Friday marks the 43rd anniversary of John Lennon’s death, and a hospital worker is revealing the song that was playing when doctors called his death.
The former Beatle died Dec. 8, 1980, after he was gunned down outside his New York City apartment building by Mark David Chapman, a few hours after he had autographed Chapman’s copy of “Double Fantasy.”
A new Apple TV+ documentary series, “John Lennon: Murder Without a Trial,” documents the killing and what happened after the rock legend was rushed to Mount Sinai West, which was known as Roosevelt Hospital at the time.
In a strange coincidence, the singer’s musical catalog followed him into death, according to emergency room nurse Deartra Soto.
“When [doctors] called [the time of death], and it was over, and we walked out of that room, the Muzak was playing ‘Imagine,’” she said in the series.
Her co-worker, nurse Barbara Kammerer, said the song selection didn’t go unnoticed in the ER.
“That was everybody’s ‘Oh shit’ moment,” she said.
Hospital workers spent 45 minutes trying to find “some flicker of life” before announcing Lennon’s death.
“You could’ve heard a pin drop,” Kammerer said about that moment. “You still want to do more, but now you know you stop and there’s nothing to say really, unfortunately. It’s just very, very quiet.”
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