On December 8, 1980, the New England Patriots-Miami Dolphins game was winding down, the end of another Monday Night Football game. Then, Howard Cosell, America’s legendary sportscaster, broke the news to unsuspecting viewers: “An unspeakable tragedy confirmed to us by ABC News in New York City: John Lennon, outside of his apartment building on the West Side of New York City, the most famous, perhaps, of all of The Beatles, shot twice in the back, rushed to Roosevelt Hospital, dead on arrival.” Soon enough, more formal news reports followed on the BBC and ABC’s Nightline, and you can still hear what New Yorkers heard on the radio the night the music died. Howard Cosell interviewed John Lennon on Monday Night Football back in 1974. Revisit the short conversation right here.
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