"Imagine" is a song by the English musician John Lennon from his 1971 album of the same name. The best-selling single of his solo career,the lyrics encourage listeners to imagine a world of peace,without materialism,without borders separating nations and without religion. Shortly before his death,Lennon said that much of the song's lyrics and content came from his wife,Yoko Ono,and in 2017,she received a co-writing credit.[2][3][4]
Lennon and Ono co-produced the song with Phil Spector. Recording began at Lennon's home studio at Tittenhurst Park,England,in May 1971,with final overdubs taking place at the Record Plant,in New York City,during July. In October,Lennon released "Imagine" as a single in the United States,where it peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was first issued as a single in Britain in 1975,to promote the compilation Shaved Fish,and reached number six on the UK Singles Chart that year. It later topped the chart following Lennon's murder in 1980.
Lennon's Steinway piano,on which he composed "Imagine",was bought by singer George Michael in 2000 to keep it in the UK.
Several poems from Yoko Ono's 1964 book Grapefruit inspired Lennon to write the lyrics for "Imagine"[7]—in particular,one which Capitol Records reproduced on the back cover of the original Imagine LP titled "Cloud Piece",reads:"Imagine the clouds dripping,dig a hole in your garden to put them in."[8] Lennon later said the composition "should be credited as a Lennon/Ono song. A lot of it—the lyric and the concept—came from Yoko,but in those days I was a bit more selfish,a bit more macho,and I sort of omitted her contribution,but it was right out of Grapefruit."[9] When asked about the song's meaning during a December 1980 interview with David Sheff for Playboy magazine,Lennon told Sheff that Dick Gregory had given Ono and him a Christian prayer book,which inspired the concept behind "Imagine".
The concept of positive prayer ... If you can imagine a world at peace, with no denominations of religion—not without religion but without this my God-is-bigger-than-your-God thing—then it can be true ... the World Church called me once and asked, "Can we use the lyrics to 'Imagine' and just change it to 'Imagine one religion'?" That showed [me] they didn't understand it at all. It would defeat the whole purpose of the song, the whole idea.[7]
With the combined influence of "Cloud Piece" and the prayer book given to him by Gregory, Lennon wrote what author John Blaney described as "a humanistic paean for the people".[9] Blaney wrote, "Lennon contends that global harmony is within our reach, but only if we reject the mechanisms of social control that restrict human potential."[10]Rolling Stone's David Fricke commented: "[Lennon] calls for a unity and equality built upon the complete elimination of modern social order: geopolitical borders, organised religion, [and] economic class."[11]
Lennon stated: "'Imagine', which says: 'Imagine that there was no more religion, no more country, no more politics,' is virtually The Communist Manifesto, even though I'm not particularly a Communist and I do not belong to any movement."[10] He told NME: "There is no real Communist state in the world; you must realise that. The Socialism I speak about ... [is] not the way some daft Russian might do it, or the Chinese might do it. That might suit them. Us, we should have a nice ... British socialism."[10] Ono described the lyrical statement of "Imagine" as "just what John believed: that we are all one country, one world, one people."[12]Rolling Stone described its lyrics as "22 lines of graceful, plain-spoken faith in the power of a world, united in purpose, to repair and change itself".[12][nb 1]
An original piano musical motif, later called "John's Piano Piece", close to the final one was created in January 1969 during the Let It Be sessions.[14] Lennon finished composing "Imagine" one morning in early 1971, on a Steinway piano, in a bedroom at his Tittenhurst Park estate in Ascot, Berkshire, England. Ono watched as he composed the melody, chord structure and almost all the lyrics, nearly completing the song in one brief writing session.[12] Described as a piano ballad[15] performed in the soft rock genre,[16] the song is in the key of C major.[17] Its 4-bar piano introduction begins with a C chord then moves to Cmaj7 before changing to F. Each repetition of this pattern is rounded with a short, distinctive piano riff that ascends chromatically from A to B. The 12-bar verses also follow this chord progression, with their last 4 bars moving from Am/E to Dm and Dm/C, finishing with G, G11 then G7, before resolving back to C.[17] The 8-bar choruses progress from F to G to C, then Cmaj7 and E before ending on E7, a C chord substituted for E7 in the final bar. The 4-bar outro begins with F, then G, before resolving on C. With a duration of 3 minutes and 3 seconds and a time signature of 4/4, the song's tempo falls around 75 beats per minute.[17]
Recording and commercial reception
A 1971 Billboard advertisement for "Imagine"
