On September 9, 1971, the day John Lennon’s album Imagine was released, journalist and radio personality Howard Smith had one of several conversations with John Lennon and Yoko Ono. The conversations in their St. Regis Hotel room in New York City covered a variety of topics.
In this newly released excerpt prepared for Salon, Lennon and Ono talk about their relationship during this interview that precedes a later period of separation. Both Lennon and Ono respond to questions such as whether it is possible for people to be “too close.”
Of course, much of the conversation also drifts into the other Beatles. In particular, Lennon discusses how his song “How Do You Sleep?” on his new album is a response to Paul McCartney’s song about him, “Too Many People” from Ram (1971). [2019 Update: Unfortunately, the excerpt is no longer available online but below is what is apparently the complete interview.]
Salon has an interesting article on the background about how the tape was found, as well as other information about the recordings.
What do you think is the most interesting part of the Lennon-Yoko interview? Leave your two cents in the comments.
(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)
