Yoko Ono

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

Life With Lennon

Ono is perhaps best known for marrying The Beatles' John Lennon. They first met when Lennon visited a preview of an exhibition of Ono's in London in 1966. He was taken with the attitude and interactivity of her work, such as a ladder leading up to the word "Yes" written on the ceiling, an instruction to hammer a nail into a panel of wood, and a decomposing apple. They began an affair two years later, eventually resulting in Lennon divorcing his first wife, Cynthia. They married on March 20, 1969 on the Rock of Gibraltar. Their son, Sean, was born on Lennon's 35th birthday, on October 9, 1975.

Related Topics:
The Beatles - John Lennon - London - 1966 - Interactivity - Ladder - Decomposing - Apple - Affair - March 20 - 1969 - Rock of Gibraltar - Sean - October 9 - 1975

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Lennon referred to Ono in many of his songs. While still a Beatle he wrote "The Ballad of John and Yoko," and also implicitly mentions her in "Julia," a song dedicated to his mother, with the lyrics: "Ocean child calls me, so I sing a song of love" (The kanji ?? ("Yoko") mean "ocean child.") Other Lennon songs about Ono include: "Oh Yoko!," and "Dear Yoko."

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Ono and Lennon collaborated on many albums, beginning in 1968 when Lennon was still a Beatle, with , an album of experimental and difficult electronic music. That same year, the couple contributed an experimental piece to The White Album called "Revolution No. 9," which is to this day a love/hate phenomenon among fans. Many of the couple's later albums were released under the name the Plastic Ono Band.

Related Topics:
1968 - Electronic music - The White Album - Revolution No. 9 - Plastic Ono Band

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In 1969, the Plastic Ono Band's first album, Live Peace In Toronto, was recorded during the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival Festival. In addition to Lennon and Ono, this first incarnation of the group consisted of guitarist Eric Clapton, bass player Klaus Voorman, and drummer Alan White. The first half of their performance consisted of rock standards, but during the second half, Ono took the microphone and along with the band performed what may be one of the first expressions of the avant garde during a rock concert. The set ended with music that consisted mainly of feedback, while Ono screamed and sang.

Related Topics:
1969 - Live Peace In Toronto - Eric Clapton - Klaus Voorman - Alan White - Avant garde - Feedback

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Ono released her first solo album, Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band in 1970, as a companion piece to Lennon's better-known John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band. The two albums have almost identical covers, and both explore primal scream vocalizations. However, while Lennon's utilized mostly conventional songwriting, Ono's was an all-out screaming assault on the ears - an album including raw and quite harsh vocals that were possibly influenced by Japanese opera. Perhaps, the most (in)famous song on Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band is "Why", which features Ono screaming the word "Why" for five minutes. Some critics were receptive of the work, however, declaring her voice "the most interesting instrument since the Moog". It peaked at no. 183 (this may be because people mistook it for Lennon's release).

Related Topics:
Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band - 1970 - Primal scream - Opera - Moog

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1971 saw the follow-up release, Fly - a double album, which included a poster and a postcard to order Ono's book, Grapefruit. On this release Ono explored slightly more conventional punk rock with tracks like "Midsummer New York" and "Mind Train." She also received minor airplay with the ballad "Mrs. Lennon". Perhaps the most famous track from the album is "Don't Worry, Kyoko (Mummy's Only Looking For Her Hand In The Snow)", an ode to Ono's kidnapped daughter. Ono later released two feminist rock albums— 1972's Approximately Infinite Universe and 1973's Feeling The Space—which received little attention. Today, they are recognized with much critical respect, particularly for tracks such as "Move on Fast," "Yang Yang" and "Death of Samantha."

Related Topics:
Fly - Poster - Postcard - Punk rock - Ballad - Feminist - 1972 - 1973

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Ono is often accused by Beatles fans of breaking up the band (although many other Beatles fans argue that she did not); to this day, women who have (intentionally or not) come between high-profile musicians and their bandmates are compared to Ono, Nancy Spungen and Courtney Love being just two examples. In a 2003 interview with Jay Leno, Ono described the disappointment she felt by the breakup of the Beatles and how it affected the lifestyle that she was used to.

Related Topics:
Fans - Breaking up the band - Nancy Spungen - Courtney Love - 2003 - Jay Leno

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There are Lennon fans who, in addition, blame Ono for the experimental phase (considered difficult and bizarre) that Lennon explored in his work immediately before the Beatles' breakup. On the other hand, many fans consider—as Lennon consistently attested—that Ono had a profound and beneficial influence on his body of work.

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Ono is also sometimes blamed for Lennon's heroin addiction in the early 1970s, as she is widely believed to have introduced him to the drug. Both suffered from addiction on and off for a few years.

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From the early 1970s until Lennon's public seclusion upon Sean's birth in 1975, Lennon and Ono produced less music as they became increasingly engaged in political activism (which possibly was a cause of Lennon's troubles with U.S. Immigration).

Related Topics:
1975 - Political activism - U.S. Immigration

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When Lennon and Ono separated in 1973, Ono "selected" their secretary May Pang to be Lennon's lover while they were apart. Lennon and Pang were together until 1975, when he and Ono reconciled. In 2003 Ono courted controversy by editing herself into the video of the classic song "#9 Dream" for the "Lennon Legend: The Very Best of John Lennon" DVD set. There you will find her mouthing the backup vocals that were sung by May Pang. Pang claimed, "She is trying to erase everyone who had anything to do with John with her alone. I am definitely upset at her misleading everyone into thinking she is on '#9 Dream.' She had nothing to do with this particular album and it was John's only No.1 album and No. 1 single during his lifetime. Boy, do I understand how Paul feels."

Related Topics:
May Pang - Controversy - Backup vocals

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(However, some fans argue that Ono's inclusion there is called for. The backup vocals are sung immediately after Lennon sings "two spirits dancing, so strange", and at the time Lennon was both in love with Ono and living with May Pang, the two women in his life, hence "two spirits".)

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