Q: We're in the Dakota right now. Was there a room in this building where he kept all his guitars? The "guitar room"?
A: No. I mean, you see that there's a piano in every room, right? It was like that. He would have guitar here and there and --
Q: He would stash them around.
A: Right, right. Exactly.
Q: Perhaps the most touching photo of all here is the one of John and about a four-year-old Sean Lennon playing acoustic guitars together…
A: I know. It's so beautiful. That was in Kariza, which is a summer resort in Japan.
Q: Did John encourage and teach Sean to play and did you buy Sean an acousticguitar back then?
A: I didn't. Well, this is a big one, you see that.
Q: Right.
A: It's not a special one for Sean. But eventually, yes, we did buy one for Sean.
Q: One song that's always reminded me of Sean that's on "Acoustic" is the song with the line about "all the little girls and boys." And there's been several versions of that song released. This is a totally new one. Did John really record them here in the Dakota with just a cassette player?
A: Yeah, he did. And you know, actually, the version that's called Real Love and the one that The Beatles covered it and all that, he made that in Dakota, too. He made that for a musical that John and I would be -- we were creating. And he wanted that real love thing, when we first meet in Indica Gallery.
SONG: REAL LOVE
Q: The second side of John Lennon we're listening to today is the rocking side, represented by the brand new remixed and remastered reissue of John's 1975 album "Rock 'N' Roll."
Yoko, a couple of years ago, you purchased Mendips the house that John lived in from 1945 to 1963 on Menlove Avenue in Liverpool. You donated it to the National Trust. In the house, could you picture how John listened to rock and roll while he was growing up?
A: Yeah, well, when you go there, it's just a very incredible experience, actually. Just recently, I had to go there because of many other reasons. And the person who's taking care of the place told me that some Japanese people went there, all the way from Japan of course. And when they saw John's bedroom, they started crying. And even now I mean, this is not the first time, but I go upstairs and look at his little bedroom. It just chokes me up, you know. It's incredible. It's an incredible experience, because he was actually there when he was a little boy.
Q: And that's where he got turned on to rock and roll, listening to the radio.
A: I know.
Q: And along those lines, there was this PBS television program recently called John Lennon's Jukebox, a portable jukebox that was John's 1965 version of the iPod. Did he ever share his love for the music that was on that jukebox with you?
A: Well, he shared with me all sorts of things, including all the songs that, you know, he used to practice and he used to want to be like them. Basically, it's all American rock and roll songs. And he was brought up with that. So, you see when you listen to this CD, "Rock 'N' Roll" by John Lennon, you see how incredible he is. He's singing songs -- I mean, some of the songs he's covering, he's better than the original, really, you know (laughs).
Q: And he had a jukebox with some of those songs here in the Dakota, didn't he?
A: Yeah, yeah, he did, too, yeah.
Q: The first song on "Rock 'N' Roll" is Be Bop-a-Lula. It was one of the first songs that John sang with Paul McCartney. Why do you think John wanted to revisit his original inspiration in 1973? Because this would be his last release for five years.
A: Well, he didn't know that, did he?
Q: No.
A: For him, it was like another start of a new life, I think, you know.
SONG: BE-BOP-A-LULA
Q: John Lennon's passionate take on Be-Bop-a-Lula from the newly reissued and re-mastered "Rock 'N' Roll." Yoko, you work on revitalizing the sound of John's reissued CDs with the team at Abbey Road Studios. I'm very curious about that process. When you get over to England and you get to Abbey Road to work with Allan Rouse and Peter Cobbin, are there old, dusty tapes brought in and then you think about how you can bring them into the modern age?
A: Well, they first do the clean-up job. And they do a rough draft kind of thing. And I would listen to the original remix that John did and then listen to this one and say, "Well look you see the difference?" You know, it starts with that. And you have to do this way. That's how John did. And so we have to go back to that.
Q: Most of "Rock 'N' Roll" was recorded during the time you and John were separated. Phil Spector produced it. We heard a lot of stories from LA about wild partying and stuff. And then Phil left with the tapes for a while and John tried to get them back. Were you aware of much of what was going on during the recording of "Rock 'N' Roll" and how did you feel about it all?
