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"Imagine" is a song written and performed by the English musician John Lennon. The best-selling single of his solo career, its lyrics encourage the listener to imagine a world at peace, without the divisiveness and barriers of borders, religions and nationalities, and to consider the possibility that the focus of humanity should be living a life unattached to material possessions.

Lennon and Yoko Ono co-produced the song and album of the same name with Phil Spector. Recording began at Lennon's home studio at Tittenhurst Park, England, in May 1971, with final overdubs taking place at the Record Plant, in New York City, during July. One month after the September release of the LP, Lennon released "Imagine" as a single in the United States; the song peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the LP reached number 1 on the UK chart in November, later becoming the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed album of Lennon's solo career. Although not originally released as a single in the United Kingdom, it was released in 1975 to promote a compilation LP and it reached number 6 in the chart that year. The song has since sold more than 1.6 million copies in the UK; it reached number 1 following Lennon's death in December 1980.

BMI named "Imagine" one of the 100 most-performed songs of the 20th century. The song ranked number 30 on the Recording Industry Association of America's list of the 365 Songs of the Century bearing the most historical significance. It earned a Grammy Hall of Fame Award and an induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. A UK survey conducted by the Guinness World Records British Hit Singles Book named it the second best single of all time, and Rolling Stone ranked it number 3 in their list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Since 2005, event organisers have played it just before the New Year's Times Square Ball drops in New York City. Dozens of artists have performed or recorded versions of "Imagine", including Madonna, Stevie Wonder, Joan Baez, Elton John, and Diana Ross. Emeli Sandé recorded a cover for the BBC to use during the end credits montage at the close of the 2012 Summer Olympics coverage in August 2012. "Imagine" subsequently re-entered the UK Top 40, reaching number 18.

Composition and writing

Several poems from Yoko Ono's 1964 book Grapefruit inspired Lennon to write the lyrics for "Imagine"—in particular, one which Capitol Records reproduced on the back cover of the original Imagine LP titled "Cloud Piece", reads: "Imagine the clouds dripping, dig a hole in your garden to put them in." Lennon later said the composition "should be credited as a Lennon/Ono song. A lot of it—the lyric and the concept—came from Yoko, but in those days I was a bit more selfish, a bit more macho, and I sort of omitted her contribution, but it was right out of Grapefruit." When asked about the song's meaning during a December 1980 interview with David Sheff for Playboy magazine, Lennon told Sheff that Dick Gregory had given Ono and him a Christian prayer book, which helped inspire in Lennon what he described as:

The concept of positive prayer ... If you can imagine a world at peace, with no denominations of religion—not without religion but without this my God-is-bigger-than-your-God thing—then it can be true ... the World Church called me once and asked, "Can we use the lyrics to 'Imagine' and just change it to 'Imagine one religion'?" That showed they didn't understand it at all. It would defeat the whole purpose of the song, the whole idea.

With the combined influence of "Cloud Piece" and the prayer book given to him by Gregory, Lennon wrote what author John Blaney described as "a humanistic paean for the people." Blaney wrote, "Lennon contends that global harmony is within our reach, but only if we reject the mechanisms of social control that restrict human potential." In the opinion of Blaney, with "Imagine", Lennon attempted to raise people's awareness of their interaction with the institutions that affect their lives. Rolling Stone's David Fricke commented: " calls for a unity and equality built upon the complete elimination of modern social order: geopolitical borders, organised religion, economic class."

Lennon stated: "'Imagine', which says: 'Imagine that there was no more religion, no more country, no more politics,' is virtually the Communist manifesto, even though I'm not particularly a Communist and I do not belong to any movement." He told NME: "There is no real Communist state in the world; you must realize that. The Socialism I speak about ... not the way some daft Russian might do it, or the Chinese might do it. That might suit them. Us, we should have a nice ... British Socialism."

Ono described the lyrical statement of "Imagine" as "just what John believed: that we are all one country, one world, one people." Rolling Stone described its lyrics as "22 lines of graceful, plain-spoken faith in the power of a world, united in purpose, to repair and change itself."

Lennon composed "Imagine" one morning in early 1971, on a Steinway piano, in a bedroom at his Tittenhurst Park estate in Ascot, Berkshire, England. Ono watched as he composed the melody, chord structure and almost all the lyrics, nearly completing the song in one brief writing session. "Imagine" is in the key of C major. Its 4-bar piano introduction begins with a C chord then moves to Cmaj7 before changing to F; the 12-bar verses also follow this chord progression, with their last 4 bars moving from Am/E to Dm and Dm/C, finishing with G, G11 then G7, before resolving back to C. The 8-bar choruses progress from F to G to C, then Cmaj7 and E before ending on E7, a C chord substituted for E7 in the final bar. The 4-bar outro begins with F, then G, before resolving on C. With a duration of 3 minutes and 3 seconds and a time signature of 4/4, the song's tempo falls around 75 beats per minute.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).}}</ref>

Musical notation for the introduction to "Imagine", by John Lennon.

Musical notation for the main vocal melody to "Imagine", by John Lennon.

"Imagine" An excerpt from the second chorus Problems playing this file? See media help.

Recording and commercial reception

Lennon and Ono co-produced the song and album with Phil Spector, who commented on the track: "We knew what we were going to do ... It was going to be John making a political statement, but a very commercial one as well ... I always thought that 'Imagine' was like the national anthem." Lennon described his working arrangement with Ono and Spector: "Phil doesn't arrange or anything like that— and Phil will just sit in the other room and shout comments like, 'Why don't you try this sound' or 'You're not playing the piano too well'... I'll get the initial idea and ... we'll just find a sound from ."

Recording began at Ascot Sound Studios, Lennon's newly built home studio at Tittenhurst Park, in May 1971, with final overdubs taking place at the Record Plant, in New York City, during July. Relaxed and patient, the sessions began during the late morning, running to just before dinner in the early evening. Lennon taught the musicians the chord progression and a working arrangement for "Imagine", rehearsing the song until he deemed the musicians ready to record. In his attempt to recreate Lennon's desired sound, Spector had some early tapings feature Lennon and Nicky Hopkins playing in different octaves on one piano. He also initially attempted to record the piano part with Lennon playing the white baby grand in the couple's all-white room. However, after having deemed the room's acoustics unsuitable, Spector abandoned the idea in favour of the superior environment of Lennon's home studio. They completed the session in minutes, recording three takes and choosing the second one for release. The finished recording featured Lennon on piano and vocal, Klaus Voormann on bass guitar, Alan White on drums and the Flux Fiddlers on strings.

Issued by Apple Records in the United States in October 1971, "Imagine" became the best-selling single of Lennon's solo career. It peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. It reached number 1 in Canada on the RPM national singles chart, remaining there for 2 weeks.; for "Imagine" at number 1 in Canada on 4 December 1971 see: }}</ref> Upon its release the song's lyrics upset some religious groups, particularly the line: "Imagine there's no heaven". When asked about the song during one of his final interviews, Lennon said he considered it to be as strong a composition as any he had written with the Beatles. He described the song's meaning and explicated its commercial appeal: "Anti-religious, anti-nationalistic, anti-conventional, anti-capitalistic, but because it is sugarcoated it is accepted ... Now I understand what you have to do. Put your political message across with a little honey." Lennon once told Paul McCartney that "Imagine" was "'Working Class Hero' with sugar on it for conservatives like yourself". On 30 November 1971, the Imagine LP reached number 1 on the UK chart. It became the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed album of Lennon's solo career.

Film and re-releases

In 1972, Lennon and Ono released an 81-minute film to accompany the Imagine album which featured footage of the couple in their home, garden and the recording studio of their Berkshire property at Tittenhurst Park as well as in New York City. A full-length documentary rock video, the film's first scene features a shot of Lennon and Ono walking through a thick fog, arriving at their house as the song "Imagine" begins. Above the front door to their house is a sign that reads: "This Is Not Here", the title of Ono's then New York art show. The next scene shows Lennon sitting at a white grand piano in a dimly lit, all-white room. Ono gradually walks around opening curtains that allow in light, making the room brighter with the song's progression. At the song's conclusion, Ono sits beside Lennon at the piano, and they share a quaint gaze, then a brief kiss.

