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The Last Word
“Woman”
John Lennon & Yoko Ono
1980 — Double Fantasy
December 8, 1980
((( >>> )))
© Bob Gruen (www.bobgruen.com)
John Lennon on a rooftop in New York City, the city where he was murdered, August 29, 1974. Please contact Bob Gruen’s studio to purchase a print or license this photo. email: info@bobgruen.com.
The Last Word*
1980 (The Year Everything Changed)
RETURN TO SPACE
April 12, 1981 — A NEW MISSION
Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-1)
a.lligator music
BOOM BOOM (OUT GO THE LIGHTS)
ZERO FROM OUTER SPACE
GAINESVILLE LIST ( 1.)
GAINESVILLE LIST ( 2.)
ALLIGATOR [PLAYLIST]*
MEMORABLE SHOWS
Goin’ Down to Georgia
Like any other day I drove into the driveway of the house I was renting in the small, unnamed neighborhood, east of town near Main and NE 39th Ave. But I could tell something was “off” this afternoon. My roommates, Bob (Bartolotta) and Dave (Futch), both Alligator writers, were sitting in the curtain-drawn dark, listening to the radio.
As it often did, The Pipeline (cable radio) was playing a new record, in its entirety, uninterrupted, without ads. A musical luxury in a low-rent, college-living arrangement.
As I say, though, this day was different. When I asked what was playing, Dave and Bob were slow to respond, staying in their obviously personal, eyes-closed haze, paying little attention to me or the bong resting on the “coffee” table in front of them.
Then, breaking the silence, Bob, in his soft-spoken way, explained that it was John Lennon’s new album, Double Fantasy, the one he made with his wife, Yoko (Ono). He went on to say that before the DJ started the record, he said he was playing it in memorium to Lennon, who had been assassinated the night before.
December 8, 1980 — Lennon, was recognized as one of the World’s most consequential writers, visual artists, and musicians, and that day playing on the radio in Gainesville, Double Fantasy was to be his LAST WORD.
1980 — The Year Everything Changed.
January 4, 1980 — President Jimmy Carter announces the embargo on sale of grain and advanced (high) technology to the Soviet Union after The Soviets Invade Afghanistan.
January 6 — Indira Gandhi and her Congress Party wins elections in India.
U.S. President Jimmy Carter authorizes legislation to bail out the Chrysler Corporation with a 1.5 billion dollar loan.
January 11 — Debut of The Pretenders’ album Pretenders.
January 16 — Paul McCartney is arrested at Tokyo International Airport for possession of marijuana. He spends nine days in jail before being deported.
January 17 — A Provisional Irish Republican Army bomb detonates prematurely on a passenger train near Belfast, killing three and injuring five, including the bombers.
January 18 — Pink Floyd The Wall #1
January 21 — The British record TV audience for a film is set when some 23,500,000 viewers tune in for the ITV showing of the James Bond film Live and Let Die.
January 22 — Frank Sinatra plays a show to 175,000 in Rio de Janeiro.
January 29 — The Rubik’s Cube makes its international debut at The British Toy and Hobby Fair, Earl’s Court, London.
January 31 — The Spanish Embassy in Guatemala is invaded and set on fire, killing 36 people.
February 1 — Blondie releases “Call Me“ Billboard magazine’s 1980 “Song Of The Year.”
February 2 — Members of Congress are targeted by FBI personnel in a sting operation. (ABSCAM)
February 4 — Following his win of the presidential election on January 25, Abolhassan Banisadr is sworn in as the first president of Iran.
Winter Olympics
February 13, 1980 — The opening ceremonies of the 1980 Winter Olympic Games are held in Lake Placid, New York. One of the most thrilling moments include the Miracle on Ice when a team of U.S. amateur ice hockey players defeated the vaunted Soviet Union professional all-star team in the semi-final game, then won the gold medal over Finland. U.S. speed skater Eric Heiden also concluded one of the most amazing feats in sports history when he won all five speed skating medals from the sprint at 500 meters to the marathon 10,000 meter event.
February 16 — In North Africa and West Asia, a total Solar Eclipse is seen. This is the 50th solar eclipse of Solar Saros 130.
February 14 — West Side Story opens at Minskoff Theater in NYC, and runs 341 performances.