Lennon and Ono co-produced the song and album with Phil Spector, who commented on the track: "We knew what we were going to do ... It was going to be John making a political statement, but a very commercial one as well ... I always thought that 'Imagine' was like the national anthem."[18] Lennon described his working arrangement with Ono and Spector: "Phil doesn't arrange or anything like that—[Ono] and Phil will just sit in the other room and shout comments like, 'Why don't you try this sound' or 'You're not playing the piano too well' ... I'll get the initial idea and ... we'll just find a sound from [there]."[19]
Recording took place on 27 May 1971 at Ascot Sound Studios, Lennon's newly built home studio at Tittenhurst Park, with string overdubs taking place on 4 July 1971 at the Record Plant, in New York City.[20] The sessions began during the late morning, running to just before dinner in the early evening. Lennon taught the musicians the chord progression and a working arrangement for "Imagine", rehearsing the song until he deemed the musicians ready to record.[9] In his attempt to recreate Lennon's desired sound, Spector had some early tapings feature Lennon and Nicky Hopkins playing in different octaves on one piano. He also initially attempted to record the piano part with Lennon playing the white baby grand in the couple's all-white room. However, after having deemed the room's acoustics unsuitable, Spector abandoned the idea in favour of the superior environment of Lennon's home studio.[10] They completed the session in minutes, recording three takes and choosing the second one for release.[21] The finished recording featured Lennon on piano and vocal, Klaus Voormann on bass guitar, Alan White on drums and the Flux Fiddlers on strings.[22] The string arrangement was written by Torrie Zito.[23]
Issued by Apple Records in the United States in October 1971, "Imagine" became the best-selling single of Lennon's solo career.[24] It peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100[25] and reached number one in Canada on the RPM national singles chart, remaining there for two weeks.[26][27] Upon its release the song's lyrics upset some religious groups, particularly the line: "Imagine there's no heaven".[28] When asked about the song during one of his final interviews, Lennon said he considered it to be as strong a composition as any he had written with the Beatles.[12] He described the song's meaning and explicated its commercial appeal: "Anti-religious, anti-nationalistic, anti-conventional, anti-capitalistic, but because it is sugarcoated it is accepted ... Now I understand what you have to do. Put your political message across with a little honey."[29] In an open letter to Paul McCartney published in Melody Maker, Lennon said that "Imagine" was "'Working Class Hero' with sugar on it for conservatives like yourself".[30] On 30 November 1971, the Imagine LP reached number one on the UK chart.[31] It became the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed album of Lennon's solo career.[32]
Film and re-releases
In 1972, Lennon and Ono released an 81-minute film to accompany the Imagine album which featured footage of the couple in their home, garden and the recording studio of their Berkshire property at Tittenhurst Park as well as in New York City.[33] A full-length documentary rock video, the film's first scene features a shot of Lennon and Ono walking through a thick fog, arriving at their house as the song "Imagine" begins. Above the front door to their house is a sign that reads: "This Is Not Here", the title of Ono's then New York art show. The next scene shows Lennon sitting at a white grand piano in a dimly lit, all-white room. Ono gradually walks around opening shutters that allow in light, making the room brighter with the song's progression.[34] At the song's conclusion, Ono sits beside Lennon at the piano; they gaze at one another, and then kiss briefly.[35]
Released as a single in the United Kingdom in 1975 in conjunction with the album Shaved Fish, "Imagine" peaked at number six on the UK Singles Chart. The photograph on the sleeve was taken by May Pang in 1974.[37] Following Lennon's murder in 1980, the single re-entered the UK chart, reaching number one, where it remained for four weeks in January 1981. "Imagine" was re-released as a single in the UK in 1988, peaking at number 45, and again in 1999, reaching number three.[38] As of June 2013, it had sold over 1.64 million copies in the UK, making it Lennon's best-selling single there.[39] In 1999, on National Poetry Day in the United Kingdom, the BBC announced that listeners had voted "Imagine" Britain's favourite song lyric.[28] In 2003, it reached number 33 as the B-side to a re-release of "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)".[40]
Reception and criticism
Rolling Stone described "Imagine" as Lennon's "greatest musical gift to the world", praising "the serene melody; the pillowy chord progression; [and] that beckoning, four-note [piano] figure".[12]Robert Christgau called it "both a hymn for the Movement and a love song for his wife, celebrating a Yokoism and a Marcusianism simultaneously".[41]Record World said it was "perhaps [Lennon's] most beautiful composition to date."[42]
