There will probably never be another figure as controversial in the music industry as Yoko Ono. While she has carved out her niche as one of the most artistic figures of her time, her role in the career of John Lennon and The Beatles has been blown up to severe proportions for over half a century. Although Ono may have divided the world based on her opinions on Beatles songs, she did single out a few as her personal favourites.
When Ono first saw what would become her soulmate, she had not even been aware of the group’s music. Though the Fab Four had started as one of the most in-demand concert draws, Ono was more interested in the Fluxus movement, warping her artistic projects into some of the wildest forms of expression ever conceived.
As The Beatles started to branch out into different artistic ventures, though, John Lennon would become more interested in Ono’s work, eventually striking up a relationship with her that began with the recording of the album Two Virgins. Compared to the various genre experiments that Yoko had been doing, Lennon managed to catch up to her using the band’s various recording techniques.
When working on singles like ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’, Lennon had come the closest to recreating the kind of wild experimentation that he had heard in his head, marrying together two different takes with vastly different arrangements. Although Ono had yet to enter the studio, Lennon would use her as his muse when putting together songs for The White Album.
Featuring every member serving as backing musicians on each other’s songs, Lennon would turn in the wildest sounds of his career on the double disc, from plaintive moments like the acoustic ballad ‘Julia’ to eventually working on avant-garde music on the sound collage ‘Revolution 9’.
When looking back on her time in the studio, Ono would consider The White Album a particular favourite, telling US Weekly, “I don’t know if people will hate me for saying this, but I always preferred The White Album to Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Don’t get me wrong, I love Pepper’s too”.
Considering her work with avant-garde experiments, it’s easy to see where Ono comes from. Since most of the record features jarring tonal shifts, each song functions as its separate artistic piece as opposed to the grand vision of Sgt Pepper. In terms of her favourite song, though, Ono would have a particular affection for Lennon’s anthem ‘All You Need is Love’.
Rather than focus on the financial side of the business, Ono is proud that he husband was remembered for a great message, explaining to The Telegraph, “I’m glad they were saying all you need is love, not anything like all you need is money!”. Compared to the rest of the music world looking to find a way to recapture the formula that The Beatles founded, Ono’s picks for her favourite Beatles moments were focused on the message being sent out to the world rather than any corporate agenda.