Several celebrities appeared in the film, including Andy Warhol, Fred Astaire, Jack Palance, Dick Cavett and George Harrison. Derided by critics as "the most expensive home movie of all time", it premiered to an American audience in 1972. In 1986, Zbigniew Rybczyński made a music video for the song, and in 1987, it won both the "Silver Lion" award for Best Clip at Cannes and the Festival Award at the Rio International Film Festival.

Released as a single in the United Kingdom in 1975 in conjunction with the album Shaved Fish, "Imagine" peaked at number 6 on the UK Singles Chart. Following Lennon's murder in 1980, the single re-entered the UK chart, reaching number 1, where it remained for 4 weeks in January 1981. "Imagine" was re-released as a single in the UK in 1988, peaking at number 45, and again in 1999, reaching number 3. Lennon's best-selling single, as of 2013, it has sold 1,600,000 copies in the UK.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).}}</ref> In 1999, on National Poetry Day in the United Kingdom, the BBC announced that listeners had voted "Imagine" Britain's favourite song lyric. In 2003, it reached number 33 as the B-side to a re-release of "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)".

Recognition and criticism

Rolling Stone described "Imagine" as Lennon's "greatest musical gift to the world", praising "the serene melody; the pillowy chord progression; that beckoning, four-note figure". Included in several song polls, in 1999, BMI named it one of the top 100 most-performed songs of the 20th century. Also that year, it received the Grammy Hall of Fame Award and an induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. Triple J ranked it number 11 on its Hottest 100 of All Time list. "Imagine" ranked number 23 in the list of best-selling singles of all time in the UK, in 2000. In 2002, a UK survey conducted by the Guinness World Records British Hit Singles Book ranked it the 2nd best single of all time behind Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody". Gold Radio ranked the song number 3 on its "Gold's greatest 1000 hits" list.

Rolling Stone ranked "Imagine" number 3 on its list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time", describing it as "an enduring hymn of solace and promise that has carried us through extreme grief, from the shock of Lennon's own death in 1980 to the unspeakable horror of September 11th. It is now impossible to imagine a world without 'Imagine', and we need it more than he ever dreamed." Despite that sentiment, Clear Channel Communications included the song on its post-9/11 "do not play" list.

On 1 January 2005, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation named "Imagine" the greatest song in the past 100 years as voted by listeners on the show 50 Tracks. The song ranked number 30 on the Recording Industry Association of America's list of the 365 Songs of the Century bearing the most historical significance. Virgin Radio conducted a UK favourite song survey in December 2005, and listeners voted "Imagine" number 1. Australians selected it the greatest song of all time on the Nine Network's 20 to 1 countdown show on 12 September 2006. They voted it 11th in the youth network Triple J's Hottest 100 Of All Time on 11 July 2009.

Jimmy Carter said, "in many countries around the world—my wife and I have visited about 125 countries—you hear John Lennon's song 'Imagine' used almost equally with national anthems." On 9 October 2010, which would have been Lennon's 70th birthday, the Liverpool Signing Choir performed "Imagine" along with other Lennon songs at the unveiling of the John Lennon Peace Monument in Chavasse Park, Liverpool England. Beatles producer George Martin praised Lennon's solo work, singling out the composition: "My favourite song of all was 'Imagine'". Music critic Paul Du Noyer described "Imagine" as Lennon's "most revered" post-Beatles song. Urish and Bielen called it "the most subversive pop song recorded to achieve classic status." Fricke commented: "'Imagine' is a subtly contentious song, Lennon's greatest combined achievement as a balladeer and agitator."

Authors Ben Urish and Ken Bielen criticised the song's instrumental music as overly sentimental and melodramatic, comparing it to the music of the pre-rock era and describing the vocal melody as understated. According to Blaney, Lennon's lyrics describe hypothetical possibilities that offer no practical solutions; lyrics that are at times nebulous and contradictory, asking the listener to abandon political systems while encouraging one similar to communism. Author Chris Ingham indicated the hypocrisy in Lennon, the millionaire rock star living in a mansion, encouraging listeners to imagine living their lives without possessions. Others argue that Lennon intended the song's lyrics to inspire listeners to imagine if the world could live without possessions, not as an explicit call to give them up. Blaney commented: "Lennon knew he had nothing concrete to offer, so instead he offers a dream, a concept to be built upon."

