Why George Harrison Decided to Record Music the Same Day John Lennon Was Killed

All of The Beatles processed John Lennon’s death in different ways. Paul McCartney had a tough time discussing it and initially called it a “drag,” while Ringo Starr left his trip in the Bahamas to fly to New York to be with Yoko Ono. The news crushed George Harrison, but instead of grieving in silence, the former Beatledecided to record music.

John Lennon was fatally shot outside his New York City apartment on Dec. 8, 1980. The news stunned the world as many networks and broadcasts stopped what they were doing to announce his death. Harrison was set to record music for his upcoming album, Somewhere in England.

When he heard the news, many believed he would postpone the session to another day. However, drummer Dave Mattacks said Harrison wanted to go through with the session as recording a song would be “therapeutic.”

“Ray [Cooper] called on the morning of the sessions and said, ‘I’m not sure whether it’s going to happen,’” Mattacks told Uncut magazine. “I asked why. ‘Have you not heard? John Lennon has been shot.’ There was a two- or three-hour gap when nothing happened, then Ray called back and the conversation was something along the lines of, ‘I’ve spoken to George, and he thinks that trying to make music would be more therapeutic than him sitting around and being besieged by press and God knows what else.’ So the session went ahead.”

Source: Ross Tanenbaum/cheatsheet.com

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