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Encyclopedia > Ballad of John and Yoko
"Ballad of John and Yoko"
Single by The Beatles
B-side(s) "Old Brown Shoe"
Released 1969-05-30 (UK)
1969-06-04 (U.S.)
Format 7"
Recorded Abbey Road: 1969-04-14
Genre Rock
Length 2:59
Label Apple Records
Producer(s) George Martin
Peak chart positions
The Beatles singles chronology
"Get Back" / "Don't Let Me Down"
(1969)
"Ballad of John and Yoko"
(1969)
"Something" / "Come Together"
(1969)
Alternate cover
UK 7" re-release cover

"Ballad of John and Yoko" is a song released by The Beatles as a single in May 1969. Primarily written by John Lennon, the song was attributed, as was the custom, to the Lennon/McCartney songwriting team. It chronicled the events surrounding Lennon's marriage to Yoko Ono and their subsequent activities together, including their famous first Bed-In, and demonstration of bagism. It was released while the couple was in the middle of their second Bed-In. It was recorded during the sessions for the Abbey Road album. Image File history File links BalldofJohnandYoko_singlecover. ... A collection of various CD singles In music, a single is a short recording of one or more separate tracks. ... The Beatles were an English rock band from Liverpool whose members were John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Old Brown Shoe is a song written by George Harrison that was first released by the Beatles as a B-side to The Ballad of John and Yoko. It is also available on the Beatles compilation albums The Beatles 1967-1970, Hey Jude and Past Masters, Volume Two. ... For the Stargate SG-1 episode, see 1969 (Stargate SG-1). ... May 30 is the 150th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (151st in leap years). ... For the Stargate SG-1 episode, see 1969 (Stargate SG-1). ... June 4 is the 155th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (156th in leap years), with 210 days remaining. ... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... It has been suggested that Childrens gramophone records be merged into this article or section. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... For the Stargate SG-1 episode, see 1969 (Stargate SG-1). ... April 14 is the 104th day of the year (105th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 261 days remaining. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... For other uses, see Rock music (disambiguation). ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Apple Records logo, featuring a Granny Smith apple. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... Sir George Henry Martin CBE (born 3 January 1926 in Highbury, London, England) is sometimes referred to as the fifth Beatle—a title that he owes to his work as producer of almost all of The Beatles records. ... A record chart, also known as a music chart, is a method of ranking music according to popularity during a given period of time. ... The UK Singles Chart is currently compiled by The Official UK Charts Company (OCC) on behalf of the British record industry. ... The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. ... The Beatles were an English rock band from Liverpool whose members were John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. ... Get Back sessions, see Let It Be (album). ... For other uses, see Dont Let Me Down. ... Something is a song written by George Harrison, originally released on the Beatles last chronological album, Abbey Road by Apple Records. ... Come Together is a song by the rock band The Beatles written primarily by John Lennon and credited to Lennon/McCartney. ... Image File history File links Balladofjohnandyokocover. ... The Beatles were an English rock band from Liverpool whose members were John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. ... A collection of various CD singles In music, a single is a short recording of one or more separate tracks. ... John Winston Ono Lennon, MBE (October 9, 1940 – December 8, 1980), (born John Winston Lennon, known as John Ono Lennon) was an iconic English 20th century rock and roll songwriter and singer, best known as the founding member of The Beatles. ... The songwriting credit Lennon/McCartney appears on all Beatles songs that were written by John Lennon and/or Paul McCartney without the aid of the other two Beatles, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. ... Yoko Ono Lennon (小野 洋子 Ono Yōko, born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese musician and artist. ... John Lennon and Yoko Onos Bed-In video During the Vietnam War, in 1969, John Lennon and Yoko Ono held two, week-long Bed-Ins for Peace, which were their non-violent ways of protesting wars and promoting peace. ... Bagism is a term which was created by Yoko Ono and the late Beatle, John Lennon, as part of their extensive peace campaign in the late 1960s. ... Abbey Road is the eleventh official album recorded by The Beatles. ...


The song is not a "ballad" in the sense used in modern pop music (where the term usually refers to a slow, sentimental love song), but rather in the traditional sense of a "story told in song". Illustration by Arthur Rackham of the ballad The Twa Corbies A ballad is a story, usually a narrative or poem, in a song. ... Illustration by Arthur Rackham of the ballad The Twa Corbies A ballad is a story, usually a narrative or poem, in a song. ...


