when John Lennon was sadly gunned down in 1980. I remember hearing Howard Cossell during the MNF that John Lennon was shot twice and was DOA at the hospital - That was the first time I can recall seeing my Mom cry, she was a MAJOR Beatles fan (I inherited her collection of Beatles memorabilia, including books, vinyl LP's and even a Beatles telephone that is a double decker Routemaster bus, see the link below for an image of this phone...And I use it as my landline/house phone) and I don't even recall her crying when my Dad died 3 years earlier (I don't recall much from 1977, excepts 3 funerals), I'm sure she cried over Dad, but the Beatles were of some importance because she wanted her kids to like rock 'n' roll...And they were the first band I recall listening to as a child.
I can, to this very moment, recall my Mom's sadness that Monday night back in 1980...My memories are sometimes too vivid.
RIP John
Here's a link to what the telephone looks like:
http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/7087035