''Imagine'' is the second
studio album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
by English musician
John Lennon
John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...
, released on 9 September 1971 by
Apple Records
Apple Records is a record label founded by the Beatles in 1968 as a division of Apple Corps Ltd. It was initially intended as a creative outlet for the Beatles, both as a group and individually, plus a selection of other artists including Mar ...
. Co-produced by Lennon, his wife
Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野 洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking.
Ono grew up i ...
and
Phil Spector
Harvey Phillip Spector (born Harvey Philip Spector; December 26, 1939January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by ...
, the album's lush sound contrasts the basic, small-group arrangements of his first album, ''
John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
''John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band'' is the debut solo album by English musician John Lennon. Backed by the Plastic Ono Band, it was released by Apple Records on 11 December 1970 in tandem with the similarly titled album by his wife, Yoko Ono. At ...
'' (1970), while the opening
title track
A title track is a song that has the same name as the album or film in which it appears. In the Korean music industry, the term is used to describe a promoted song on an album, akin to a single, regardless of the song's title.
Title track may a ...
is widely considered to be his
signature song
A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a Handwriting, handwritten (and often Stylization, stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and ...
.
Lennon recorded the album from early to mid-1971 at
Ascot Sound Studios
Tittenhurst Park is a Listed building#Categories of listed building, Grade II listed early Georgian architecture, Georgian English country house, country house set in off London Road at Beggar's Bush near Ascot, Berkshire, Ascot and over the ...
,
Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music c ...
and the
Record Plant
The Record Plant is a recording studio established in New York City in 1968 and currently operating in Los Angeles, California. Known for innovations in the recording artists' workspace, it has produced highly influential albums, including Blon ...
in New York City, with supporting musicians that included his ex-
Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...
bandmate
George Harrison
George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...
, keyboardist
Nicky Hopkins
Nicholas Christian "Nicky" Hopkins (24 February 1944 – 6 September 1994) was an English pianist and organist. Hopkins performed on many popular and enduring British and American rock music recordings from the 1960s to the 1990s, most notably ...
, bassist
Klaus Voormann
Klaus Otto Wilhelm Voormann (born 29 April 1938) is a German artist, musician, and record producer.
Voormann was the bassist for Manfred Mann from 1966 to 1969, and performed as a session musician on a host of recordings, including "You're So V ...
and drummers
Alan White and
Jim Keltner
James Lee Keltner (born April 27, 1942) is an American drummer and percussionist known primarily for his session work. He was characterized by Bob Dylan biographer Howard Sounes as "the leading session drummer in America".Howard Sounes. ''Down ...
. Its lyrics reflect peace, love, politics, Lennon's experience with
primal scream therapy, and, following a period of high personal tensions, an attack on his former writing partner
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
in "
How Do You Sleep?" Extensive footage from the sessions was recorded for a scrapped documentary; parts were released on the documentary film ''
Imagine: John Lennon'' (1988). The documentary ''
John & Yoko: Above Us Only Sky'', based on that footage, was released in 2018.
''Imagine'' was a critical and commercial success, peaking at number one on both the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
and US
''Billboard'' 200. Along with ''John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band'', it is considered one of Lennon's finest solo albums. In 2012, the album was voted 80th on ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' magazine's list of the
500 Greatest Albums of All Time. The album has been reissued multiple times, including in 2018 as ''The Ultimate Collection'', a six-disc box set containing previously unreleased demos, rare studio outtakes, "evolution documentaries" for each track, and isolated track elements along with surround mixes.
Background
While in New York, former
Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...
John Lennon and
George Harrison
George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...
had a short
jam session
A jam session is a relatively informal musical event, process, or activity where musicians, typically instrumentalists, play improvised solos and vamp over tunes, drones, songs, and chord progressions. To "jam" is to improvise music without exte ...
,
during which Lennon asked Harrison to perform on Lennon's next album. Recording was scheduled to begin in a week's time at Lennon's
Ascot Sound Studios
Tittenhurst Park is a Listed building#Categories of listed building, Grade II listed early Georgian architecture, Georgian English country house, country house set in off London Road at Beggar's Bush near Ascot, Berkshire, Ascot and over the ...
, at his
Tittenhurst Park
Tittenhurst Park is a Grade II listed early Georgian country house set in off London Road at Beggar's Bush near Ascot and over the parish border into Sunningdale, both in the English county of Berkshire. It was famously the home of musici ...
residence.
[ Harrison agreed, and invited his friend, bassist ]Klaus Voormann
Klaus Otto Wilhelm Voormann (born 29 April 1938) is a German artist, musician, and record producer.
