December 14, 1980: John Lennon Vigil At the KDF Radio Station on Second Avenue in Nashville TN (just days after the death of Beatle John Lennon)

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The Piggies playing Beatle songs on the roof of the 103- KDF Radio Station Roofttop

Picture by Nick Archer

A large crowd showed up for this event, part of a worldwide Vigil on December 14, 1980

Picture by Nick Archer

My 103/KDF Remembers John Lennon T-shirt that I purchased at the Vigil (Pat Adams)

It has a Black John Lennon Arm Band (shown at bottom) on one of the sleeves.

 On December 8, 1980, Chapman left his room at the Sheraton Hotel, leaving personal items behind the police would later find. He bought a copy of The Catcher in the Rye in which he wrote "This is my statement", signing it "Holden Caulfield." He then spent most of the day near the entrance to the Dakota apartment building where Lennon lived, talking to fans and the doorman. Early in the morning, a distracted Chapman missed seeing Lennon step out of a cab and enter the Dakota. Later in the morning, he met Lennon's housekeeper who was returning from a walk with their five-year-old son Sean. Chapman reached in front of the housekeeper to shake Sean's hand and said he was a beautiful boy, quoting Lennon's song "Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)".  Around 5:00 p.m., Lennon and Ono left the Dakota for a recording session at Record Plant Studios. As they walked toward their limousine, Chapman shook hands with Lennon and asked for him to sign a copy of his album, Double Fantasy.Amateur photographer Paul Goresh took a photo of Lennon signing Chapman's album. In a later interview, Chapman said he tried to get Goresh to stay and he asked another Lennon fan who was lingering at the building's entrance to go out with him that night. He suggested if the girl had accepted his invitation or Goresh had stayed, he would not have murdered Lennon that evening, but he probably would have tried another day.  Around 10:50 p.m., Lennon and Ono returned to the Dakota in a limousine. They got out of the vehicle, passed Chapman and walked toward the archway entrance of the building. From the street behind them, Chapman fired five hollow-point bullets from a .38 special revolver, four of which hit Lennon in the back and shoulder, puncturing his left lung and left subclavian artery. At the time, one newspaper reported before Chapman fired, he softly called out "Mr. Lennon" and dropped into a combat stance. Chapman said he does not recall saying anything and Lennon did not turn around.  

Chapman remained at the scene and appeared to be reading The Catcher in the Rye when the NYPD officers arrived and arrested him without incident. The first responders recognized Lennon's wounds were severe and decided not to wait for an ambulance. They rushed the mortally wounded musician to Roosevelt Hospital in a squad car, but nothing could be done to save him. Lennon was pronounced dead by Dr. Stephan Lynn at 11:07 p.m. In his statement to police three hours later, Chapman stated, "I'm sure the big part of me is Holden Caulfield, who is the main person in the book. The small part of me must be the Devil. 

 AN UNPREPOSSESSING LONER and college dropout, Mark David Chapman had reached the end of the line by the time he went to New York with a pistol in December 1980. He had suffered a nervous breakdown, and had also tried to take his own life three years earlier. In Chapman's distorted view of the world now, someone would have to perish for his own existence to be meaningful. And tragically, that someone was former-Beatle John Lennon. The multitalented singer-songwriter had witnessed a steady increase in his personal and artistic fortunes as the year drew to a close, and was returning home to New York's Dakota Building from the studio on the night of 8th December 1980. He was accompanied by his wife, Yoko Ono, and as the couple approached the entrance of their residence, Chapman appeared and blasted away at the star. Lennon was taken quickly to Roosevelt Hospital, but was pronounced dead on arrival. Chapman stayed at the crime scene poring over a copy of Catcher in the Rye. Fans celebrated Lennon with a candlelit vigil held outside the Dakota Building that night. The tragedy was a grief-laden occasion, a moment when people all over the globe mourned the passing of one of music's most noble sons, a trailblazer who had charmed millions. Chapman pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to life.