As John & Yoko Ono Lennon’s paean for peace, “Imagine,” continues to celebrate its 50th anniversary, the iconic song has just been certified triple platinum by the RIAA for selling 3 million units in the U.S. The achievement comes on the eve of what would have been John’s 81st birthday this Saturday, October 9th.
“John and I were both artists and we were living together, so we inspired each other. The song ‘Imagine’ embodied what we believed together at the time. John and I met – he comes from the West and I come from the East – and still we are together. We have this oneness and ‘the whole world would eventually become one’ is the sense that we will all be very happy together. All these instructions are for people for how to spend eternity, because we have lots of time.”
– Yoko Ono Lennon
“We are thrilled to present this award to Yoko for John & Yoko Ono Lennon’s ‘Imagine.’ One of the most important and universally recognized songs in music, this historic achievement coincides as we celebrate the song and album’s 50th anniversary,” said Bruce Resnikoff, President & CEO of UMe. “‘Imagine’ remains a timeless global anthem, and John & Yoko’s message of peace is just as relevant today as when it was first written.”
The stunning Ultimate Mixes and Out-takes included on the vinyl were originally released in 2018 on the six-disc box set, Imagine – The Ultimate Collection. The Box Set of the historical, remixed and remastered 140-track collection, which was fully authorized by Yoko Ono Lennon (who oversaw the production and creative direction) offers a variety of listening experiences that are at once immersive and intimate, ranging from the Ultimate Mixes of the original album, which reveal whole new levels of sonic depth, definition and clarity to these timeless songs, to the Raw Studio Mixes that allow listeners to hear Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band’s original, unadorned performances, to enveloping 5.1 surround sound mixes, and a Quadrasonic Album Mix, presenting the original four speaker mix remastered in Quadrasonic sound for the first time in nearly fifty years. This ultimate Deep Listening experience, which features scores of previously unheard demos, rare out-takes and isolated track elements, also includes The Evolution Documentary, a unique track-by-track audio montage that details the journey of each song from demo to master recording via instructions, rehearsals, recordings, multitrack exploration and studio chatter. The comprehensive nature of the full Imagine – The Ultimate Collection is the absolute best representation of a career artist working at the top of his creative game.
