Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Musical Couples: John Lennon and Yoko Ono


John Lennon: I‘m Losing You

Yoko Ono: Kiss Kiss Kiss

[purchase]

Double Fantasy, released in 1980 just a few weeks before John Lennon was shot, was a concept album that aimed to be a 50-50 combination of Lennon's and Yoko Ono's music. 7 of the 14 tracks on the album were written by each of them. Both are credited, along with Jack Douglas, as producers of the work.

As a couple, Lennon and Ono appear by all accounts to have been truly wedded to each other. Lord knows they both received a lot of flack for their relationship. But isn’t that part of what love involves: a commitment to your partner and your relationship in the face of difficulties?

The album initially got particularly poor reviews (Yoko Ono's voice has - er - a unique quality), but following Lennon's murder, many of the bad reviews were removed and the album eventually reached #1 in the US.
I'm Losing You is a song Lennon wrote about Yoko. He was in the Bahamas and was having trouble reaching Yoko by phone. The lyrics touch on both the difficulties of connecting by phone and an emotional separation. It is based on an earlier partially completed Lennon song, Stranger's Room. Although several members of the band Cheap Trick joined them in the studio, the version of the album that was released was recorded with studio musicians instead, including Hugh McCracken on guitar. The version that includes the Cheap Trick musicians was also released a few years later.
Kiss Kiss Kiss, written by Yoko Ono, is best known for Yoko's breath-y vocals that make it sound like she may be having an orgasm. As well as appearing on the Double Fantasy album, it was also released as the B-side to (Just Like) Starting Over, another Lennon song that also appeared on Double Fantasy.

Guest post by Kkafa

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