Imagine (song)
| "Imagine" | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Single by John Lennon | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| from the album Imagine | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| B-side | "It's So Hard" (US) '"Working Class Hero" (UK) |
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| Released | 11 October 1971 (US) 24 October 1975 (UK) |
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| Format | 7" vinyl | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Recorded | 1971 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Genre | Soft rock, rock[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Length | 3:03 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Label | Apple | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Writer(s) | John Lennon | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Producer | John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Phil Spector | |||||||||||||||||||||
| John Lennon singles chronology | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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"Imagine" is a song written and performed by English rock musician John Lennon. It is the opening track on his album Imagine, released in 1971. "Imagine" was released as a single in the United States where it reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100. It was also Lennon's only post-Beatle Australian Number one single, spending five weeks at the summit. When asked about the song in one of his last interviews, Lennon declared "Imagine" to be as good as anything he had written with the Beatles.[2] The song is one of three Lennon solo songs, along with "Instant Karma!" and "Give Peace a Chance", in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. Rolling Stone ranked "Imagine" the 3rd greatest song of all time in their editorial The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[3]
Contents |
Background and composition
The song's refrain may have been partly inspired by Yoko Ono's poetry in reaction to her childhood in Japan during World War II. According to The Guardian, primordial versions of the song's refrain can be found in her 1965 book Grapefruit, where she penned lines such as, "imagine a raindrop" and "imagine the clouds dripping."[4]
In a 1980 interview with David Sheff for Playboy magazine, Lennon remarks on the message of "Imagine":
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- Sheff: On a new album, you close with "Hard Times Are Over (For a While)". Why?
Lennon: It's not a new message: "Give Peace a Chance" — we're not being unreasonable. Just saying "give it a chance." With "Imagine" we're asking, "can you imagine a world without countries or religions?" It's the same message over and over. And it's positive.[5]
- Sheff: On a new album, you close with "Hard Times Are Over (For a While)". Why?
Ono indicated that the lyrical content of "Imagine" was "just what John believed — that we are all one country, one world, one people. He wanted to get that idea out."[2] In addition, the content of "Imagine" was inspiration for the concept of Nutopia: The Country of Peace, created in 1973. Lennon included a symbolically mute "anthem" to this country on his album Mind Games. Also, inspiration for Yoko's Imagine Peace Tower in Iceland came from words in the second verse: Imagine all the people living life in peace.
In the book Lennon in America, by Geoffrey Giuliano, Lennon commented that Imagine was an "anti-religious, anti-nationalistic, anti-conventional, anti-capitalistic [song], but because it's sugar-coated, it's accepted."[6]
Film
The directed by John and Yoko, the accompanying film begins with a view of John and Yoko strolling through a garden or forest. Then they come upon John's London home. As they walk to the front door. they enter the house by means of disappearing outside and appearing inside. The camera pans up to see a window with the line inscribed "This is not here." The film then consists primarily of John playing on a white grand piano, in a white room, with a couple white over sized balloons. During the video Yoko simply watches John play, and in the middle of the song, opens all the shades.
Another music video for the song, made in 1987 by Zbigniew Rybczynski, was released.
Awards
- 1987 - Rio de Janeiro - Special Prize
- 1987 - Cannes, "Silver Lion" - Best Clip
Later release
"Imagine" was released as a single in the United Kingdom in 1975 (in conjunction with the album Shaved Fish) where it peaked at number six on the UK Singles Chart. Following Lennon's death in 1980, the single re-entered the UK chart and was number one 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). "Imagine" was the sole John Lennon track included in a promotional-only various artists compilation album issued by Capitol records entitled The Greatest Music Ever Sold (Capitol SPRO-8511/8512). Distributed to record stores during the 1976 Holiday season, it was part of Capitol's "Greatest Music Ever Sold" campaign promoting 15 "Best Of" albums released by the record label. The song was also included on a six-disc boxed set commemorating Capitol Records' sixtieth anniversary that was issued in 2002.
