- Music
- 16 Jun 17
Yoko Ono to receive songwriting credits 46 years after song released
This week at the National Music Publishers Association in New York, Yoko Ono was recognized as a co-writer of John Lennon’s iconic song, ‘Imagine.’ Ono received the NMPA’s new Centennial Song award, and will be added to the credits of the song as a co-writer.
The Chief Executive of the organization, David Israelite, played a video clip from 1980 of Lennon discussing Ono’s influence on the song. Lennon said,
"There's a lot of pieces in it saying 'imagine this' or 'imagine that [from Ono’s 1964 book ‘Grapefruit’]...I know she helped on a lot of the lyrics, but I wasn't man enough to let her have credit for it. I was still selfish enough and unaware enough to take that contribution without acknowledging it."
The recognition had a deep impact on Ono, as well as her son, Sean Ono Lennon. In a celebratory Instagram post, Lennon referred to the ceremony as the “proudest day of my life,” and wrote, “patience is a virtue.”
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The familiar chorus comes to mind: “You may say I’m a dreamer / But I’m not the only one.” Now, 46 years after the release of the song, Lennon is finally joined by the other dreamer, Ono.