''Live in New York City'' is a posthumous live album by English rock 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 ...

with the Plastic Ono Elephant's Memory Band. It was prepared under the supervision of his widow,

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 released in 1986 as his second official live album, the first being ''

Live Peace in Toronto 1969 ''Live Peace in Toronto 1969'' is a live album by the Plastic Ono Band, released in December 1969 on Apple Records. Recorded at the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival festival, it was the first live album released by any member of the Beatles separa ...

''.

Performances

Recorded on 30 August 1972 at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

in New York City, Lennon performed two shows, one in the afternoon and one in the evening, a benefit concert for the

Willowbrook State School Willowbrook State School was a state-supported institution for children with intellectual disabilities located in the Willowbrook neighborhood on Staten Island in New York City from 1947 until 1987. The school was designed for 4,000, but by 1965 ...

for Retarded Children in New York, at friend

Geraldo Rivera Geraldo Rivera (born Gerald Riviera; July 4, 1943) is an American journalist, attorney, author, political commentator, and former television host. He hosted the tabloid talk show '' Geraldo'' from 1987 to 1998. He gained publicity with the liv ...

's request. Rivera introduces Lennon and Ono at the beginning of the album, and he is referenced in Lennon's impromptu revised lyrics in the opening song, "New York City". The benefit concerts, billed as One to One, also featured other performers in addition to Lennon, including

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

Roberta Flack Roberta Cleopatra Flack (born February 10, 1937) is a retired American singer. She topped the Billboard Magazine, ''Billboard'' charts with the No. 1 singles "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", "Killing Me Softly with His Song", "Feel Like M ...

Melanie Safka Melanie Anne Safka-Schekeryk (born February 3, 1947), professionally known as Melanie or Melanie Safka, is an American singer-songwriter. She is best known for the 1971–72 global hit "Brand New Key", her cover of " Ruby Tuesday", her compositi ...

and

Sha Na Na Sha Na Na was an American rock and roll doo-wop group. Formed in 1969, but performing a song-and-dance repertoire based on 1950s hit songs, it simultaneously revived and parodied the music and the New York street culture of the 1950s. After g ...

, although their performances are not included on this album, nor on the simultaneous video release. ''Live in New York City'' captures Lennon's last full-length concert performance, coming right after the release of ''

Some Time in New York City ''Some Time in New York City'' is a part-studio, part-live double album by John Lennon and Yoko Ono as Plastic Ono Band that included backing by the American rock band Elephant's Memory. Released in June 1972 in the US and in September 1972 in t ...

''. Backing Lennon and Ono were

Elephant's Memory Elephant's Memory (also billed as Elephants Memory, without the apostrophe) was an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in the late 1960s, known primarily for backing John Lennon and Yoko Ono from late 1971 to 1973. For live p ...

, who had served as Lennon and Ono's backing band on ''Some Time in New York City''. Although the material Lennon performed was largely drawn from his three most recent albums of the period (''

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 th ...

'', ''

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 ''Some Time in New York City''), he also included in the setlist his solo hit "

Instant Karma! "Instant Karma!" (also titled "Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)") 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 ...

", his

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 ...

hit "

Come Together "Come Together" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The song is the opening track on their 1969 album ''Abbey Road'' and was also released as a single coupled with "Somethin ...

" and paid tribute to

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

with " Hound Dog" before leading the audience in a singalong of "

Give Peace a Chance "Give Peace a Chance" is an anti-war song written by John Lennon (originally credited to Lennon–McCartney), and recorded with the participation of a small group of friends in a performance with Yoko Ono in a hotel room in Montreal, Quebec, Ca ...

". "Come Together", originally in the key of D minor, was performed in E minor.

Criticism and editing

Upon its early 1986 release, Ono was criticised by former members of

for using the first – and weaker – performance instead of the stronger evening show. They also took issue with the simultaneous video release of the concert, which it was alleged had been edited to show Ono as prominently as Lennon. However, on the album release, Ono's vocal performances on such numbers as "Hound Dog" had been mixed out completely. Additionally, all of her solo performances, which included "

Sisters, O Sisters "Sisters, O Sisters", also known as "Sisters O Sisters", is a song written by Yoko Ono that first appeared on John Lennon's and Yoko Ono's 1972 Plastic Ono Band album ''Some Time in New York City'', backed by Elephant's Memory. It was also release ...

