I see people are forwarding this post to their followers, but no one is posting. Maybe, like thenewgreen everyone is too young. So I'll start. Fall 1980 was my first semester as a graduate student at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. I had a radio in my office which I shared with three other grad students. I recall turning on my radio and realizing that it was playing nonstop Beatles and John songs. At one point, the announcer mentioned that John had been shot. What's odd is that I can't remember if it was around midnight that night - I often worked in my office all night finishing papers or marking - or if it was the next morning. I do remember wondering why they were playing all Beatles, hearing the announcement, and feeling so disheartened with the world.
Like you mention, I was too young to remember it significantly. I was just 3.5 years old. But I can remember my parents and others that were in our house gathered around the television set. It may be one of my first memories. When I was a kid I identified immensely with the Beatles music (still do) and in particularly Johns songs. I loved his use of imagery and his ability to use beautiful melodies to convey sadness, longing, love and our collective humanity. There is probably no person outside of my family that has had a greater impact on me. I studied his writing and his personal life religiously as a kid. I've read books, watched documentaries many, many times over. When I graduated from High School I wore a bolo tie with a photo of John Lennon as it's center. The Beatles were "my band", people associated them with me at that age. While other people were listening to bands like Aerosmith, Nirvana and Pearl Jam I was still holding strong with my love of the Beatles. I think people often forget that George Harrison was also nearly murdered. A crazy guy broke in to his home and stabbed him. Martin Scorsese's George Harrison Living in the Material World has an interesting account of it. Anyways, I can't say what I was doing when I found out about Johns death but I can definitely say that his life had an amazing impact on me. I love John, very much.