John Lennon with Dennis Elsas, 1974

Dennis Elsas's 50th anniversary John Lennon special aired on Friday, September 27. Listen back on demand via the player.

Without question my most memorable interview and on-air experience to date was on September 28, 1974, a Saturday afternoon I spent with John Lennon.

I had met him just a few weeks before at the Record Plant recording studio, and casually asked him if he’d like to come up to the station to talk about his forthcoming album, Walls and Bridges. I doubted anything would come of it, since none of the Beatles had ever visited our station before. When he showed up eager to talk, bringing with him some obscure 45s he wanted to share with the audience, I didn’t know what to expect.

What began as an opportunity to promote the new album turned into two hours of rare Beatles stories, insights into his immigration struggles, and John as the DJ, introducing and commenting on all the music, commercials and weather.

You'll hear John as the DJ, John discussing his former bandmates and speculating on the possibility of a Beatles reunion, John sharing some of the secrets behind the songs, and John just being John. Enjoy lots of great music and rare features, including John’s introduction and explanation of "I Am the Walrus" and the secret of “Number Nine, Number Nine, Number Nine.”

Highlights from the interview can be heard in The Beatles Anthology, Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years, and John Lennon’s Jukebox, and are featured prominently in the award-winning PBS American Masters film, LENNONYC. The complete show is part of the permanent collection of the Paley Center For Media (formerly the Museum of Television and Radio), and the full interview transcript appears in the book Lennon on Lennon. Peter Ascher has said that this "legendary interview" with John Lennon is "widely considered the best ever conducted."

You can hear my favorite moments anytime in my personal archives at denniselsas.com.