Rolling Stone ranked "Imagine" number three on its list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time", describing it as "an enduring hymn of solace and promise that has carried us through extreme grief, from the shock of Lennon's own death in 1980 to the unspeakable horror of September 11. It is now impossible to imagine a world without 'Imagine', and we need it more than he ever dreamed."[12] Despite that sentiment, Clear Channel Communications (now known today as iHeartMedia) included the song on its post-9/11 "do not play" list.[49][nb 2]
On 1 January 2005, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation named "Imagine" the greatest song in the past 100 years as voted by listeners on the show 50 Tracks.[51] The song ranked number 30 on the Recording Industry Association of America's list of the 365 Songs of the Century bearing the most historical significance.[51]Virgin Radio conducted a UK favourite song survey in December 2005, and listeners voted "Imagine" number one.[52] Australians selected it the greatest song of all time on the Nine Network's 20 to 1 countdown show on 12 September 2006. They voted it eleventh in the youth radio network Triple J's Hottest 100 Of All Time on 11 July 2009.[53]
Former US President Jimmy Carter said, "in many countries around the world—my wife and I have visited about 125 countries—you hear John Lennon's song 'Imagine' used almost equally with national anthems."[54][nb 3] On 9 October 2010, which would have been Lennon's 70th birthday, the Liverpool Singing Choir performed "Imagine" along with other Lennon songs at the unveiling of the John Lennon Peace Monument in Chavasse Park, Liverpool.[56] Beatles producer George Martin praised Lennon's solo work, singling out the composition: "My favourite song of all was 'Imagine'".[57] Music critic Paul Du Noyer described "Imagine" as Lennon's "most revered" post-Beatles song.[58] Authors Ben Urish and Ken Bielen called it "the most subversive pop song recorded to achieve classic status".[59] Fricke commented: "'Imagine' is a subtly contentious song, Lennon's greatest combined achievement as a balladeer and agitator."[11]
Urish and Bielen criticised the song's instrumental music as overly sentimental and melodramatic, comparing it to the music of the pre-rock era and describing the vocal melody as understated.[59] According to Blaney, Lennon's lyrics describe hypothetical possibilities that offer no practical solutions; lyrics that are at times nebulous and contradictory, asking the listener to abandon political systems while encouraging one similar to communism.[10] Author Chris Ingham indicated the hypocrisy in Lennon, the millionaire rock star living in a mansion, encouraging listeners to imagine living their lives without possessions,[60] a sentiment that Elvis Costello echoed in his 1991 single "The Other Side of Summer".[61][nb 4] Others argue that Lennon intended the song's lyrics to inspire listeners to imagine if the world could live without possessions, not as an explicit call to give them up.[60] Blaney commented: "Lennon knew he had nothing concrete to offer, so instead he offers a dream, a concept to be built upon."[10]
Blaney considered the song to be "riddled with contradictions. Its hymn-like setting sits uncomfortably alongside its author's plea for us to envision a world without religion."[10] Urish and Bielen described Lennon's "dream world" without a heaven or hell as a call to "make the best world we can here and now, since this is all this is or will be".[59] In their opinion, "because we are asked merely to imagine—to play a 'what if' game, Lennon can escape the harshest criticisms".[59] Former Beatle Ringo Starr defended the song's lyrics during a 1981 interview with Barbara Walters, stating: "[Lennon] said 'imagine', that's all. Just imagine it."[59]
Stereogum contributors Timothy and Elizabeth Bracy did not include "Imagine" as one of Lennon's top 10 solo songs, saying "Lennon's astounding facility for writing instantly memorable hooks meets head on with his occasional weakness for pandering polemics on 'Imagine,' resulting in a tune that everyone can sing along with, even as many can't believe the trite silliness of the lyrics in question. This is yet more proof of Lennon's capacity as a master craftsman, but it doesn't necessarily make it a great song or one that has aged well outside of its vintage."[63]