Although sounding like a straightforward recording of the full band, "Ballad of John and Yoko" was performed by just Lennon and Paul McCartney. Lennon had a sudden inspiration for the song and called on McCartney, suggesting the two of them record it immediately without waiting for the other Beatles. (George Harrison was on holiday, and Ringo Starr was filming The Magic Christian, in which John and Yoko lookalikes make a cameo appearance, with Peter Sellers.) Sir James Paul McCartney MBE (born June 18, 1942) is an iconic Grammy Award-winning English singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who first gained worldwide fame as one of the founding members of the Beatles. ... George Harrison, MBE (25 February 1943[1][2] – 29 November 2001[3]) was an Academy Award and Grammy Award-winning English rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, author and sitarist best known as the lead guitarist of The Beatles. ... Richard Starkey, MBE (born 7 July 1940 in Liverpool),[1] known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer and actor, best known as the drummer of the Beatles. ... The Magic Christian is a 1969 film directed by Joseph McGrath and starring Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr. ... Richard Henry Peter Sellers, CBE (8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English comedian, actor, and performer, who came to prominence on the BBC radio series The Goon Show and later became a film star. ...


Lennon was on lead vocal, and played lead guitar and acoustic guitar. McCartney sang harmony vocals and played bass, drums, piano, and maracas. The outro guitar riff was inspired by the Dorsey and Johnny Burnette song, "Lonesome Tears in My Eyes", notably covered by the Beatles in their early years and released on the album Live at the BBC. For the Dire Straits album, see Live at the BBC (Dire Straits album). ...


The session recordings reveal this amusing exchange:

Lennon (playing guitar): Go a bit faster, Ringo!
McCartney (playing drums): OK, George!

The song is sometimes listed as "The Ballad of John and Yoko", and sometimes using the shorter title "Ballad of John and Yoko". For example, the picture disc single released in the UK on 30 May, 1989 shows the latter wording on the A-side and the former wording on the B-side of the disc.[1]

Contents

Controversy

The song was banned by several US radio stations, due to Lennon's use of the word "Christ" and the phrase "They're gonna crucify me" in the lyric.[2] In fact, the song's working title was "The Ballad of John and Yoko (They're Going to Crucify Me)".[3] Christ is the English of the Greek word (Christós), which literally means The Anointed One. ...


These allusions, in combination with Lennon's controversial "Jesus" comment in 1966, might have contributed to the fact that it reached number one in the UK but not in the US. John Winston Ono Lennon, MBE (October 9, 1940 – December 8, 1980), (born John Winston Lennon, known as John Ono Lennon) was an iconic English 20th century rock and roll songwriter and singer, best known as the founding member of The Beatles. ...


Additionally, the song was found objectionable by the then-current Spanish government due to its statement that Gibraltar was "near Spain" (the status of Gibraltar being a hot issue between the UK government and Franco's dictatorship at the time). This caused it to be dropped from the tracklists of Beatles Again (not replaced) and The Beatles 1967-1970 (where it was replaced by the Let It Be version of One After 909.) Hey Jude (originally titled The Beatles Again: Hey Jude) was a 1970 compilation of singles and b-sides from various points in The Beatles career, as well as the A Hard Days Night album track I Should Have Known Better. The common thread running through all the albums... This article or section includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... Let It Be is the twelfth and final album by the Beatles, released on May 8, 1970 by the bands own Apple Records label. ... One After 909 is a Beatles song. ...


References

  1. ^ The Beatles - Ballad of John and Yoko
  2. ^ Cross, Craig (2005). The Beatles: Day-by-Day, Song-by-Song, Record-by-Record. Lincoln, NE: iUniverse, Inc., 539-540. ISBN 0-595-34663-4. 
  3. ^ Cross, Craig (2005). The Beatles: Day-by-Day, Song-by-Song, Record-by-Record, 322. 

Further reading

  • The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions by Mark Lewisohn, ISBN 0-681-03189-1, pp. 14 and 173.

External links

Preceded by
"Dizzy" by Tommy Roe
UK number one single
June 11, 1969
Succeeded by
"Something in the Air" by Thunderclap Newman

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Ballad of John and Yoko - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (517 words)
(Redirected from The Ballad of John and Yoko)
The song is not technically a ballad, in the modern sense of the word.
^ The Beatles - Ballad of John and Yoko
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