Yoko Ono turns 91 today
The unique Yoko Ono was born on this day in 1933
Yoko Ono turns 91 today
The famous Yoko Ono was born on February 18, 1933, in Tokyo, Japan. She moved to New York during the 1950’s where she pursued an artistic career, specializing in conceptual and experimental art. She first met Lennon in 1966 at her own art exhibition in London, and they became a couple in 1968 and wed the following year. With their performance Bed-Ins for Peace in Amsterdam and Montreal in 1969, Ono and Lennon famously used their honeymoon at the Hilton Amsterdam as a stage for public protests against the Vietnam War. Despite many claiming she was the main cause for The Beatles to break up as a band, this has been denied both by the members of the band and by Yoko herself. She, however, inspired John Lennon into breaking away from the Pop music mold he had become famous for with The Beatles and motivated him in becoming a more experimental artist using different and more raw and crude songwriting skills that were mainly reflected on his first solo albums and with Plastic Ono Band. In her music, Ono brought feminism to the forefront influencing several feminine artists but also avant-garde and alternative. Her first solo album, “Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band”, released together with “John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band”, included the song “Why”, a very early Alternative Rock expression that was at the time criticized, as well as most of her musical performances due to the often used raw screams of her voice. It wasn’t up until later that Ono was recognized as a visionary and pioneer in that specific music style that came to influence bands such as Sonic Youth. Her last musical collaboration with John Lennon was the “Double Fantasy” album, released in 1980, an album was shared between both and included Ono’s popular New Wave song “Kiss Kiss Kiss”. Ono was with John Lennon when he was murdered in 1980 and remains today the absolute keeper of his legacy as an artist together. The couple had one son together, Sean Lennon, who is also an artist and musician. Throughout her lifetime, Yoko Ono has made countless Art expositions, collaborations and work in several artistic fields. She still remains an active artist and often communicates with audiences through her social media presence.
Watch and listen to Yoko Ono’s seminal Art Rock song “Why” from the 1970 album “Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band”
Watch a clip from Yoko Ono’s 1965 performance “Cut Piece”
Watch more The Beatles related videos
Images and photographs can be from different ranges of sources such as Pinterest, Tumblr etc. except when/where noted. If you are the copyright holder and would like them removed or credited, please get in touch.