The morning after the November 2015 Paris attacks, German pianist Davide Martello brought a grand piano to the street out in front of the Bataclan, where 89 concertgoers[64] had been shot dead the night before, and performed an instrumental version to honour the victims of the attacks; video of his performance went viral.[65][66] This led Katy Waldman of Slate to ponder why "Imagine" had become so frequently performed as a response to tragedy. In addition to its general popularity, she noted its musical simplicity, its key of C major, "the plainest and least complicated key, with no sharps or flats" aside from one passage with "a plaintive major seventh chord that allows a tiny bit of E minor into the tonic". That piano part, "gentle as a rocking chair", underpins lyrics that, Waldman says, "[belong] to the tradition of hymns or spirituals that visualise a glorious afterlife without prophesising any immediate end to suffering on earth". This understanding is also compounded by the historical context of Lennon's own violent death, "remind[ing] us that the universe can run ramshod over idealistic people". Ultimately, the song "captures the fragility of our hope after a violent or destructive event ... [bu]t also reveals its tenacity".[65]
In June 2017, the US National Music Publishers Association awarded "Imagine" a Centennial Song Award and recognised Lennon's desire to add Yoko Ono as a co-author of the song.[3][67]
Strawberry Fields Memorial in Central Park to honour John Lennon with the word "Imagine" on it
Since 2005, "Imagine" has been played at 11:55 p.m before the New Year's Eveball drop at New York City's Times Square.[82] Beginning in 2010, the song has been performed live; first by Taio Cruz, then in 2011 by CeeLo Green, in 2012 by Train, in 2013 by Melissa Etheridge, in 2014 by O.A.R., in 2015 by Jessie J, in 2016 by Rachel Platten, in 2017 by Andy Grammer, in 2018 by Bebe Rexha, in 2019 by X Ambassadors, in 2020 by Andra Day, in 2021 by KT Tunstall, in 2022 by Chelsea Cutler, in 2023 by Paul Anka, and in 2024 by Mickey Guyton. However, Green received criticism for changing the lyric "and no religion too" to "and all religions true", resulting in an immediate backlash from fans who believed that he had disrespected Lennon's legacy by changing the lyrics of his most iconic song.[83] Green defended the change by saying it meant to represent "a world [where you] could believe what [you] wanted".[83] The event got media attention outside of the US, with Britain's The Guardian stating "Lennon's original lyrics don't praise pluralism or interchangeable religious truths—they damn them".[84]
"Imagine" was performed as part of the closing ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics. Performed by the Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Choir and the Liverpool Signing Choir, the choirs sang the first verse and accompanied Lennon's original vocals during the rest of the song.[95][nb 6] A cover performed by Emeli Sandé was also used by the BBC for a closing montage that ended its coverage.[96] "Imagine" subsequently re-entered the UK Top 40, reaching number 18.[97]
In 2014, to celebrate 25 years of UNICEF's Convention on the Rights of the Child, the organisation launched an initiative using the song. Performers including Ono, Hugh Jackman and ABBA announced the initiative at an event at the UN General Assembly in New York, with the intention of spreading the message that every voice matters. To do this, various celebrities and singers recorded cover versions of the song, which can be played on a downloadable app for people around the world to virtually sing with the celebrities and then share the videos on social media with related hashtags.[98]
In 2020, amid the first COVID-19 lockdowns, Gal Gadot and a number of other celebrities performed an online version of the song intended to raise morale in the face of the pandemic.[102] The performance was poorly received by audiences, many of whom criticized it for being a tone-deaf message from a group of socialites and members of the international elite who were largely unaffected by the pandemic.[103][104] In June 2020, actor Chris O'Dowd, who appeared in the online version of the song, said the criticisms of the project were "justified", referring to the video as "creative diarrhoea".[105]
During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Lennon's son Julian Lennon for the first time covered his father's song, calling on world leaders and everyone who believes in the song's sentiment of hope and peace to stand up for refugees.[108]
↑ The lyrical content of "Imagine" relates to Lennon's concept of Nutopia: The Country of Peace, which he invented in 1973. Lennon included a symbolically mute anthem to this country on his album Mind Games released later that year.[13]
↑ In 1991, the BBC restricted "Imagine" from airplay during the Gulf War.[50]
↑ Elton John, who became a friend of Lennon in the 1970s, privately parodied the song, singing: "Imagine six apartments / It isn't hard to do / One is full of fur coats / Another's full of shoes".[62]
Yoko Ono is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking.
Imagine is the second solo studio album by English musician John Lennon, released on 9 September 1971 by Apple Records. Co-produced by Lennon, his wife Yoko Ono and Phil Spector, the album's elaborate sound contrasts the basic, small-group arrangements of his first album, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band (1970). The opening title track is widely considered to be his signature song.
