHad I gotten to the studio, I might have changed things. I would have encouraged them to go out to eat. I had a feeling that my being there may have made things different. I felt guilty about that for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lennon was in a good place at the time of his death \u2014 a world away from his so-called \u201clost weekend,\u201d actually a period from 1973 until 1975, during which he partied hard in Los Angeles and embarked on an affair with his former assistant May Pang. According to the BBC\u2019s Andy Peebles, the subject of \u201cLennon\u2019s Last Weekend\u201d<\/a>\u00a0who interviewed the singer on Saturday, Dec. 6, 1980, singer Harry Nilsson once dared Lennon to jump out of a speeding car on an LA freeway. Lennon obliged, later telling Peebles, \u201cI was so high on drugs that I didn\u2019t think twice.\u201d<\/p>\n

But since 1975, he had been in New York City with his family. He kept a photo of his son Sean, 5, in the studio. \u201cJohn embraced the joy of being in a family,\u201d said Gruen. \u201cHe was going to carry that message on a tour of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\"Lennon,
Lennon, with wife Ono, asked his friend, photographer Bob Gruen, to snap him in his new jacket just days before the singer was killed. Gruen wonders if he could have saved Lennon.<\/figcaption>
Bob Gruen<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Lennon and Ono\u2019s album, \u201cDouble Fantasy,\u201d had been released in October 1980 and was climbing the charts. Lennon loved seeing his wife\u2019s music being embraced. He did not mind that his new tunes were being written off as \u201cmiddle of the road.\u201d Remembered Gruen: \u201cJohn said, \u2018That\u2019s OK. We\u2019re going down the middle of the road to the bank.\u2019\u2009<\/p>\n

Dec. 8 began early\u00a0for Lennon and Ono. They ate breakfast at their usual table in their favorite neighborhood restaurant, Caf\u00e9 La Fortuna. It was a modest spot, known for Italian pastries and opera. After John\u2019s death, the table was placed in the window as a memento mori.<\/p>\n

Morning meal completed, Lennon slipped out for a haircut. Enjoying the city, he strolled without a bodyguard. Some argue that the freedom he loved may have done him in.
James Patterson, co-author of \u201cThe Last Days of John Lennon\u201d<\/a> (Little, Brown and Company), out Monday, told The Post that photographer Harry Benson \u2014 who snapp<\/a>ed the Beatles during the band\u2019s first US tour and remained friendly with Lennon \u2014 had concerns. \u201cHe said that if John hadn\u2019t been killed, something tragic would have happened to him [anyway],\u201d said Patterson. \u201cHe felt that John would take one too many chances and somehow expose himself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\"Photographer
Photographer Bob Gruen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

But Lennon was having too much enjoyment for grim thoughts. \u201cJohn was very funny,\u201d said Gruen, remembering strolling past a schoolyard with him. \u201cKids were playing basketball and one of them yelled, \u2018Hey, John, when are you going to get the Beatles back together?\u2019 John replied, \u2018When are you going back to high school?\u2019\u2009\u201d<\/p>\n

On the day of the singer\u2019s assassination, he returned home with his locks styled in the combed-back manner of a Teddy boy, throwing back to his 1950s youth in Liverpool. Annie Leibovitz, Rolling Stone\u2019s chief photographer, arrived for a cover shoot.<\/p>\n

Publisher Jann Wenner wanted Lennon alone. But during an interview with writer Jonathan Cott, according to the book \u201cSticky Fingers,\u201d Lennon had said, \u201cIf they don\u2019t want the two of us, we\u2019re not interested.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leibovitz pressed for the wishes of her boss, but Lennon remained unrelenting. Then she showed him a nude drawing for inspiration. Lennon strip<\/a>ped down immedia<\/a>tely. Ono demurred. He coiled around his wife, tenderly kissing her cheek. Leibovitz showed him a Polaroid. He loved it. The ex-Beatle is said to have proclaimed, \u201cThat is it. This is our relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n

Days later, the Rolling Stone cover feature transformed into an obituary. \u201cIt was so profound,\u201d Mary Shanahan, Rolling Stone\u2019s art director at the time, told The Post of the now-famous photo. \u201cMaybe a person should not show that level of vulnerability.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the gutter between the magazine\u2019s front and back cover, Wenner left a secret message to John: \u201cI love you. You\u2019re with God. I\u2019ll do what I said. \u2018Yoko, hold on\u2019 \u2014 I\u2019ll make sure, I promise.\u2009\u201d (It remains a mystery what Wenner actually promised)<\/p>\n

