November 12, 2010 - We reported yesterday morning that John Lennon’s last interview, done on December 8, 1980 with Dave Sholin, just hours before his murder, will be featured in a new radio program to air from December 3rd – 10th, entitled “John Lennon: The Final Interview.” (See You tube video at left featuring Part 4 of the original program which aired in 1980.)
We conducted in-depth interviews with Dave Sholin, as well as Laurie Kaye, who was one of the RKO crewmembers that day. Ron Hummel and Bert Keane were also part of that team.
In this article, Dave tells us about the new radio program, how he got the interview with the Lennons, what it was like arriving at the Dakota that day, and how upbeat John was and many of the things they discussed.
Part 2 will discuss the role that the RKO staff may have played in delaying John's murder; the limo ride to take John and Yoko to the Record Plant for their final studio session, John's comments about his relationship with Paul McCartney; and how he got the news of John's death. Part 3 will be our interview with Laurie Kaye, who shares her intense experience upon learning of John's death.)
Part 3 is our interview with Laurie Kaye, scriptwriter who shares her vivid memories of the day, from sitting next to Lennon on the couch at the Dakota, to seeing Yoko at the hospital after the shooting. You won't want to miss it.
Here's Part 1 of the interview:
Lennon Examiner: Dave, tell us about the new radio program you are doing.
Dave Sholin: Yes it’s called “John Lennon: The Final Interview." It will run for a week, beginning December 3rd - the 10th, all over the country in a syndicated broadcast. It's being done to commemorate the 30th anniversary of John's death and will include many things that we didn't have for the first show in 1980.
LE: Many people will remember hearing the first show but it’s been hard to find over the years. It’s never been in print, right? I remember having trouble getting ahold of it. The Playboy Interview by David Sheff, and the Andy Peebles interview from December 6, 1980, are both in print, but not yours. (note: You can now listen to the original 1980 RKO program narrated by Dave Sholin on You Tube in 17 parts, called “John Lennon: The Man, the Memory”.)
DS: Yes, that’s true, it hasn’t been in print. We are looking at a way to change that now, because it really should be, you’re correct. We are working on that.
LE: How will this new show differ from the original one?
DS: This show will have some elements that the first one didn’t have. First of all, the four of us who were there that day, me, Laurie, Bert Keane, and Ron Hummel—all who were involved with David Geffen at Geffen Records--have all gotten together for the first time to talk about our memories of that day, with new perspective that can only be gained from looking back at that time. And secondly, we’ve included new excerpts from the recorded interview with John that hadn’t been previously released. We are very excited to bring this to the public now.
LE: Do you have a listing of stations who are airing it and when?
DS: All the major markets around the US are carrying it between December 3 – 10th. . Some will air it on the weekend before, while some stations will choose to do it on the actual anniversary, the 8th. I will work on getting you a listing of what we have, so people can find it. Also CNN is doing a special on December 4 at 5pm PST, and Fox News is doing one as well.
GETTING THE INTERVIEW WITH THE LENNONS
LE: You mentioned Geffen Records-- I assume that’s how you got the interview with the Lennons? (Double Fantasy, Lennon's last album, was produced by Geffen Records, and this is what Lennon was promoting at the time of his death.)
DS: Yes—I knew David Geffen and we had played golf and different things, so he asked me one day to listen to this song, “Starting Over” and wouldn’t tell me who did the song. He wanted an objective reaction to it. So I listened to it and said “Wow, that’s good!” and he was pleased at my reaction. I could hear the Roy Orbison sound in it, and the Elvis…you know the 50’s stuff.
I said “Who is that?” And when he told me it was John Lennon, I was so surprised. If you remember, at the time, John Lennon had been out of the business for five years! So you wouldn’t have thought of him. So that was really exciting. And he asked me if I would like to get an interview, because RKO had affiliates all over the country. So they were going to do one interview, and then syndicate it out to the other stations. So of course I said yes immediately. He assured me that someone would be contacting me.