February 19 — AC/DC frontman Bon Scott dies in London, after a heavy night of drinking.
Miracle on Ice
February 22 — In what became known as the “Miracle on Ice,” the U.S. hockey team beats the heavily favored Soviet Union 4-3 at Lake Placid in one of the biggest upsets in Olympic history. America goes on to win the gold medal.
Hostages in Iran
February 23 — It is stated by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini that the parliament of Iran will decide the fate of the American Embassy Hostages.
February 27 — The Dominican Embassy Siege is begun in Columbia by M-19 guerillas, keeping 60 people as hostages, including 14 ambassadors.
March 1 — The Voyager 1 probe confirms the existence of Janus, another Moon of Saturn.
“The Shadow of Lo”
March 3 — Pierre Trudeau is sworn in as the 17th Prime Minister of Canada for the second time.
In West Germany, the Audi Quattro is launched, a four-wheel drive sporting coupe.
March 4 — Robert Mugabe is elected to be the Prime Minister of Zimbabwe.
March 5 — Earth satellites record gamma rays from remnants of SuperNova N-49.
March 8 — First Russian Rock N Roll festival opens.
March 13 — John Wayne Gacy (The Clown) receives a death sentence in Illinois for the murder of 12 people.
March 18 — At the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia, a Vostok-2M rocket explodes on its launch pad in the middle of a fueling operation, killing 50 people.
March 19 — The MV Mi Amigo, The ship that houses Pirate Radio station Radio Caroline, sinks off the coast of England. The radio station would return on board a new ship in 1983.
March 21 — After the Soviet Union invades Afghanistan, U.S. President Jimmy Carter declares that the United States will BOYCOTT THE 1980 SUMMER OLYMPICS.
April 6 — Post-It Notes are first introduced.
April 7 — U.S. President Jimmy Carter severs relations with Iran during the Iranian Hostage Crisis.
April 13 — Grease Closes on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theater, New York City after 3,388 performances.
The U.S. and its allies boycott the Summer Olympics in Moscow in protest against Russia’s invasion of Afghanistan.
Mariel Boat Lift (ALLIGATOR)*
May 6, 1980 — “Los Refugadios”
Tom Petty (“Refugee”)
MARIEL BOAT LIFT (Spanish: éxodo del Mariel) was a mass emigration of Cubans who traveled from Cuba‘s Mariel Harbor to the United States between April 15 and October 31, 1980. The term “Marielito” (plural “Marielitos”) is used to refer to these refugees in both Spanish and English. While the exodus was triggered by a sharp downturn in the Cuban economy, it followed on the heels of generations of Cubans who had immigrated to the United States in the preceding decades. (FIDEL CASTRO‘S PURGING OF PRISONS) After 10,000 Cubans tried to gain asylum by taking refuge on the grounds of the Peruvian embassy, the Cuban government announced that anyone who wanted to leave could do so. The ensuing mass migration was organized by Cuban Americans, with the agreement of Cuban President Fidel Castro. The arrival of the refugees in the United States created political problems for U.S. President Jimmy Carter. The Carter administration struggled to develop a consistent response to the immigrants.
The Mariel boatlift was ended by mutual agreement between the two governments in late October 1980. By then, as many as 125,266 Cubans had reached Florida. (APRIL 2000 ELIAN GONZALEZ)
Jimmy Carter’s Doom
April 24-25, 1980 — Doom In The Desert: The attempt to rescue the American hostages held captive in the U.S. Embassy in Iran fails with eight Americans killed and five wounded in Operation Eagle Claw when a mid-air collision occurs.
April 24 — Six men rig the Pennsylvania Lottery, including the host of the live TV drawing Nick Perry, in what becomes known as the Pennsylvania Lottery Scandal.
May 1 — An article written by journalist Dan Rottenberg in Chicago, “About that Urban Resistance…,” contains the first recorded use of the word “yuppie.”
May 2 — Pink Floyd (“Another Brick In The Wall”) is Banned In South Africa. “Teacher Leave Us Kids Alone.”
May 9 — Sunshine Skyway Bridge
Friday the 13th is released
Miami Burning (ALLIGATOR)*
May 17 — After a court in Tampa, acquits four white police officers of killing black insurance executive Arthur McDuffie, Three Days of Race Riots Erupted In Miami.