Blaney considered the song to be "riddled with contradictions. Its hymn-like setting sits uncomfortably alongside its author's plea for us to envision a world without religion." Urish and Bielen described Lennon's "dream world" without a heaven or hell as a call to "make the best world we can here and now, since this is all this is or will be." In their opinion, "because we are asked merely to imagine—to play a 'what if' game, Lennon can escape the harshest criticisms". Former Beatle Ringo Starr defended the song's lyrics during a 1981 interview with Barbara Walters, stating: " said 'imagine', that's all. Just imagine it."

Notable performances and cover versions

In December 1971, Lennon and Ono appeared at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. Lennon performed "Imagine" with an acoustic guitar, yielding the earliest known live recording of the song, later included on the John Lennon Anthology (1998). In 1975, he sang "Imagine" during his final public performance, a birthday celebration for Lew Grade.

Elton John performed the song in September 1980 during his free concert in Central Park, a few blocks away from Lennon's apartment in the Dakota building. On 9 December 1980, the day after Lennon's murder, Queen performed "Imagine" as a tribute to him during their Wembley Arena show in London. On 9 October 1990, more than one billion people listened to a broadcast of the song on what would have been Lennon's 50th birthday. Stevie Wonder gave his rendition of the song, with the Morehouse College Glee Club, during the closing ceremony of the 1996 Summer Olympics as a tribute to the victims of the Centennial Olympic Park bombing. In 2001, Neil Young performed it during the benefit concert America: A Tribute to Heroes. Madonna performed "Imagine" during the benefit, Tsunami Aid: A Concert of Hope.

Since 2005, "Imagine" has been played prior to the New Year's Eve ball drop at New York City's Times Square. Beginning in 2010, the song has been performed live; first by Taio Cruz, then in 2011 by Cee Lo Green, and in 2012 by Train. However, Green received criticism for changing the lyric "and no religion too" to "and all religion's true", resulting in an immediate backlash from fans who believed that he had disrespected Lennon's legacy by changing the lyrics of his most iconic song. Green defended the change by saying it meant to represent "a world could believe what wanted". In 2012, the London Olympic organisers included the song as part of the games' closing ceremony. Performed by the Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Choir and the Liverpool Signing Choir, the choirs sang the first verse, and accompanied Lennon's original vocals during the rest of the song.

More than 140 artists have recorded cover versions of "Imagine". Joan Baez included it on 1972's Come from the Shadows and Diana Ross recorded a version for her 1973 album, Touch Me in the Morning. In 1995, Blues Traveler recorded the song for the Working Class Hero: A Tribute to John Lennon album and Dave Matthews has performed the song live with them. A Perfect Circle covered the song for the album eMOTIVe released in 2004. Seal, Pink, India.Arie, Jeff Beck, Konono Nº1, Oumou Sangaré and others recorded a version for Herbie Hancock's 2010 album The Imagine Project.

Hancock performed it with Arie, Kristina Train, and Greg Phillinganes at the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize Concert on 11 December. On 13 February 2011, the recording—with Pink, Seal, Malian singer Oumou Sangare India Arie, and Jeff Beck won a Grammy award for Best Pop Vocal Collaboration.

Emeli Sandé recorded a cover for the BBC to use during the end credits montage at the close of the 2012 Summer Olympics coverage in August 2012. "Imagine" subsequently re-entered the UK Top 40, reaching number 18.

Charts and certifications

Notes

1. The lyrical content of "Imagine" relates to Lennon's concept of Nutopia: The Country of Peace, which he invented in 1973. Lennon included a symbolically mute anthem to this country on his album Mind Games released later that year.
2. In 1991, the BBC restricted "Imagine" from airplay during the Gulf War.
3. Yoko Ono dedicated the Imagine Peace Tower in Iceland, in 2007.
4. Peter Gabriel performed the song during the 2006 Winter Olympics opening ceremony.
5. Madonna included the song in her setlist during the 2004 Re-Invention World Tour, and released it on the live album and DVD documentary I'm Going to Tell You a Secret in 2006.
6. The first adaptation of the original 8-track recording of "Imagine", Lennon also appeared in video.

