Yoko Ono is one of my greatest inspirations, a true artist in every fiber of her being. Her words have symbolically marked my mixtapes, and her book, Grapefruit, sits always on my desk at work.
She is 83 today, and still making daring music that puts most artists a quarter of her age to shame. Here’s hoping there’s more to come.
In November of 1980, a few days before John Lennon untimely death on December 8, photographer Allan Tannenbaum had unique and total access to Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono, who were emerging from five years of seclusion, ready to release a new album, “Double Fantasy.” Many of the photographs never released before are now in the book “John & Yoko, A new York Love Story”, release by Insight Editions, November 2007.///John Lennon and Yoko Ono during filming of the “Starting Over” video.
To celebrate, I’ll be listening first to her two most recent albums. But first, I’ll take a ride on the Mind Train, from 1971’s Fly. This groovy jam is equal parts jazz, punk, and freewheeling psychedelia, and her vocals leave recognizable words behind almost immediately. It’s kind of perfect.
Between My Head and the Sky, 2009
This album was one of the first I ever wrote about on this blog, on my own birthday 7 years ago.
Take Me To The Land Of Hell, 2013
Optimistic Underground 