May 18 — Volcanic Eruption
Van Halen
Mt. St. Helens erupts in Washington State, killing fifty-seven people and devastating the local economy, costing it near $3 billion. The blast was estimated to have the power five hundred times greater than the Hiroshima atomic bomb.
May 21 — Star Wars Episode V
The Empire Strikes Back produced by George Lucas opens in the UK and North America.
May 22 — The Pac-Man video game is released in Japan, later becoming the best-selling arcade game of all time.
May 23 — The Shining based on Stephen King’s book is released. (CINEMA-DRAFT HOUSE)
May 24 — The International Court of Justice calls for U.S. Embassy (IRANIAN) HOSTAGES to be released in Tehran.
May 29 — In the first major news story for CNN, Vernon Jordan is shot and badly injured in an assassination attempt by Joseph Paul Franklin which took place in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
June 1 — CNN sends its first transmission, making it the first 24-hour news channel.
June 3 — U.S. President Jimmy Carter wins enough delegates for renomination.
June 10 — In South Africa, the African National Congress publishes a statement written by their imprisoned leader, Nelson Mandela.
United Airlines president Percy Wood is injured by a Unabomber bomb in Lake Forest, Illinois.
June 11 — The UEFA Euro (Soccer Competition) 1980 begins, hosted by Italy. West Germany would go on to win.
June 13 — UN Security Council calls for South Africa to Free Nelson Mandela from prison.
June 23 — Heat waves begin in the United States
June 27 — After the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan, U.S. President Jimmy Carter signs proclamation 4771, which requires men between 18 and 25 to register for a Peacetime Military Draft.
Wimbledon (Fire & Ice)
July 5 — Four-time defending champion Björn Borg successfully defended his title, defeating John McEnroe 1–6, 7–5, 6–3, 6–7, 8–6 to win the gentlemen’s singles tennis title at the 1980 Wimbledon Championships. It was his fifth consecutive singles title at the Wimbledon Championships. The final has often been called one of the greatest and most exciting matches of all time.
• Borg–McEnroe rivalry. A dramatic depiction of the final featured as the conclusion to the 2017 movie Borg vs McEnroe.
July 17 — At the 1980 Republican National Convention in Detroit, Ronald Reagan formally accepts Republican nomination for U.S. President. Moderate republicans are also dismayed when the convention drops its long-standing support for the Equal Rights Amendment after being influenced by the Religious Right.
July 18 — India becomes the 7th nation to launch satellites using its own rocket when the Rohini RS-1 satellite is launched by India’s SLV rocket. July 25 — Australian band AC/DC release their album Back in Black.
July 31 — China’s population hits one billion people.
August 4 — In Haiti, Hurricane Allen hits the area, killing 220 people.
August 7 — Strikes begin at the Gdańsk Shipyard in the Polish People’s Republic, led by Lech Wałęsa.
August 10 — In the Pacific Ocean, an annular solar eclipse was visible and it’s the 37th solar eclipse of Solar Saros 135.
August 14 — At the 1980 Democratic National Convention in New York City, Senator Edward Kennedy is defeated by President Jimmy Carter to win Carter his renomination. Editorial cartoon. Jimmy Carter with scuba gear, riding in the backseat of a taxi cab, driven by Ted Kennedy.
Playboy Playmate of the Year, Dorothy Stratten, is killed by her husband Paul Leslie Snider, who goes on to kill himself.
Sept. 22 — Iran-Iraq War Begins with the command council of Iraq ordering its army to “deliver its fatal blow on Iranian military targets.”
Sept. 23 — Bob Marley’s Last Show at Stanley Theater, Pittsburgh.
Sept. 28 — Janet Cooke’s story about eight-year-old heroin addict Jimmy is published in The Washington Post, but it’s later proven to be fabricated.
Oct. 1 — It is announced by Associated Newspapers in London that The Evening Standard will close and subsequently merge with the Evening Standard.
Oct. 3 — The Police, release Zenyattà Mondatta, their third studio album.
Oct. 9 — Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera premieres on London’s West End.
October 10, 1980 — President Carter signs legislation establishing Boston African American National Historic Site, which includes the oldest black church in America and other historic sites of the Black Heritage Trail in Boston, Massachusetts.