Some Time in New York City is the third collaborative studio album, and first live album by John Lennon and Yoko Ono as Plastic Ono Band, a double album, it includes backing by the American rock band Elephant's Memory. Released in June 1972 in the US and in September 1972 in the UK on Apple Records, it is Lennon's sixth album to be released under his own name, and his fourth collaboration with Ono. Like Lennon's previous solo albums, it was co-produced by Lennon, Ono and Phil Spector. The album's agitprop lyrics are politically charged compared to its predecessors, addressing political and social issues and topics such as sexism, incarceration, colonialism, and racism.
Mind Games is the third solo studio album by English musician John Lennon. It was recorded at Record Plant Studios in New York in summer 1973. The album was released in the US on 29 October 1973 and in the UK on 16 November 1973. It was Lennon's first self-produced recording without help from Phil Spector. Like his previous album, the politically topical and somewhat abrasive Some Time in New York City, Mind Games received mixed reviews upon release. It reached number 13 in the UK and number 9 in the US, where it was certified gold in both territories.
Double Fantasy is the fifth studio album by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, and the final one before his death. Released in November 1980 on Geffen Records, the album marked Lennon's return to recording music full-time, following his five-year hiatus to raise his son Sean. Recording sessions took place at the Hit Factory in New York City between August and October 1980. The final album features songs from both Lennon and Ono, largely alternating between the two in its track listing. Other tracks recorded by Lennon from the sessions were compiled by Ono for release on Milk and Honey in 1984.
Walls and Bridges is the fourth solo studio album by English musician John Lennon. It was issued by Apple Records on 26 September 1974 in the United States and on 4 October in the United Kingdom. Written, recorded and released during his 18-month separation from Yoko Ono, the album captured Lennon in the midst of his "Lost Weekend". Walls and Bridges was an American number-one album on both the Billboard and Record World charts and included two hit singles, "Whatever Gets You thru the Night" and "#9 Dream". The first of these was Lennon's first number-one hit in the United States as a solo artist, and his only solo chart-topping single in either the US or Britain during his lifetime.
"Jealous Guy" is a song written and originally recorded by the English rock musician John Lennon from his second studio album Imagine (1971). Not released as a single during Lennon's lifetime, it became an international hit in a version by Roxy Music issued in early 1981; this version reached #1 in the UK and Australia, and was a top 10 hit in several European countries. Lennon's own version was subsequently issued as a single, and charted in the US and UK.
"Give Peace a Chance" is an anti-war song written by John Lennon, and recorded with the participation of a small group of friends in a performance with Yoko Ono in a hotel room in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Released as a single in July 1969 by the Plastic Ono Band on Apple Records, it is the first solo single issued by Lennon, released while he was still a member of the Beatles, and became an anthem of the American anti-war movement during the 1970s. It peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 2 on the British singles chart.
"Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" is a Christmas song released in 1971 as a single by John & Yoko/The Plastic Ono Band with the Harlem Community Choir. It was the seventh single released by John Lennon outside his work with the Beatles. The song reached number four in the UK, where its release was delayed until November 1972, and has occasionally re-emerged on the UK Singles Chart, most notably after Lennon's murder in December 1980, when it peaked at number two.
"Instant Karma!" is a song by English rock musician John Lennon, released as a single on Apple Records in February 1970. The lyrics focus on a concept in which the consequences of one's actions are immediate rather than borne out over a lifetime. The single was credited to "Lennon/Ono with the Plastic Ono Band", apart from in the US, where the credit was "John Ono Lennon". The song reached the top five in the British and American charts, competing with the Beatles' "Let It Be" in the US, where it became the first solo single by a member of the band to sell a million copies.
"Cold Turkey" is a song written by English singer-songwriter John Lennon, released as a single in 1969 by the Plastic Ono Band on Apple Records, catalogue Apples 1001 in the United Kingdom, Apple 1813 in the United States. It is the second solo single issued by Lennon and it peaked at number 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 14 on the UK Singles Chart. The song's first appearance on an album was Live Peace in Toronto 1969 where the song had been performed live on 13 September 1969 with Lennon reading the lyrics off a clip-board.
"The Ballad of John and Yoko" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as a non-album single in May 1969. It was written by John Lennon and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership, and chronicles the events surrounding the wedding of Lennon and Yoko Ono. The song was the Beatles' 17th UK number-one single and their last for 54 years until "Now and Then" in 2023. In the United States, it was banned by some radio stations due to the lyrics' reference to Christ and crucifixion. The single peaked at number 8 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song has subsequently appeared on compilation albums such as Hey Jude, 1967–1970, Past Masters, and 1.
