Yoko Ono Shares New Version Of “Imagine” On John Lennon’s Birthday
Earlier this year, Yoko Ono announced a new album Warzone, consisting of new versions of songs she’s recorded or been involved with throughout her career. It’s coming out next Friday (10/19), on her son Sean Lennon’s label Chimera. She’s already released the title track, but today the artist and singer posted her version of her late husband’s classic “Imagine,” easily the most widely-known song on the album. Last year, Ono officially received a songwriting credit on the track, which originally appeared on John Lennon’s 1971 album of the same name. The track recasts the song in a spare, ambient setting, with Ono’s distinctive, speaksong-inflected vocals firmly in the foreground. Gone is the song’s iconic, churning piano accompaniment.
A new version of Lennon and Ono’s collaborative Imagine film, including 15 minutes of previously unreleased footage, was released in select theaters in September. Listen to Ono’s tremulous remake of “Imagine” below.
This article originally appeared on Spin.