October 10 — Prime Minister of Britain, Margaret Thatcher, gives her famous ‘The lady’s not for turning’ speech.
October 20 — Greece joins the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
October 21 — National League Philadelphia Phillies win the World Series, beating American League Kansas City Royals 4-1 in Game 6.
October 21 — Mikhail Gorbachev is elected member of the Politburo.
October 24 — The Polish government legalizes independent labor union Solidarity.
JUST SAY OH NO!
November 4, 1980 — Ronald Reagan, the former Republican governor of California, beats President Jimmy Carter and independent candidate John B. Anderson, also a Republican, in a landslide victory, ousting the incumbent from office. The victory in the Electoral College, 489 to 49, as well as an 8 million vote margin in the popular vote over Carter, ensured a mandate for the new president
November 10 — Voyager I, the NASA space probe, makes its closest approach to Saturn when it flies within 77,000 miles (124,000 km) of the planet’s cloud-tops and sends the first high resolution images back to scientists on Earth.
November 21 — For an entertainment program, a record number of viewers by this date turn on to watch the U.S. television show Dallas to discover who shot the lead character, J. R. Ewing. The event “Who shot J.R.?” was an international obsession.
December 2 — Jean Donovan, a missionary, and three Roman Catholic nuns named Maura Clarke, Ita Ford and Dorothy Kazel are all killed by a military death squad in El Salvador. The women were all American and were doing charity work during El Salvador’s civil war. Oliver Stone 1986 movie, Salvador.
December 4 — Led Zeppelin Ends Two months after the death of drummer John Bonham, the remaining members chose to disband. [BILL HICKS]
Led Zeppelin (1979)
Unlike earlier Led Zeppelin albums, In Through the Out Door was mostly composed by John Paul Jones and Robert Plant, because Jimmy Page and John Bonham so often missed recording sessions due to their respective heroin and alcohol abuse. It was the band’s last release before the death of Bonham in September 1980, three months after which the remaining members disbanded.
John Lennon Assassinated
December 8 — Photographer Annie Leibovitz has a photoshoot with John Lennon. She is the last person to professionally photograph him before he is murdered on the same day. He is shot and killed by Mark David Chapman in front of The Dakota apartment building in New York City.
December 12 — Apple’s First Bite
Apple makes its first initial public offering on the U.S. stock market. Twenty eight years later, it would become the first U.S. company valued at over $1 trillion.
December 14 — Thousands of music fans hold a 10-minute vigil in Liverpool for John Lennon.
The Last Word*
1980 (The Year Everything Changed)
RETURN TO SPACE
April 12, 1981 — A NEW MISSION
Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-1)
a.lligator music
BOOM BOOM (OUT GO THE LIGHTS)
ZERO FROM OUTER SPACE
GAINESVILLE LIST ( 1.)
GAINESVILLE LIST ( 2.)
ALLIGATOR [PLAYLIST]*
MEMORABLE SHOWS
Goin’ Down to Georgia
NBC
REMINISCING THE DECADE THAT WAS [1970s]
1970s QUIZ (RAW)
100 THINGS TO DO IN GAINESVILLE (1978)
101 THINGS WE’LL MISS AFTER GRADUATION (1979)
100 THINGS TO DO IN GAINESVILLE (1982)
—30—
THE TROUBLE WITH OIL
BOMB IRAN (DOWNTOWN CONFRONTATION)
REAGAN LANDSLIDE
REAGAN SHOT
NO NUKES (WASHINGTON D.C. AND NEW YORK CITY)
REMINISCING THE DECADE THAT WAS THE 1970
1970s QUIZ (RAW)
100 THINGS TO DO IN GAINESVILLE (1978)
101 THINGS WE’LL MISS AFTER GRADUATION (1979)
100 THINGS TO DO IN GAINESVILLE (1982)
AT THE MOVIES
ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975)
ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN (1976)
STAR WARS (1977)
SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER (1977)
THE LAST WALTZ (1978)
ANIMAL HOUSE (1978)
FM (1978)
APOCALYPSE NOW (1979)
Apocalypse Now (Soundtrack)
January 20, 1981 — The Inauguration of Ronald Reagan as the 40th president of the United States in Washington, D.C. It was followed by the release of the fifty-two Americans still held hostage in Tehran. The Iranian hostage crisis, which lasted four hundred and forty-four days, was negotiated for the return of $8 billion in frozen Iranian assets.
