“Imagine” — John Lennon
Having written about both Ringo and George lately, there’s enough of the completer-finisher in me that I feel the need to complete the set…
“Imagine” is possibly the most famous and enduring song by any of the Fab Four in their post-Beatles years. It wasn’t a massive hit when it first came out in 1971, only making the Top 10 in both the UK and the US, although it did make Number One in the UK following John Lennon’s tragic death in December 1980.
That seems like a slightly underwhelming initial response to a song which would pick up plenty of recognition in the years since its release. The BMI recognised it as one of the most performed songs of the 20th Century. “Imagine” has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. And Rolling Stone magazine put it very firmly in the upper reaches of their 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll listing.
It probably didn’t help that John Lennon was seen as quite a divisive figure in 1971. Many people hadn’t got over his “the Beatles are bigger than Jesus” remark. And probably more people were angry that “he’d broken up the Beatles”.
John Lennon didn’t always come in a media-friendly package. And he was a deep thinker in the world when deep thinking wasn’t held in great esteem back in 1971. Goodness knows what he’d make the world today…