Citations

1. ^ Sheff 1981, pp. 212–213.
2. Spizer 2005, p. 54.
3. ^ Blaney 2007, p. 51.
4. ^ Blaney 2007, p. 52.
5. ^ Fricke 2012, p. 59.
6. ^ Wenner 2010, p. 13.
7. Blaney 2007, p. 82.
8. Lennon 1983, pp. 5–9.
9. For Spector co-producing with Lennon and Ono see: Du Noyer 1971, pp. 1–14; for "I always thought that song was like the national anthem" see: Levy 2005, p. 87.
10. ^ Blaney 2007, pp. 50–51.
11. Fricke 2012, p. 58.
12. Blaney 2007, p. 53.
13. Roberts 2005, p. 292.
14. Blaney 2007, p. 57.
15. ^ "Top Singles - Volume 16, No. 15, November 27 1971". Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
16. ^ "Top Singles - Volume 16, No. 16, December 04 1971". Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
17. ^ Harry 2000b, p. 382.
18. Levy 2005, p. 87.
19. Doggett 2009, p. 179.
20. Badman 1999, p. 55.
21. Goldman 1988, p. 397.
22. Cite error: The named reference GM was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
23. ^ Harry 2000b, p. 378.
24. For a description of the room and Ono opening shutters see: Edmondson, Jacqueline (2010). John Lennon: A Biography. Greenwood. p. 140. ISBN 978-0-313-37938-3.; for the title of Ono's then New York art show see: Harry 2000b, pp. 907–908.
25. Norman 2008, p. 763.
26. "Artist/VIP gallery: Zbigniew Rybczynski". Polish American Film Society. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
27. Roberts 2005, p. 292: The 2003 re-release and peak UK chart position of "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)"; Blaney 2007, p. 282: "Imagine" as the B-side of the 2003 re-release of "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)".
28. "BMI Announces Top 100 Songs of the Century". BMI. 13 December 1999. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
29. For the "Grammy Hall of Fame Award" see: "Grammy Hall Of Fame: Past Recipients". Grammy.org. Retrieved 11 October 2012.; for the "500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll" see: "Songs that shaped Rock and Roll: "Imagine"". The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 1999. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
30. "Hottest 100 of All Time". Triple J. 2009. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
31. Theo Morgan-Gan. "The UK's Best Selling Singles". Official Singles Chart. Ukcharts.20m.com. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
32. "Queen rock on in poll". BBC. BBC News. 8 May 2002. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
33. "Gold's Top 1000". This is Global Limited. Gold's. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
34. Tom Morello (November 2001). "The New Blacklist: The nation's largest radio network's list of 'questionable' songs". FAIR.org. Retrieved 11 October 2012..
35. Ian Peddie (2006). The Resisting Muse: Popular Music And Social Protest. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. p. 13. ISBN 0-7546-5114-2.
36. ^ Andrew Grant Jackson (2012). Still the Greatest: The Essential Songs of the Beatles' Solo Careers. Scarecrow Press. p. 30. ISBN 978-0-8108-8222-5..
37. "SideFlower's Journal – Virgin Radio All Time Top 500 Songs –". Last.fm.
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39. Debbie Elliott (5 November 2006). "Carter helps monitor Nicaragua presidential election". NPR. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
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41. "Peace monument unveiled in Liverpool for John Lennon's 70th". Liverpool Daily Post. 11 October 2010.
42. "Imagine ... if he was still alive: Sculpture of Peace unveiled to mark John Lennon's life on his 70th Birthday". Daily Mail. Associated Newspapers Ltd. 10 October 2010. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
43. Coleman 1992, p. 370.
44. Du Noyer 1971, p. 1.
45. ^ Urish & Bielen 2007, p. 27.
46. ^ Ingham 2009, p. 99.
47. Blaney 2007, p. 56.
48. Rocket Man: The Encyclopedia of Elton John. Greenwood. p. 158. ISBN 978-0-313-29700-7. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |authors= ignored (help)
49. Phil Sutcliffe (2009). Queen: The Ultimate Illustrated History of the Crown Kings of Rock. Voyageur Press. p. 150. ISBN 978-0-7603-3719-6.
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51. Jennifer Frey (5 August 1996). "A Curtain Call in Atlanta". The Washington Post. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
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54. Mitchell, Claudia A; Reid-Walsh, Jacqueline, eds. (2007). Girl Culture: An Encyclopedia, Volume 1. Greenwood. p. 413. ISBN 978-0-313-33909-7.
55. For the inclusion of "Imagine" in the set-list for the Re-Invention World Tour, see: Dirk Timmerman (2007). Madonna Live! Secret Re-inventions and Confessions on Tour. Maklu. p. 27. ISBN 978-90-8595-002-8.; and: Scott Mervis (4 November 2012). "Madonna to perform Tuesday at Consol Energy Center". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 19 November 2012.; for the inclusion of "Imagine" in the DVD documentary I'm Going to Tell You a Secret, see: "I'm Going to Tell You a Secret – Madonna". Billboard. 7 July 2006. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