", " Born in a Prison", "

We're All Water "We're All Water" is a song written by Yoko Ono that was first released on the 1972 John Lennon and Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band album ''Some Time in New York City''. It was the last song on the first record of the album, and the last song on the albu ...

", "

Don't Worry Kyoko (Mummy's Only Looking for Her Hand in the Snow) "Don't Worry Kyoko (Mummy's Only Looking for Her Hand in the Snow)" (also known as "Don't Worry Kyoko (Mummy's Only Looking for a Hand in the Snow)") is a song by Yoko Ono that was originally released by Plastic Ono Band in October 1969 as the B-si ...

", "

Move on Fast "Move on Fast" is a song by Yoko Ono, originally released in 1972 on the album '' Approximately Infinite Universe'', and on the B-side to the single " Now or Never". The song was later included on Ono's compilation album ''Onobox''. Composition I ...

" and "

Open Your Box "Open Your Box" is a The Plastic Ono Band song by Yoko Ono, released on 12 March 1971 as the B-side of John Lennon's single " Power to the People". Lennon played guitar and produced the song. In 1971, Ono's risqué lyrics were received in con ...

", were deleted from the audio edition of the concert, to create a pure Lennon album. The video release retained the Lennon complete set-list and also included Ono's "Sisters, O Sisters" and "Born in a Prison". Portions of the evening performance later saw release on the ''

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 ' ...

''. ''Live in New York City'' reached No. 55 in the UK, and No. 41 in the U.S., and eventually went gold.

Historical significance

The concerts documented on ''Live in New York City'' were Lennon's only rehearsed and full-length live performances in his solo career, and his first – and last – formal, full-fledged live concerts since the Beatles retired from the road in 1966. Lennon never mounted a tour during his post-Beatles career. The concerts also marked the last time he performed live with Ono or with Elephant's Memory. In a contemporary review, ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' said that "This performance, five years before the debut of ''

The Sex Pistols ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'', presaged, among other modern trends, the whole punk movement." and that "Yoko Ono, the album’s producer, and Capitol are to be commended for bringing these important recordings to the public. "

Track listing

All songs by

, except where noted. ;Side one #"

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

" – 2:56 #"

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 EP ...

" – 3:18 #"

Woman Is the Nigger of the World "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''. Released as the only single from the album in the United States, the song sparked controversy ...

" (Lennon,

) – 5:30 #" Well Well Well" – 3:51 #"

" – 3:40 ;Side two #"

Mother ] A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given childbirth, birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the cas ...

" – 5:00 #"

" (

Lennon–McCartney Lennon–McCartney was the songwriting partnership between English musicians John Lennon (1940–1980) and Paul McCartney (born 1942) of the Beatles. It is the best-known and most successful musical collaboration ever by records sold, with the ...

) – 4:21 #"

" (Lennon, Yoko Ono) – 3:17 #"

Cold Turkey "Cold turkey" refers to the abrupt cessation of a substance dependence and the resulting unpleasant experience, as opposed to gradually easing the process through reduction over time or by using replacement medication. Sudden withdrawal from dru ...

" – 5:29 #" Hound Dog" ( Leiber/Stoller) – 3:09 #"

" – 1:00

Video track listing

#" Power to the People" #"New York City" #"It's So Hard" #"Woman Is the Nigger of the World" (Lennon/Ono) #"

" (Ono) #"Well Well Well" #"Instant Karma!" #"Mother" #" Born in a Prison" (Ono) #"Come Together" (Lennon/McCartney) #"Imagine" (Lennon/Ono) #"Cold Turkey" #"Hound Dog" (Leiber/Stoller) #"Give Peace a Chance"

Personnel

– vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, Wurlitzer 200a electric piano *

– vocals, keyboards, Wurlitzer 200a electric piano, percussion *

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 ...

– drums *

: :*Wayne 'Tex' Gabriel – lead guitar :*Gary Van Scyoc – bass guitar :*John Ward – bass guitar :*Stan Bronstein – saxophone :*Adam Ippolito – keyboards :*Richard Frank Jr. – drums

Certifications

References

External links

*
Unedited audience recording
on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

{{Authority control John Lennon albums Live albums published posthumously 1986 live albums Capitol Records live albums Parlophone live albums Albums recorded at Madison Square Garden Plastic Ono Band albums 1972 films Concert films Films about John Lennon Documentary films about the Beatles Plastic Ono Band 1970s English-language films