Yoko Ono

:For the Die Ärzte song, see Yoko Ono (song)

Life After Lennon

1982 saw the release of It's Alright (I See Rainbows), a more positive album as Ono began the healing process following the loss of her husband. The cover featured Ono in her famous wrap-around sunglasses, looking boldly towards the sun, while on the back the ghost of Lennon looks over Ono and Sean. The album has been described as Ono's pop sensibilites and avant-garde influences meeting each other halfway. It scored minor chart success and airplay with the singles "My Man" and "Never Say Goodbye."

Related Topics:
1982 - It's Alright (I See Rainbows) - Sunglasses

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In 1984, a tribute album entitled Every Man Has A Woman was released, featuring Ono classics performed by artists such as Elvis Costello, Roberta Flack, Eddie Money, Roseanne Cash and Harry Nilsson. It was one of Lennon's projects that he never got to finish. Later that year, Ono and Lennon's final album Milk And Honey was released in unfinished demo state.

Related Topics:
Every Man Has A Woman - Elvis Costello - Roberta Flack - Eddie Money - Roseanne Cash - Harry Nilsson - Milk And Honey

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Ono's final album of the 1980s was Starpeace, a concept album glowing with positivity that was intended as an antidote to Ronald Reagan's "Star Wars" missile defense system. On the cover, a warm, smiling Ono holds the Earth in the palm of her hand. Despite almost unanimous critical praise for the album, Starpeace received little commercial attention. The single "Hell in Paradise" was a hit, however, reaching No. 16 on the US dance charts.

Related Topics:
1980s - Starpeace - Concept album - Ronald Reagan - Star Wars

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In 1986 Ono set out on a goodwill world tour for Starpeace, mostly visiting Eastern European countries that she felt were in need of her message of peace. The media were largely unfair in their coverage of the tour, accusing Ono of "ego-tripping" and ridiculing her for underselling venues. In one case, a photo of Ono rehearsing to an empty hall before the show was printed as if nobody had come to the actual concert. A German DJ was also encouraging people to turn up and throw glass bottles at her. Despite the bad press, however, the fans loved the shows, critics unanimously praised her for her performances, and she filled a venue of 15,000 in Budapest.

Related Topics:
Eastern Europe - Peace - German - Budapest

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Ono went on hiatus until signing with Rykodisc in 1992 to release the comprehensive 6-disc box set Onobox. It included remastered highlights from all of Ono's solo albums, as well as unreleased material from the 1974 "lost weekend" sessions. There was also a one-disc "greatest hits" release of highlights from Onobox, simply titled Walking on Thin Ice. In 1994, Yoko produced her own musical entitled New York Rock, featuring Broadway renditions of her songs.

Related Topics:
Rykodisc - 1992 - Onobox - 1974 - Walking on Thin Ice - 1994 - Musical - New York Rock - Broadway

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1995 saw Ono's comeback with the release of Rising, a collaboration with her son Sean Lennon and his band Ima. It received wide critical praise and is often considered one of her best albums. Rising spawned a world tour that traveled through Europe, Japan and the United States. The following year, she collaborated with various alternative rock musicians for an EP entitled Rising Mixes. Guest remixers of Rising material included Cibo Matto, Ween, Tricky, and Thurston Moore.

Related Topics:
Rising - Sean Lennon - Japan - United States - Alternative rock - Rising Mixes - Cibo Matto - Ween - Tricky - Thurston Moore

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In 1997, as public interest was growing in Ono's work, Rykodisc reissued all her solo albums on CD, from Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band through Starpeace. Ono and her engineer John Stevens personally remastered the audio, and various bonus tracks were added including outtakes, demos and live cuts.

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2001 saw the release of the critically successful feminist concept album Blueprint for a Sunrise. Starting in 2002, cutting-edge DJs began remixing other Ono songs for dance clubs. For the remix project, she dropped her first name and became known as simply "ONO", as a response to the "Oh, no!" jokes that dogged her throughout her career. ONO had great success with new versions of "Walking on Thin Ice", remixed by top DJs and dance artists including Pet Shop Boys, Orange Factory, Peter Rauhofer, and Danny Tenaglia. In April 2003 ONO's Walking On Thin Ice (Remixes) was rated No. 1 on Billboard Magazine's "Dance/Club Play Chart", gaining ONO her first number one hit. On the 12" mix of the original 1981 version of "Walking on Thin Ice", Lennon can be heard remarking "I think we've just got your first No.1, Yoko."

Related Topics:
Feminist - Concept album - Blueprint for a Sunrise - 2002 - DJs - Remix - Dance club - Pet Shop Boys - Orange Factory - Peter Rauhofer - Danny Tenaglia - 2003 - Billboard Magazine - 1981

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During her career, Ono has collaborated with a diverse group of artists and musicians including John Cage, David Tudor, George Maciunas, Ornette Coleman, Charlotte Moorman, George Brecht, Jackson Mac Low, Jonas Mekas, Yvonne Rainer, La Monte Young, Richard Maxfield, Zbigniew Rybczy?ski, Yo La Tengo, and Andy Warhol. (In 1987 Ono was one of the speakers at Warhol's funeral.)

Related Topics:
John Cage - David Tudor - George Maciunas - Ornette Coleman - Charlotte Moorman - George Brecht - Jackson Mac Low - Jonas Mekas - Yvonne Rainer - La Monte Young - Richard Maxfield - Zbigniew Rybczy?ski - Yo La Tengo - Andy Warhol - 1987

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