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It was 20 years ago today that a drifter named Mark David Chapman unloaded a pistol into the chest of John Lennon, killing not only a musical poet but the dreams of a generation committed to eternal youth. The presidential election of Ronald Reagan signaled a sea change in American culture. And now it was immutable: The Beatles would never reunite.
The Minneapolis band Safety Last, with Slim Dunlap sitting in for guitarist Gary Louris, was to play First Avenue the night after Lennon's death, an unenviable gig for sure. Booker Chrissie Dunlap, Slim's wife, suggested the band simply pay tribute to Lennon and said she should maybe call Curtiss A and ask if he'd sing.
The legendary "Dean of Scream," rock 'n' roll bad boy, could sing a Beatles song like nobody else. But on this night in 1980, Curt and Slim were feuding, not even talking to one another.
"I was going, `I don't know; I don't know,' " said Slim, recalling his trepidation that night. "But I figured that after what had happened Curt could probably also use the company because that was a mighty sad night for people of my age group."
"I walked in, and at the time I was mad at the whole world," Curt said. "And I didn't even want to talk to anyone, much less talk about what had happened. And I just said, `Hey, you guys pick the songs; I'll sing 'em.' We just played the last set, and it wasn't any big deal; it was just poignant."
From that brief, humble expiation of grief in 1980 has grown an annual tribute that fills First Avenue each Dec. 8 with a crowd still emotionally rapt with the Beatles mythology. It is an almost religious experience for some, that recollection of memory through singing, listening, chanting, reuniting - the soundtrack of the age of heightened awareness.
Curtiss A is the reluctant high priest of the Church of John Lennon, the focal point of this celebration that begins its third decade of worship tonight. It has come to define his legacy within the Twin Cities music scene, whether he wants it so or not.
"The Lennon thing has become an institution that is bigger than Curt," said...