On December 8, 1980, twenty-something rock journalist Laurie Kaye entered the legendary Dakota apartments in New York to interview her longtime idol John Lennon. It was the last interview Lennon would ever give-- just hours later, outside that same building, Lennon was shot dead by a twenty-five-year-old man (Kaye refuses to name him) whom Kaye herself had encountered after finishing the interview and stepping outside. Kaye has beaten herself up ever since over her failure to recognize that the assassin posed a danger and should have been reported. Here Kaye recounts not just her unfortunate brush with history, but also her turbulent early years growing up in LA and her fascinating, star-packed journey from radio intern to acclaimed writer/producer. Plus interviews with such titans of the music industry as Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Talking Heads, the Ramones, David Bowie, and Mick Jagger.
Rock reporter Laurie Kaye interviewed John Lennon just hours before he was murdered n 1980 outside New York's famous Dakota apartments and even ran into assassin Mark David Chapman (whom she refuses to cite by name) on the street outside, and here she recounts the story of that fateful night, the centerpiece of this memoir about the life of a SoCal girl with a troubled childhood who got to live out her dream by interviewing many of the most famous rock stars of the time. Name dropping? Well, they say it ain't bragging if you really did it and Laurie Kaye has really done it. These stories about so many culturally important people are exciting and illuminating. I read this book with pleasure and amazement. I know that you will dig it, too! Chris Frantz - Drummer/co-founder Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club; author of Remain in Love On December 8, 1980, twenty-something rock journalist Laurie Kaye entered the legendary Dakota apartments on Manhattan's Upper West Side to co-conduct an interview with her longtime idol, John Lennon. It was the last interview Lennon would ever give--just hours later, outside that same building, Lennon was shot dead by a twenty-five-year-old man (whom Kaye refuses to refer to by name) whom Kaye herself had encountered after finishing the interview and stepping outside onto the street. Kaye has beaten herself up ever since over her failure to recognize that the assassin--who blocked her path and harassed her with questions like "Did you talk to him?" "Did you get his autograph?"--posed a danger and should have been reported. Now, as we approac