Recognition
Since its release, "Imagine" has been included in a broad array of most-influential and greatest-songs-of-all-time lists. In 1999 BMI named "Imagine" one of the top 100 most-performed songs of the 20th century. "Imagine" ranks #23 in the year-2000 list of best-selling singles in the UK. In 2004, "Imagine" ranked #3 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, behind The Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction" and Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone".
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. The song ranked #30 on the Recording Industry Association of America's list of the 365 Songs of the Century bearing the most historical significance. Virgin Radio conducted a UK favourite song survey in December 2005 and "Imagine" was voted into the top spot. It beat Beatles songs "Hey Jude" and "Let It Be" (both predominantly written by Paul McCartney, although credited Lennon/McCartney). In Australia, it was selected the greatest song of all time on the Nine Network's 20 to 1 countdown show on 12 September 2006 and voted eleventh in youth network Triple J's Hottest 100 Of All Time on 11 July 2009.[7] The song was named number one on Australia's MAX channel's 5000-song countdown that went through the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
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."[8]
Cultural legacy
- On 25 February 2009, the Supreme Court of the United States quoted the lyrics to the song in footnote 2 of Pleasant Grove City v. Summum,[9] a case dealing with the messages of monuments:
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- What, for example, is "the message" of the Greco-Roman mosaic of the word "Imagine" that was donated to New York City’s Central Park in memory of John Lennon? See NYC Brief 18; App. to id., at A5. Some observers may "imagine" the musical contributions that John Lennon would have made if he had not been killed. Others may think of the lyrics of the Lennon song that obviously inspired the mosaic and may "imagine" a world without religion, countries, possessions, greed, or hunger.
- The song is referenced in George Harrison's song "All Those Years Ago". One of the lines is "You were the one who imagined it all, all those years ago."
- The song was used in the last sequence of the 1984 film The Killing Fields.
- When the Liverpool airport was named after Lennon, a phrase from the song, "above us only sky" was painted on the ceiling of the terminal.
- "Imagine" is the official song of Amnesty International.
- A humorous telling of this song's origin appears in the 1994 film Forrest Gump where the song is inspired by what Forrest Gump said about his trip to China. The character Gump is a guest on The Dick Cavett Show alongside John Lennon. Gump recounts his experiences playing ping pong in China; he claims the Chinese do not have much stuff ("no possessions") and don't congregate in churches or synagogues ("no religion too"). Dick Cavett responds, "It's hard to imagine," whereupon Lennon says, "It's easy if you try, Dick."[10]
- In 2003 Bill Clinton joined Liel and 40 Jewish and 40 Arab children at the 80th birthday of Shimon Peres in Tel Aviv to sing "Imagine".[11]
- Ben & Jerry's offers a brand of ice cream called "Imagine Whirled Peace," which contains chocolate peace symbols.[12]
Cover versions
"Imagine" has been frequently performed by a wide range of artists. Notable examples include:
- Joan Baez included it on her 1972 album Come from the Shadows and often includes it in her concert set lists.
- Diana Ross performed the song on her 1973 album Touch Me in the Morning.
- Saxophonist Richard Elliot performed the song off his 1976 debut album "What's Inside."[13][14]
- Dana performed "Imagine" on her 1980 album Everything is Beautiful.
- David Bowie performed the song on his Serious Moonlight Tour in 1983
- The Mexican band Timbiriche recorded "Imagina" (in Spanish) on its 1983 album En Concierto (in concert).
- Tracie Spencer performed the song on her 1988 album Tracie Spencer, released when she was 11 years old. The song did moderately well in the USA, hitting #31 on the R&B/Hip-Hop charts.
- Roberto Carlos (singer) and Gabriela recorded "Imagine" on their 1988 album Ao Vivo (live recording) .
- Blues Traveler recorded a version for the 1995 tribute album Working Class Hero: A Tribute to John Lennon, and released a live version on Live from the Fall.
