"Oh Yoko!" is a 1971 song written and performed by

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 ...

. It was first released on his album ''

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' ...

'', and was later included in the greatest hits compilation '' Working Class Hero: The Definitive Lennon''. The song was written about 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 features

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 ...

on piano and co-producer

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 ...

on harmony vocal. Lennon plays harmonica for the first time on a solo recording (since

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

' "

Rocky Raccoon "Rocky Raccoon" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1968 double album ''The Beatles'' (also known as the "White Album"). It was primarily written by Paul McCartney, although credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. M ...

"), and it would also be the last time he used the instrument in a released recording.

Background

Lennon began writing the song in 1968 during the Beatles' visit to India, but was not fully completed until the sessions for ''Imagine'' three years later. The melody was inspired by

Lonnie Donegan Anthony James Donegan (29 April 1931 – 3 November 2002), known as Lonnie Donegan, was a British skiffle singer, songwriter and musician, referred to as the "King of Skiffle", who influenced 1960s British pop and rock musicians. Born in Scotl ...

's "Lost John", a song Lennon enjoyed and played often. The song was recorded on 25 May 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 ...

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

called it "an instant folk song worthy of Rosie & the Originals". An uncompleted version of the song can be heard and was recorded on tape at the Sheraton Oceanus Hotel in Freeport, Bahamas, on 25 May 1969. EMI wanted to release the song as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

but Lennon refused. The only single issued from ''Imagine'' was the title track in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

; none was issued in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. ''Ultimate Classic Rock'' critic Stephen Lewis rated it as Lennon's 10th greatest solo love song, saying that "A jaunty and swinging tune, with a breathless Nicky Hopkins piano line, the tune beats with a warm, positive optimism."

In popular culture

*The song was featured in the 1998 film '' Rushmore'', starring

Bill Murray William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his deadpan delivery. He rose to fame on ''The National Lampoon Radio Hour'' (1973–1974) before becoming a national presence on ''Saturday Nigh ...

and

Jason Schwartzman Jason Francesco Schwartzman (born June 26, 1980) is an American actor and musician. Schwartzman made his film debut in Wes Anderson's 1998 film '' Rushmore'', and has gone on to appear in six other Anderson films: ''The Darjeeling Limited'' (20 ...

. *In 1973, Japanese artist

Keiichi Tanaami is one of the leading pop artists of postwar Japan, and has been active as multi-genre artist since the 1960s as a graphic designer, illustrator, video artist and fine artist. Biography Keiichi Tanaami was born on 21 July 1936 as the eldes ...

made an animated short based on the song.

Personnel

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

–

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

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 ...

– bass * Alan White –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

–

harmony vocal In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring Audio frequency, frequencies, pitch (music), pitches (timb ...

*Rod Linton –

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

*Andy Davis – acoustic guitar

References

John Lennon songs 1971 songs Songs written by John Lennon Song recordings produced by John Lennon Song recordings produced by Phil Spector Song recordings produced by Yoko Ono Songs about Yoko Ono {{beatles-song-stub