56. For "Imagine" being played in 2005's New Year's Eve celebration in New York see: "John Lennon's "Imagine" meets the DSM". Chestnut Hill Local. 17 May 2012. Retrieved 19 October 2012.; for "Imagine" being played "in its customary spot leading up to midnight" during 2010's New Year's Eve celebration in New York see: "Hello 2010: Huge, Wet Crowd Rings In New Year In Times Square". NY1 News. Time Warner Cable Enterprises LLC. 1 January 2010. Retrieved 19 October 2012.; for "Imagine" being played in 2011's New Year's Eve celebration in New York see:Nina Golgowski. "Cee Lo Green changes lyrics to Lennon's Imagine to include pro-religion message enraging fans". The Daily Mail. Retrieved 1 9 October 2012. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
57. ^ Gael Fashingbauer Cooper (1 January 2012). "Fans angry that Cee Lo changed 'Imagine' lyrics". NBC News. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
58. ^ Kia Makarechi (12 August 2012). "John Lennon & Closing Ceremony: Video Of Late Beatle Singing 'Imagine' Wows At London Olympics". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
59. "Second Hand Songs – Song: Imagine". Second Hand Songs project. Retrieved 6 December 2010.; "Imagine a World With Only Good Covers". UpVenue. Secondhandsongs.com. 19 November 2012. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
60. Fricke 2012, p. 63.
61. For the Blues Traveler's cover included on Working Class Hero: A Tribute to John Lennon see: "Records". The Michigan Daily. 1 November 1995. Retrieved 18 October 2012.; : For Dave Matthews performing "Imagine" live with Blues Traveler see: Fricke 2012, p. 63
62. Brian Gnatt (21 June 2010). "The Imagine Project". All About Jazz. Retrieved 29 November 2010.
63. "Past Winners Search". Grammy.com. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
64. author= Steve Holden (15 August 2012). "Olympics closing ceremony sales boost for music artist". BBC Radio. Retrieved 25 September 2012. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help); Missing pipe in: |last= (help)
65. Georg Szalai (20 August 2012). "Jessie J, Emeli Sande, the Spice Girls and Fatboy Slim see some of their songs re-enter the list of the top 200 singles or make big jumps". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
66. "Australia n°1 Hits - 80's". Worldcharts.co.uk. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
67. ^ "John Lennon – Imagine" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
68. "Imagine - JOHN LENNON". VRT (in Dutch). Top30-2.radio2.be. Retrieved 2 August 2013. Hoogste notering in de top 30 : 9
69. "Adult Contemporary - Volume 16, No. 15, November 27 1971". Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
70. ^ "InfoDisc : Tous les Titres par Artiste". Dominic DURAND / InfoDisc (in French). InfoDisc.fr. 2 August 2013. {{cite web}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help) You have to use the index at the top of the page and search "John Lennon"
71. "Singoli – I numeri uno (1959–1950) – parte 2: 1970–1980". Musica e Dischi (in Italian). It-Charts.150m.com. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
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76. ^ "John Lennon – Imagine". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
77. ^ "Imagine awards on Allmusic". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
78. John Blaney (2005). John Lennon: Listen to This Book (illustrated ed.). : Paper Jukebox. p. 326. ISBN 978-0-9544528-1-0. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
79. ^ "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". IRMA. Retrieved 2 August 2013. 2nd to 5th results when searching "Imagine"
80. "– ". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
81. bulion. "Forum - ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts - CHART POSITIONS PRE 1989, part 2". ARIA. Australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
82. "John Lennon – Imagine" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
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86. "Chart Track: Week 1, 2000". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
87. "Italian single certifications – John Lennon – Imagine" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 10 January 2013. Select "Tutti gli anni" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Type "Imagine" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".
88. Cite error: The named reference UKM was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
89. id MUST BE PROVIDED for UK CERTIFICATION.