- Jeff Berlin performed the song on his 1997 album Taking Notes.
- Declan Galbraith performed the song for his 2002 album Declan.
- Eva Cassidy included a version of the song as the title track for her 2002 album, Imagine.
- Corey Feldman performed "Imagine" on his third album Former Child Actor (2002).
- Gilberto Gil performed the song on his 2004 live album, Eletracústico.
- In 2004, A Perfect Circle performed the song on their third album, eMOTIVe. In Australia, the recording was ranked #88 on Triple J's Hottest 100 of 2004.
- Katie Targett Adams recorded "Imagine" on her 2004 album K:T:A.[15]
- Eric Burdon performed it at a German show with the Man Doki Soulmates in 2004. It was released on the album Legends of Rock.
- Contemporary jazz guitarist Steve Oliver performed the song from his 2004 release "3D."[16][17]
- Allison Crowe included "Imagine" on her 2005 double album Live at Wood Hall.
- Dolly Parton included a cover of the song on her 2005 album Those Were the Days in a duet with David Foster. The video for Parton's cover of the song featured vintage footage of Lennon and Ono.
- Rick Springfield performed it for his 2005 all covers album The Day After Yesterday.
- Etta James performed it for her 2006 album All the Way.
- Richard Cheese performed it on his 2006 album Silent Nightclub.
- Mari Nallos performed the song on her 2006 album The Crystal Voice of Asia.
- Avril Lavigne, Jack Johnson, Willie Nelson & Meshell Ndegeocello each recorded versions of the song for the 2007 benefit album, Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur. Johnson's cover can also be found on the album Rhythms del Mundo Classics.
- Khaled and Noa released an Arabic and Hebrew duet cover of "Imagine", included on Khaled's album Kenza.
- Tommy Emmanuel did an instrumental cover version on his album Determination.
- Gregorian performed "Imagine" on their album Masters of Chant Chapter IV.
- In 2007, Connie Talbot performed the song on Over The Rainbow.
- In honor of World Food Day, a group of anison performers—among them Mami Ayukawa, Yoshifumi Ushima, Minami Kuribayashi, Hiromi Sato, JAM Project, Hiroki Takahashi, Kaori Hikita, Faylan, Yumi Matsuzawa, and Shunji Inoue—have banded together to form the Anison All-Stars. They have performed the song in an effort to fight world hunger.
- The song was performed by the cast of the television show Glee on November 25, 2009 during the episode "Hairography" and included on the second soundtrack for the show.
- A classical arrangement was recorded by Ofra Harnoy on solo cello and the Orford String Quartet
- In 2008, David Archuleta performed "Imagine" on Season 7 of the popular singing competition American Idol during Top 20 week and again on the night of the Finale. In 2010, David returned to the Idol stage to reprise his performance after a request from the show's producer, Simon Fuller.
- Glee (TV Series) performed this song in the 2009 episode, Hairography, and consequentially put it on the album Glee: The Music, Volume 2.
In addition, the song has been sampled and included in derivative works, including:
- The Shadows did an instrumental version as a medley with John Lennon's Woman in 1981.
- In 1995, Oasis used a piano section from "Imagine" at the start of "Don't Look Back in Anger", from their second album (What's the Story) Morning Glory?
- Pitbull, Nas & John Legend created a rap music version by adding rapped verses to the original recording.
- A 2005 song by RX featured George W. Bush "singing" a mixture of Lennon's "Imagine" and Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side".
- In 2008, Jefferson Starship included the song as part of a mash-up with "Redemption Song" by Bob Marley on their album Jefferson's Tree of Liberty[18].
- In 2010, Anthony and the Johnsons performed the song in their 2010 EP Thank You For Your Love EP with slightly altered lyrics.