Voormann was the bassist for Manfred Mann from 1966 to 1969, and performed as a session musician on a host of recordings, including "You're So V ...
.[
]
Recording and structure
Recording for the album started on 24 May at Ascot Sound Studios. The first songs recorded were "It's So Hard
"It's So Hard" is a song written and performed by John Lennon, which first appeared on his 1971 album ''Imagine''. Shortly after the album's release, the song was issued as the B-side to the single "Imagine". In Mexico, it was released on an E ...
" and " I Don't Want to Be a Soldier" in February 1971 at Ascot Sound Studios
Tittenhurst Park is a Listed building#Categories of listed building, Grade II listed early Georgian architecture, Georgian English country house, country house set in off London Road at Beggar's Bush near Ascot, Berkshire, Ascot and over the ...
, during sessions for Lennon's single " Power to the People". A cover of the Olympics
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...
' 1958 song "Well (Baby Please Don't Go)", later released on ''John Lennon Anthology
''John Lennon Anthology'' is a four-CD box set of home demos, studio outtakes and other previously unreleased material recorded by John Lennon over the course of his solo career from "Give Peace a Chance" in 1969 up until the 1980 sessions for ' ...
'', was recorded on 16 February. Lennon chose to remake "I Don't Want to Be a Soldier" on 24 May 1971, the opening day of the main album sessions.
Lennon enlisted help from Nicky Hopkins
Nicholas Christian "Nicky" Hopkins (24 February 1944 – 6 September 1994) was an English pianist and organist. Hopkins performed on many popular and enduring British and American rock music recordings from the 1960s to the 1990s, most notably ...
, members of the Apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...
band Badfinger
Badfinger were a Welsh rock band formed in Swansea, who were active from the 1960s to the 1980s. Their best-known lineup consisted of Pete Ham (vocals, guitar), Mike Gibbins (drums), Tom Evans (bass), and Joey Molland (guitar). They are rec ...
, Alan White and Jim Keltner
James Lee Keltner (born April 27, 1942) is an American drummer and percussionist known primarily for his session work. He was characterized by Bob Dylan biographer Howard Sounes as "the leading session drummer in America".Howard Sounes. ''Down ...
. Harrison contributed lead guitar parts on various songs. Lennon showed the musicians a song that he had recently written, "Imagine
Imagine may refer to:
* Imagination
Music Albums
* ''Imagine'' (Armin van Buuren album), 2008
* ''Imagine'' (Eva Cassidy album), 2002
* ''Imagine'' (Janice Vidal album), 2012
* ''Imagine'' (John Lennon album), 1971
** ''Imagine: John Lennon' ...
".[ Also recorded was a demo of the future Lennon track "]Aisumasen (I'm Sorry)
"Aisumasen (I'm Sorry)" is a song written by John Lennon released on his 1973 album '' Mind Games''. The song is included on the 1990 box set ''Lennon''.
Lyrics and music
The song's lyrics have Lennon apologising to wife Yoko Ono. Aisumasen is ...
", the unreleased song "San Francisco Bay Blues
"San Francisco Bay Blues" is an American folk song and is generally considered to be the most famous composition by Jesse Fuller. Fuller first recorded the song in 1954, which was released by the World Song label in 1955. A "one-man band" renditio ...
", and a demo of " I'm the Greatest".[
Lennon and his wife ]Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野 洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking.
Ono grew up i ...
flew to New York on 3 July to continue sessions for the album the next day, at the Record Plant
The Record Plant is a recording studio established in New York City in 1968 and currently operating in Los Angeles, California. Known for innovations in the recording artists' workspace, it has produced highly influential albums, including Blon ...
.[ Many instrumental parts were re-recorded there, and strings and saxophone by ]King Curtis
Curtis Ousley (born Curtis Montgomery; February 7, 1934 – August 13, 1971), known professionally as King Curtis, was an American saxophonist who played rhythm and blues, jazz, and rock and roll. A bandleader, band member, and session musicia ...
were also added.[ The tracks that were finished at Record Plant were "It's So Hard", "I Don't Want to Be a Soldier" and "How Do You Sleep?"][ As on Lennon's last album, ]Phil Spector
Harvey Phillip Spector (born Harvey Philip Spector; December 26, 1939January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by ...
joined him and Ono as co-producer on ''Imagine''. The string arrangements for the album were written by Torrie Zito.
Extensive footage of the sessions, showing the evolution of some of the songs, was originally filmed and titled ''Working Class Hero'' before being shelved.[ Footage of "Gimme Some Truth" aired as part of the ]BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
'' on 12 December 1972.