March 30, 1981 — President Ronald Reagan withstands an assassination attempt, shot in the chest while walking to his limousine in Washington, D.C.
April 12, 1981 — The first launch of the Space Shuttle from Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center occurs as Columbia begins its STS-1 mission. The Space Shuttle is the first reusable spacecraft to be flown into orbit, and it returned to earth for a traditional touch down landing two days later.
July 29, 1981 — Tax cut legislation proposed by President Ronald Reagan, the largest in history, is passed by both houses of the U.S. Congress. It would reduce taxes by $750 billion over the next five years.
August 12, 1981 — IBM introduces the IBM-PC personal computer, the IBM 5150. It was designed by twelve engineers and designers under Don Estridge of the IBM Entry Systems Division. It sold for $1,565 in 1981.
Sept. 21, 1981 — Sandra Day O’Connor is approved unanimously, 99-0, by the United States Senate to become the first female Supreme Court associate justice in history.
“Ball of Confusion”
•1968 (ASSASSINATION, VOODOO, WAR)
•1969 (LURE OF THE MOON)
•1970 (VIETNAM JUNGLE FUNK)
•1971 (ALLIGATOR INSURGENCY)
•1972 (SEX DRUGS ROCK N ROLL)
•1973 (ALLIGATOR INDEPENDENCE DAY)
•1974 (NIXON, WATERGATE, IMPEACHMENT)
•1975 (NO MORE WAR)
•1976 (PATRIOTIC DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN)
•1977 (AFTER MIDNIGHT)
•1978 (MIDNIGHT, MICANOPY, MADNESS, FEVER)
•1979 (WELCOME TO GAINESVILLE)
•1980 (INNOVATION, DISASTER, AND MURDER)
•1981 (JUST SAY GO TO MTV, AND NASA’S RETURN TO SPACE)
•1982 (JUST SAY NO TO EVERTHING)
•1983 (GOING BACK TO NEW YORK)
O’CONNELL (UNEXPECTED RESIGNATION)
STEPHEN C. O’CONNELL (WHO WAS HE?)
IMPEACHED AND DEFIANT (NIXON WON’T LEAVE)
NAUGHTY OR NICE (WATERGATE CHRISTMAS)
1973: A YEAR LIKE NO OTHER (TO REMEMBER OR MOURN?)
THE GAINESVILLE 8 (HOMEGROWN MILITANTS)
STORM IS RISING (THE END IS NEAR)
NIXON BURNING (PROTEST SCREAMING)
SAY GOODBYE DICK (RESIGNATION FINALLY)
1970 — Friendly Fire
• Kent State (Vietnam Goes to College)
1971 — Insurrection Day
• Apollo 14 / Moon Tree
1972 — Gainesville Rising
• Gainesville Rising
• GAINESVILLE SCREAMING
• George Wallace (Let’s Not Stay Together)
1973 — Independence Day
• O’Connell Resigns
• Who was Stephen C. O’Connell?
• Nixon Won’t Leave
• Naughty or Nice (Watergate Christmas List)
• A Year to Remember and Mourn
1974 — GoodBye Dick
• Homecoming 1974 Mix
• The Gainesville 8
• Storm Is Rising
• Nixon No More
• Nixon Resigns
1975 — Living in Sin
1976 —
1977 —
1978 —
1979 — Looking Back Before Forward
1980 — Miracles, Miami, and Murder
1981 — MTV and a Return to Space
1982 — Saturday In The Park (NYC)
• Shelter from the Nuclear Storm (DC)
1983 —
Born In The USA
Bruce Springsteen
1984 — Born In The USA
Movie
((( Patriotic Who? )))
NBC
Bruce Springsteen Born in the U.S.A. (Cover)
Andrea Klein (Design)
Annie Leibovitz (Photograph)
Not understanding Bruce Springsteen’s “Born In The USA,” Ronald Reagan used it at campaign rallies, until Springsteen took offense, and took legal action to keep the song from the nuclear bomb-loving Republican.