Notable live cover interpretations
The iconic nature of "Imagine" has made it a popular choice for performing at charity concerts and other milestone occasions. Notable examples include:
- Neil Young performed the song at the America: A Tribute to Heroes concert[19] on 21 September 2001.[20]
- Our Lady Peace performed the song on the day marking the 20th anniversary of Lennon's death.[21]
- During their 1993/1994 Another Link In The Chain tour, Fleetwood Mac performed the song with Bekka Bramlett providing lead vocals.[22]
- American singer Lady Gaga performed the song as a tribute to Matthew Shepard, at a 2009 benefit for supporters of and members of the LGBT community.
- Mark Knopfler and Chet Atkins have performed the song at the Amnesty International Secret Policeman's Ball concert.
Notes
- ↑ http://www.pandora.com/music/song/john+lennon/imagine
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Imagine". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6595848/imagine. Retrieved 2009-04-09.
- ↑ "The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. 2004-12-09. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/500songs. Retrieved 2009-07-17.
- ↑ Barton, Laura (2005-06-13). "Age becomes her". The Guardian. http://arts.guardian.co.uk/features/story/0,,1505281,00.html. Retrieved 2006-12-03.
- ↑ Sheff, David. "Playboy Interview: John Lennon and Yoko Ono". Playboy. http://members.tripod.com/~taz4158/playboy.html. Retrieved 2006-12-03.
- ↑ Gilmore, Mikal (2005-12-05). "Lennon Lives Forever: John Lennon". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/johnlennon/articles/story/8898300/lennon_lives_forever. Retrieved 2006-12-02.
- ↑ "Hottest 100 Of All Time". http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/hottest100_alltime/countdown/cd_list.htm.
- ↑ Elliott, Debbie (2006-11-05). "Carter helps monitor Nicaragua presidential election". All Things Considered. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6439233. Retrieved 2006-12-03.
- ↑ Pleasant Grove City, Utah v. Summum
- ↑ "Memorable quotes for Forrest Gump". Internet Movie Database. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109830/quotes. Retrieved 2009-07-03.
- ↑ "Shimon Peres 80th birthday". http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-7724028215785561219&q=tel+aviv.
- ↑ Gaskell, Stephanie (2008-05-27). "Ben & Jerry's new flavor a salute to John Lennon". Daily News (New York). http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2008/05/28/2008-05-28_ben__jerrys_new_flavor_a_salute_to_john_.html.
- ↑ "What's Inside overview". Allmusic.com. http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:kzfixqugldje.
- ↑ "Richard Elliot: A Growing Sax Appeal". The Seattle Times. http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19910130&slug=1263466.
- ↑ "Katie Targett Adams". http://www.kt-a.com/.
- ↑ "3D overview". Allmusic. http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:difqxq9sldde.
- ↑ "Steve Oliver - 3D". SmoothViews.com. http://www.smoothviews.com/cdreviews/Oliver01.htm.
- ↑ "Jefferson's Tree of Liberty". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:jpfyxz9kldae.
- ↑ "All-star telethon raises $150m". BBC News. 2001-09-25. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/1562007.stm.
- ↑ "'Tribute to Heroes' Set for CD, Video". http://www.cmt.com/artists/news/1450905/11122001/id_0.jhtml.
- ↑ "Imagine A World With Good Covers". http://www.upvenue.com/music-news/blog-headline/1027/imagine-a-world-with-only-good-covers.html.
- ↑ "Fleetwood Mac's Another Link In The Chain tour". http://www.fmlegacy.com/concertsfmtime.html.
External links
- [1] - Photoblog dedicated to John Lennon at Tittenhurst Park and the song "Imagine".
- John Lennon and Neil Young: Jammin' with Neil - performed on "Tribute to Heroes" (9/11/2001) by Neil Young
| Preceded by "There's No-one Quite Like Grandma" by St Winifred's School Choir |
UK number one single 10 January 1981 - 31 January 1981 |
Succeeded by "Woman" by John Lennon |
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Book:John Lennon · 
Category:John Lennon
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