On this day — October 11th — in 1971, John Lennon released “Imagine.” It was a song that would become one of the most influential of the 20th century. Lennon began working on the song while still a member of the Beatles, during a time when the band was grappling with their immense fame and the challenges it brought, among other issues.
Over a year after the Beatles disbanded, Lennon recorded “Imagine” in a single session at his estate with producer Phil Spector.
The song’s idealistic and utopian lyrics were deeply influenced by Lennon’s wife, Yoko Ono. He later acknowledged that the “lyrics and concept” were “straight out of Grapefruit,” a collection of Ono’s poetry. It was not until 2017, though, that Ono was officially credited as a co-writer.
Unlike some of Lennon’s other politically-charged songs from that era, such as “Give Peace a Chance,” “Power to the People,” and “Happy Xmas (War Is Over),” the song “Imagine” lacked an overt political message. Lines like “Imagine all the people / sharing all the world” reflected a radical utopian vision and Lennon’s desire for peace, particularly an end to war. It echoed the optimism of the previous decades.
The song, along with its album of the same name, became Lennon’s most commercially and critically successful solo work. Since Lennon’s assassination in 1980, “Imagine” has remained a symbol of both idealism and struggle.
Since the song’s release, it has been played before the ball drop in Times Square on New Year’s Eve and featured in major events, such as various aid concerts and the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics over the years. In Liverpool, England, the John Lennon International Airport proudly displays a lyric from the song — “Above us, only sky” — as its motto, as well.