A: Well, first of all, when John said he thinks he's going to do it with Phil Spector, I said, "Well, I don't think you should do that. I think you should do it by yourself." He said, "Well, I'm going to let him try it -- try it with me." And I wasn't happy about it from the beginning. I just had a funny feeling that it's not going to work.
Phil was always very nice to us, you know, and nice to John, too. So it's very strange that I thought it's not going to work this time. I was thinking the reason was that Phil is a big head and John is a big head and they're going to have a clash, you know. But knowing how Phil was with John up to then, like when we made "John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band" and Phil came at the end of it, and also Instant Karma, that was great success. And Imagine was a great success. So there was no reason I should have thought that. But I had a strange feeling about that. And then on, John would call me and say, "Well, you were right. Oh, this is happening. Oh, that's happening." (Laughs) Earful. Yeah.
SONG: STAND BY ME
Q: One of John Lennon's biggest solo hits, his version of Stand by Me, from the newly reissued "Rock 'N' Roll" CD. The spirit of the "Rock 'N' Roll" album is fun and positive. And you and John always projected positivity in your work. These days, it seems we're no closer to peace than we were in 1969, when you asked the world to "give peace a chance". Does that ever make you despair?
A: No, not at all. I really think that now, 99 percent of the world is really for world peace. There's an incredible awareness about wanting peace in the world. And only the one percent is just being disruptive. So that one percent has a lot of power to disrupt. But I think that in the end, we're going to survive. That's the future and I know it.
Q: Yoko, John's enthusiasm for the music he grew up with -- he had that his whole life long. We mentioned he had a jukebox right here in the Dakota. When the two of you co-hosted the Mike Douglas television show, Chuck Berry was your invited guest on the program. Now, we've seen John and Chuck on the show, but what was it like backstage when John Lennon and Chuck Berry met?
A: Well, I think John respected Chuck Berry a lot, of course, as you know. And so there was a nice, kind of warm feeling. I can't say very much, because, actually, Chuck Berry just walked in and said hi and we went out, you know, doing the show.
Q: And you jammed with them as well.
A: Yeah.
Q: And Elephant's Memory Band.
A: Yeah.
Q: I guess, what you see on the TV show is what happened. It was real.
A: Exactly.
SONG: YOU CAN'T CATCH ME
Q: This is Two Sides of Lennon, an hour spent with Yoko Ono in the Dakota, listening to both "Rock 'N' Roll" and the other new Lennon release, "Acoustic."
Yoko, these reissues sound so great. You know this question is coming: Are we going to get a new issue of "Walls and Bridges" soon?
A: Yes, well of course, you're going to. Well, I think it's worth putting out all his albums, especially "Walls and Bridges." I think it's a great, great album.
Q: What can you tell me about the forthcoming play "Lennon" that's on its way to Broadway next year?
A: That should be very exciting, because these people, the producers, came to me and they have a very different take on how to put the play together. And it's very interesting. So that's why I said it's fine. It's not an ordinary thing.
Jody in Yoko's kitchen, 10/6/04
|
 |
Q: We're sitting here in the Dakota, just a few days before John's birthday and Sean's birthday. And John's been gone 24 years, but your collaboration has continued in so many ways. Do you think you will meet John again some day and what do you think he would say about it all?
A: Well, I hope that he would say that he was pleased. I tried my best. I was just doing it every year whatever I can do, in a way, you know. But when I look back at it, you know, in the big picture, yes, John is still alive. And a lot of people feel that way because his words and music and his artwork and all that is still here. And well, I'm glad that I kept it up, you know.
Q: Yoko, I can't thank you enough for always being so kind and forthcoming. I want to leave the listeners with the reprise of Just Because. And we'll say goodbye and just leave them with this piece of music. It's the final piece from the "Rock 'N' Roll" reissue. It's one of the bonus tracks.
John sends out a special greeting that we'll let everyone hear in a minute. So after all was said and done, he could be a bit nostalgic and sentimental, huh?
A: Oh, yes. But I thought that would be a nice present to The Beatle fans.
SONG: JUST BECAUSE (REPRISE)
(End of interview) |
Yoko on John's childhood home
