Almost 50 years after the song’s release, Yoko Ono has finally been listed as a co-writer on John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’.
The conceptual artist attended a meeting for the National Music Publishers Association in New York on Wednesday (14 June), during which it was confirmed that she was now listed in the writing credits, having already been named as a co-producer, alongside Phil Spector.
The announcement was introduced with a vintage clip of the former Beatles singer, admitting that Yoko should always have been listed as a co-writer on the track.
He was heard saying: “A lot of [‘Imagine’] - the lyric and the concept - came from Yoko.
“But those days I was a bit more selfish, a bit more macho, and I sort of omitted to mention her contribution.
“But it was right out of ‘Grapefruit’, her book. There’s a whole pile of pieces about ‘Imagine this...’ and ‘Imagine that...’”
This video was then followed by a performance of the song by punk singer Patti Smith, who was accompanied by her daughter on the piano.
Sean Ono Lennon - John and Yoko’s son - later told Billboard that the day his mother’s contribition was officially recognised had been “the happiest… of mine and my mother’s lives”.
Peaceful protest song ‘Imagine’ was first released in 1971, taken from the John Lennon album of the same name.
It went on to become his signature solo effort, and has been covered by artists like Eva Cassidy, Madonna, Lady Gaga and Emeli Sandé, whose version was used as part of the 2012 London Olympics closing ceremony.
Listen to the original below: