 John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono speak at a press conference, March 2, 1973, in New York. (AP Photo) |
The US’s National Music Publishers Association organized an event in New York City last week to honor Imagine as a masterpiece, an outstanding song about peace, and presented the song with the century award. The Association also made a surprise announcement that Ono would officially receive credit as a co-writer of “Imagine.”
John Lennon himself said in a 1980 video clip that some of the ideas of “Imagine” came from Ono’s book “Grapefruit,” and that not including her as a writer was “selfish” on his part because she was his wife. The co-writer credit is a great gift for Yoko though it was late. Since her husband’s death, Yoko Ono has sought for co-writer credit of Imagine, the most popular song in the 20th century. But fans of the Beatles criticized her saying she was attempting to gain part of the Beatles’ huge heritage. 84-year old Yoko Ono is an artist, a poet, and a composer. She was a close friend of John Lennon before becoming his wife.
But Yoko Ono’s co-writer credit of Imagine is not a good news for Paul McCartney. The two have fought against each other over cultural and material heritage left behind by John Lennon.