Paul McCartney Reflects on Media Twisting His Words Following Death of Ex-Bandmate
On the morning of December 9, 1980, Paul McCartney received the devastating news of the death of John Lennon hours earlier at New York City’s Roosevelt Hospital. The ex-Beatle had been shot and killed just outside of his apartment in The Dakota just before 11 pm the previous evening. And while the global impact of Lennon’s death was immense, it paled in comparison to the painful shockwaves it sent through his closest associates, relatives, and friends.
Because many of those associates, relatives, and friends were just as famous as Lennon, the press flocked to the musician’s survivors to hear comments on how they were processing the violent tragedy. Years later, McCartney reflected on how the media twisted his shell-shocked reaction in the days and weeks that followed.
The Beatles’ sheer gravitas and celebrity make it easier to forget that they were normal people, albeit famous ones, too. To receive a call about the death of your best friend, particularly one with whom you were not on good terms at the time, would be life-shattering for anyone. For a musical icon like Paul McCartney, it certainly was life-shattering. It was also glaringly, uncomfortably public.
Speaking about the experience years later in a television interview, McCartney said, “I was probably more shattered than most people when John died. And I had plenty of personal grief. But I’m not very good at public grief. So, someone thrust a microphone into my face on the day it happened and said, ‘What’s your comment?’”
Source: americansongwriter.com/Melanie Davis
