44 years ago, on December 8, 1980, I was driving home from a rehearsal, across the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco back to Marin County, CA, when I heard the news on the radio that John Lennon had been murdered.
At first, I didn't believe it and was certain I must have heard it wrong. Double Fantasy was literally on my turntable when I left the house that day and the news shattered me. I was living alone at the time in a little studio apartment nestled in the hills of Corte Madera, and when I got home, I listened to the whole album and wept for hours. When I finally went to sleep that night, I had a dream. John appeared beside my bed and sat next to me. Yoko was across the room, near the fireplace, watching. It was so real, I thought I was awake and when I woke up, I couldn't shake the feeling that it actually happened. All I could listen to the next few days were Beatles records and Double Fantasy. To this day, the sadness I felt was palpable.
So much of why I began to play music and eventually became a songwriter was because of my love for The Beatles, especially John Lennon's extraordinary contribution. My guitar teacher William Brown taught me "Working Class Hero" when I was only 8 years old! Years later, when I reconnected with William through Facebook, I asked him why he gave me such a heavy, intense song at such a young age. Bill replied, "Because I knew you could handle it." I have always felt a strong connection to John Lennon. It felt like I was mourning a family member.
That Sunday, Yoko asked the world to honor John with 10 minutes of silence at noon, or something like that. I was working as a waitress at Carlos O'Brien's in Tiburon and in the middle of a busy Sunday brunch shift, I left the floor and went up into the attic and lit a candle for John and knelt and prayed for him and the world. It was a miracle I didn't get fired. I didn't care, it was something I had to do.
Fast forward to December 8, 2000. I had just moved back home to the San Francisco Bay Area from Nashville, to help take care of my dad and help my mom. My friend Rabbi Herbert Morris, the rabbi I grew up with at Beth Israel Judea Temple on Brotherhood Way, heard I was back in town after living in LA/NYC and Nashville for most of my adult life. Rabbi Morris called me that day and told me there was a member of our congregation he wanted to connect me with, someone in the music industry he felt would be helpful for me to know. Rabbi Morris was always so cool and hip, even in retirement. So I knew I better call this guy ASAP, there must be a good reason I was supposed to meet him.
That man was Dave Sholin aka "The Duke"- a renowned DJ from SF Bay Area AM radio station KFRC. Dave was the last DJ to interview John Lennon, just a few hours before John was shot in front of The Dakotas, his home in NYC. I spoke to Dave Sholin for the first time on December 8, 2000, the 20th anniversary of John Lennon's death. It began a friendship that I will always treasure.
It is always my greatest honor to perform John Lennon's Christmas song "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)". It has become an annual tradition to do it at the El Rio jam with the house band Los Train Wreck. This year, I was blessed to perform it with the house band Craig & MacGregor at Audrey Thaler DeChadenedes & Ken Owen's Holiday Party just last week on 12/1/24.
This clip is from my Kimberlye Gold Rock'n'Soul All-Star Holiday Revue at the Empress Theatre on December 21, 2018. That show remains one of the greatest nights of my life, particularly because we closed the 2 hr. night with John Lennon's "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)". It was a dream come true for me to honor John on a big stage with an incredible band like this, for which I am eternally grateful.
John Lennon lives on...Strawberry Fields Forever...
Happy Xmas 2024, blog peeps...LOVELOVELOVE each other!!!