Well a couple of months went by, and one day my secretary said “There’s a woman on the phone and she says she’s Yoko Ono!” I laughed and said “Well, it just might be.” So I took the phone, and it was indeed her, and she said “I understand you’re the one who is going to do the interview.” So we looked at the calendar, and Laurie Kaye remembers that Yoko was using astrology to figure out the best days or something. In the end, we decided that December 8th was the best day because it was a Monday and I could fly back to San Francisco the same night and get to the magazine Tuesday morning. They didn’t want to do it over the weekend. So that’s what we decided on.”
DAVE SHOLIN RECALLS ARRIVING AT THE DAKOTA FOR THE INTERVIEW
DS: So we get to the Dakota that day and it was around 12:30 I guess, and we were escorted in with all our gear you know, into the main office, and then we got taken into a really nice plush room where we took off our shoes and the whole bit. There were couches and it was nice.
LE: Was it the room that had all the cabinets in it?
DS: No—actually that was the first room we went into, the office I told you about. The room we did the interview in was beyond that room. And it was funny because Yoko came in first, and she talked to us for several minutes before John came in.
LE: Yes I noticed that on the recording too; that she is there by herself, and there’s no John for over 30 minutes!
DS: Oh wow was it that long? It didn’t seem like that long, we really enjoyed our talk with her, she was very sweet.
LE: Did you worry (laughs) that maybe John wasn’t going to show?
DS: Oh no….no, we didn’t think that at all. Yoko assured us that he was on his way, they had just gotten done with the Annie Liebovitz photo shoot, and that he would be down shortly. But it turned out, when he did come in, he said no one told him that we had started! So that was kind of funny.
LENNON ARRIVES FOR THE INTERVIEW
LE: What was that like when he came in? I mean was that like heart flutters?
DS: Oh man, yeah! Yes it was. But it was good. He put us right at ease. He sat down and he was introduced and he was very engaging. The adrenalin was flowing, but it was good adrenalin.
LE: Listening to the entire recording of the interview, I was particularly struck at how upbeat John was about the future.
DS: Yes he was. He was incredibly positive about the future. And that’s the tragic thing, that he didn’t get to enjoy that future.
LE: I was also struck by the fact that everything he talks about seems as if he knew this was his last message to humanity. It gives me shivers. It's really quite profound. It had a definite impact on me to hear it again.
DS: Shelley it’s interesting that you say that, you’re one of the few people that has noticed that. I agree with you. I think it was.
LE: It’s not so much about the Beatles--it’s about relationships, the country, positive thinking, being a good parent. There is even an element of prophecy there…he talks about people protesting and stuff and says, “show me the plan before we knock all the buildings down.” And I was thinking oh my god, that’s 9/11! And then he says “worrying about Wall St. is not going to do us any good” and mentions “the collapse of the financial markets,” and I’m thinking about 2008! There’s no way he could have known, and yet it seemed he did. This is what stands out for me in your interview. It’s unbelievable. And of course his comment that he hopes it will be a long long time before he’s “dead and buried.”
DS: Yes….yes.
LE: Was it your plan to have the interview go that direction? To talk more about his views on life, than the Beatles, or his past success?
DS: Yes, because that’s what Double Fantasy is all about. John didn’t want to talk about the Beatles anymore--and I knew it. He wanted to talk about Double Fantasy, of course, because that’s what he was promoting, but the message on that album is all about having a son, marriage, and how life was going without the music business. People wanted to know what he’d been doing for five years, you know? He'd been out of the public eye for so long.
(In part 2, read about Dave's most memorable moment with John while giving him a lift to the Record Plant for what will be his final studio session, his memory of seeing John's killer, and how he heard about John's death. Then in Part 3, we talk to Laurie Kaye, who was still in New York when she got the news. Her story is fascinating.)
© 2010 Shelley Germeaux – This article may not be reproduced without permission from the author.
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