"Whatever Gets You thru the Night" is a song written by John Lennon, released as a single in 1974 on Apple Records, catalogue number Apple 1874 in the United States and Apple R5998 in the United Kingdom. In the U.S. it peaked at No. 1 on all three record charts: Billboard Hot 100, Cashbox, and Record World, and at No. 36 in the UK. It was the lead single for Lennon's album Walls and Bridges; in the UK the single was released on the same day as the album. "Whatever Gets You thru the Night" was Lennon's only solo No. 1 single in the United States during his lifetime, making him the last member of the Beatles to finally reach the top of the charts. In Canada, the single spent two weeks at No. 2, and became the 30th biggest hit of 1974.
"Woman Is the Nigger of the World" is a song by John Lennon and Yoko Ono with Elephant's Memory from their 1972 album Some Time in New York City. The song was produced by Lennon, Ono and Phil Spector. Released as the only single from the album in the United States, the song sparked controversy at the time due to the use of the word nigger in the title, and many radio stations refused to play the song as a result.
"Power to the People" is a song written by John Lennon, released as a single in 1971, credited to John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band. It was issued on Apple Records and charted at #6 on the British singles chart, at number 10 on the Cashbox Top 100, and at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 The song's first appearance on album was the 1975 compilation Shaved Fish.
"Woman" is a song written and performed by English singer John Lennon from his 1980 album Double Fantasy. The track was chosen by Lennon to be the second single released from the Double Fantasy album, and it was the first Lennon single issued after his murder on 8 December 1980. The B-side of the single is Yoko Ono's song "Beautiful Boys".
"Watching the Wheels" is a single by John Lennon released posthumously in 1981, after his murder. The B-side features Yoko Ono's "Yes, I'm Your Angel." It was the third and final single released from Lennon and Ono's album Double Fantasy, and reached No. 10 in the US on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 7 on Cashbox's Top 100. It peaked at number 30 in the UK.
"Nobody Told Me" is a song by John Lennon. The B-side features Yoko Ono's "O' Sanity"; both are on the Milk and Honey album. The promo video for the single was made up of clips of footage from Lennon's other videos, as are most posthumous Lennon videos.
"Every Man Has a Woman Who Loves Him" is a song by Yoko Ono from the album Double Fantasy with John Lennon. Other versions were released, including one released as a single where Ono's voice was removed, leaving what had been Lennon's backing vocal as the primary vocal.
"Now or Never" is a song written by Yoko Ono that was first released on her 1973 album Approximately Infinite Universe. It was also the lead single off the album, backed by "Move on Fast." A remixed version of "Move on Fast" was later released as a single and reached #1 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart.
↑ For Spector co-producing with Lennon and Ono see: Du Noyer 1971, pp.1–14; for "I always thought that song was like the national anthem" see: Levy 2005, p.87.
↑ Roberts 2005, p.292: The 2003 re-release and peak UK chart position of "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)"; Blaney 2007, p.282: "Imagine" as the B-side of the 2003 re-release of "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)".
↑ For "Imagine" being played in 2005's New Year's Eve celebration in New York see: Gilmore, Hugh (17 May 2012). "John Lennon's "Imagine" meets the DSM". Chestnut Hill Local. Archived from the original on 26 October 2012. Retrieved 19 October 2012.; for "Imagine" being played "in its customary spot leading up to midnight" during 2010's New Year's Eve celebration in New York see: "Hello 2010: Huge, Wet Crowd Rings in New Year in Times Square". NY1. 1 January 2010. Archived from the original on 22 November 2012. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
↑ "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 24 January 2024.Select "Singoli" in the "Tipo" field, type "John Lennon" in the "Titolo" field and press "cerca".
↑ "Le Détail par Artiste". InfoDisc (in French). Select "John Lennon" from the artist drop-down menu. Archived from the original on 13 May 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
Levy, Joe, ed. (2005). Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (First Paperbacked.). Wenner Books. ISBN978-1-932958-61-4.
Lennon, John (1983). The John Lennon Collection. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN978-0-7935-0265-3.
Madinger, Chip; Raile, Scott (2015). Lennonology Strange Days Indeed – A Scrapbook of Madness. Chesterfield, MO: Open Your Books, LLC. ISBN978-1-63110-175-5.
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