Airdate – Oct 09, 2022
In the late 60s a very popular singer/songwriter left a legendary group and went on to have a successful solo career.
In 1971 he released a song from an album of the same name. The song proved to be his best-selling single. Its lyrics still resonate today – even more so …
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In Canada, it’s Thanksgiving Weekend – a time for family, celebration and reflection. According to one interpretation, Thanksgiving is:
“the act of expressing or feeling thankfulness. In other words, it’s the act of giving thanks for what you’re grateful for.”
Our featured singer/songwriter supports this as the lyrics to his 1971 hit single encourages listeners to imagine a world of peace, without materialism, without borders separating nations and without religion.
The song was co-produced with the legendary Phil Spector in England in May of 1971 with final overdubs being completed at the Record Plant in New York City in July. Released in North America in October, it rose to the #3 position on the Billboard Hot 100.
BMI categorized the masterpiece as one of the 100 most performed songs of the 20th century. In 1999, it was ranked number 30 on the RIAA’s list of the 365 “Songs of the Century.” It earned a Grammy Hall of Fame Award and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s “500 Songs That Shaped Rock And Roll.”
More than 200 artists have performed or covered this song over the years. The singer/songwriter gives credit to his wife for much of the song’s contents including its powerful lyrics. Her name was Yoko Ono.
John Lennon died of gunshot wounds on December 8, 1980 at the age of 40. We will never know what other words of wisdom he would have shared with us in song but we sure can “Imagine,” this week’s Tom Locke moment in time.
YouTube video of this song:
