Imagine John Yoko

by John Lennon, Yoko Ono

Overview

Personally compiled and curated by Yoko Ono, Imagine John Yoko is the definitive inside story-told in revelatory detail-of the making of the legendary album and all that surrounded it: the locations, the creative team, the artworks and the films, in the words of John & Yoko and the people who were there.

Features 80% exclusive, hitherto-unpublished archive photos and footage sequences of all the key players in situ, together with lyric sheets, Yoko's art installations, and exclusive new insights and personal testimonies from Yoko and over forty of the musicians, engineers, staff, celebrities, artists and photographers who were there-including Julian Lennon, Klaus Voormann, Alan White, Jim Keltner, David Bailey, Dick Cavett and Sir Michael Parkinson.

"A lot has been written about the creation of the song, the album and the film of Imagine, mainly by people who weren't there, so I'm very pleased and grateful that now, for the first time, so many of the participants have kindly given their time to 'gimme some truth' in their own words and pictures" - Yoko Ono Lennon, 2018

In 1971, John Lennon & Yoko Ono conceived and recorded the critically acclaimed album Imagine at their Georgian country home, Tittenhurst Park, in Berkshire, England, in the state-of-the-art studio they built in the grounds, and at the Record Plant in New York. The lyrics of the title track were inspired by Yoko Ono's "event scores" in her 1964 book Grapefruit, and she was officially co-credited as writer in June 2017.

Imagine John Yoko tells the story of John & Yoko's life, work and relationship during this intensely creative period. It transports readers to home and working environments showcasing Yoko's closely guarded archive of photos and artifacts, using artfully compiled narrative film stills, and featuring digitally rendered maps, floorplans and panoramas that recreate the interiors in evocative detail. John & Yoko introduce each chapter and song; Yoko also provides invaluable additional commentary and a preface.


All the minutiae is examined: the locations, the key players, the music and lyrics, the production techniques and the artworks-including the creative process behind the double exposure polaroids used on the album cover.


With a message as universal and pertinent today as it was when the album was created, this landmark publication is a fitting tribute to John & Yoko and their place in cultural history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780594076230
Publisher:	Grand Central Publishing
Publication date:	10/09/2018
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	388,811
Product dimensions:	9.50(w) x 12.20(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Yoko Ono is a globally renowned multimedia artist, singer, songwriter and activist. She married John Lennon in 1969 and became his creative partner and muse. She continues to work to preserve his legacy, funding, among other projects, Strawberry Fields in Manhattan's Central Park, the IMAGINE PEACE TOWER in Iceland and the "Imagine There's No Hunger" campaign.

John Lennon was born in Liverpool in 1940. A singer, songwriter, and musician, he was one of the cofounders of The Beatles. He died in 1980.

Editorial Reviews

★ 11/12/2018
Drawing on conversations with the photographers, musicians, and producers involved in the making of Lennon and Ono’s album Imagine in 1971, Ono (Memories of John Lennon) provides this beautifully illustrated chronicle with exclusive, never-before-seen photographs and artwork. The book follows the album song by song, providing rich details and intimate images not only of the recording process for each song, but also of Lennon and Ono’s evolving relationship. Of the title track, Lennon remarks that “the song was conceived in my head without melody; the first verse came very quickly in form of a childlike street chant.” An image of the lyrics Lennon jotted on stationery from the New York Hilton is reproduced on the page opposite the song’s lyrics. Ono includes a wonderful spread of the musicians who played on the album, including Nicky Hopkins on piano, Ted Turner on acoustic guitar, and Jim Keltner on drums. In discussing the song “Gimme Some Truth,” Lennon urges people to register to vote. Ono concludes with the message to “keep IMAGINE PEACE in your head; a dream you dream alone is only a dream; a dream you dream together is reality.” This lavishly illustrated chronicle offers an intimate and endearing portrait of this classic album. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

05/01/2018
With archive photos, artifacts, and outtake film footage, this book re-creates the intensely productive period when Lennon and Ono conceived and recorded the earth-shattering album Imagine.

Library Journal