\"Mark
Mark David Chapman<\/figcaption>
Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After Leibovitz left, Lennon and Ono met with radio host Dave Sholin and producer Laurie Kaye for a free-flowing interview in The Dakota apartment. They talked about the rigors of parenting. With Ono outed as the family disciplinarian, Lennon drily joked, \u201cYou\u2019re the best father he\u2019s ever had.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some 90 minutes later, they all headed downstairs. A small crowd waited outside, hoping to snag autographs. A heavyset young man in an overcoat stood among them, waving a copy of \u201cDouble Fantasy.\u201d Accommodatingly, the singer wrote, \u201cJohn Lennon, 1980.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs that all?\u201d Lennon asked. \u201cDo you want anything else?\u201d<\/p>\n

The man shook his head no. In the midst of this, a photo was snapped by Paul Goresh \u2014 an amateur lenser who had his own history with Lennon: He improbably went from sneaking into the rock star\u2019s apartment by posing as a VCR repairman, to becoming friendly enough to join him on walks around the neighborhood. The image captured Lennon inches away from his future assassin Chapman, the fan he had just met.<\/p>\n

After that moment, Lennon and Yoko headed off in a car to the Record Plant for a final listen of their new song.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were so effing pumped and stable,\u201d Steve Marcantonio, assistant engineer on the session, recalled to The Post. \u201cJohn was so clean.\u201d During a time when cocaine was as common as Coca-Cola, \u201che did not even have a beer or a glass of wine. John called Yoko \u2018Mother\u2019 from time to time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Lennon
Lennon (right) with Paul Gorash, the final person to get his autograph, shortly before he was killed.<\/figcaption>
WENN.com<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lennon and Ono signed off on the recording. Sam Ginsberg, who had been an engineer at the Record Plant, told The Post in 2005, \u201cJohn was happy that it was going to be Yoko\u2019s single instead of his single. We just finished mixing that song and they left. The one thing that stuck in my mind was John saying, \u2018I\u2019m hungry. Should we stop at Wolf\u2019s for a hamburger?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Ever the adoring dad, John opted instead to head home so they could see Sean. Their limousine pulled up to The Dakota\u2019s front gate at around 10:50 p.m.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe car could have gone deeper into the driveway, and they could have stepped out right where the door is,\u201d Keith Elliot Greenberg, who authored \u201cDecember 8, 1980: The Day John Lennon Died,\u201d<\/a> told The Post. \u201cBut [Lennon] chose to step onto the sidewalk, as he usually did. He liked the fans.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chapman was waiting. This time, he assumed a combat stance, aimed his .38 Special revolver and shot four hollow-point bullets into the singer\u2019s torso. Lennon collapsed.<\/p>\n

Police raced to the scene and Chapman was handcuffed. Two officers carried the \u00addying Lennon to the back of their patrol car. Siren wailing, they roared off to the old Roosevelt Hospital at Ninth Avenue and 59th Street. Ono trailed in a second police vehicle.
Engineer Marcantonio heard the news via a TV playing in the Record Plant studio.<\/p>\n

\""Imagine"
\u201cImagine\u201d memorial in Strawberry Fields, Central Park, NYC.<\/figcaption>
Robert Miller<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI soon got a call from Lila Wassenaar, who managed the Record Plant,\u201d he said. \u201cShe told me, \u2018Get all of the [\u2018Thin Ice\u2019] tapes in the vault. John had his own vault there. We didn\u2019t want people coming in, grabbing the tapes or listening to them.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Rolling Stone\u2019s Shanahan, Leibovitz acted similarly: \u201cShe went to the lab and got the film immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kaye, still on a high from interviewing Lennon and Ono, heard a radio report of the shooting. \u201cI raced to hospital,\u201d she said. \u201cI looked through the \u2026 window and saw Yoko inside. She was crying. I knew, at that moment, that John was dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Had he lived, Gruen speculates, the world would be better for it. \u201cI assume he\u2019d be vibrant and making great music. John had grown up by 1980 and he learned that living a sober life is really fun. I could see him putting that out into the world. Plus, John was so good with the one liners \u2014 one of my favorites from him was, \u2018Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted.\u2019 He would have \u00a0been fantastic on Twitter.\u201d\n <\/p><\/div>\n

If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n

For forums sites go to Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

If you want to read more News articles, you can visit our News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“#Inside John Lennon’s last days in NYC before his 1980 death” John Lennon\u2019s new Yohji Yamamoto jacket was gorgeous. So much so that he wanted to be photographed in his luxurious garment \u2014 with gold Asian characters running down the left arm, roughly translating to \u201cThe truth of the universe is in your heart and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":127303,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/12\/Lennon-Last-Days.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[66941,72029,30880,72030],"class_list":["post-127302","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-john-lennon","tag-mark-david-chapman","tag-the-beatles","tag-yoko-ono"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127302","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127302"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127302\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/127303"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127302"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127302"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127302"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}