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• Ingham, Chris (2009). The Rough Guide to the Beatles (3rd ed.). Rough Guides. ISBN 978-1-84836-525-4. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Fricke, David (2012) . Wenner, Jann (ed.). "John Lennon: The Ultimate Guide to His Life, Music, and Legend". Rolling Stone. ISBN 7-09-893419-4. {{cite journal}}: |chapter= ignored (help); Cite journal requires |journal= (help); Invalid |ref=harv (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
• Goldman, Albert (1988). The Lives of John Lennon. William Morrow and Company. ISBN 1-55652-399-8. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Harry, Bill (2000b). The John Lennon Encyclopedia. Virgin. ISBN 978-0-7535-0404-8. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Levy, Joe (editor) (2005). Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (First Paperback ed.). Wenner Books. ISBN 978-1-932958-61-4. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help); Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Lennon, John (1983). The John Lennon Collection. Hal Leonard. ISBN 978-0-7935-0265-3. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Norman, Philip (2008). John Lennon: The Life. ECCO (Harper Collins). ISBN 978-0-06-075401-3. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Roberts, David, ed. (2005). British Hit Singles & Albums (18 ed.). Guinness World Records Limited. ISBN 978-1-904994-00-8. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Sheff, David (1981). Golson, G. Barry (ed.). All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono (2000 ed.). St Martin's Griffin. ISBN 978-0-312-25464-3. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Spizer, Bruce (2005). The Beatles Solo on Apple Records. 498 Productions, LLC. ISBN 978-0-9662649-5-1. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Urish, Ben; Bielen, Ken (2007). The Words and Music of John Lennon. Praeger. ISBN 978-0-275-99180-7. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Wenner, Jann (2010) . 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. OCLC 641731526. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

Further reading

• Borack, John (2010). John Lennon: Life Is What Happens. Krause Publications. ISBN 978-1-4402-1391-5.
• George-Warren, Holly, ed. (2001). The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (2005 revised and updated ed.). Fireside. ISBN 978-0-7432-9201-6.
• Riley, Tim (2011). Lennon: The Man, the Myth, the Music – The Definitive Life. Hyperion. ISBN 978-1-4013-2452-0.
• Tillery, Gary (2009). The Cynical Idealist: A Spiritual Biography of John Lennon. Quest Books. ISBN 978-0-8356-0875-6.
• Wenner, Jann (2000). George-Warren, Holly (ed.). Lennon Remembers. Verso. ISBN 1-85984-600-9.

Documentaries

• Yoko Ono, Phil Spector (Producers) (2000). Gimme Some Truth – The Making of John Lennon's "Imagine" (DVD) (in English and Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround). Capitol. ASIN B000AYELY2. {{cite AV media}}: |format= requires |url= (help)CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
• Andrew Solt (Director) (2005). Imagine: John Lennon (DVD) (in English and Dolby Digital 5.1). Warner Home Video. ASIN 6305847118. {{cite AV media}}: |format= requires |url= (help)CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)

External links

• Template:MetroLyrics song

Template:Link FA

• Use dmy dates from March 2012
• Single chart usages for UKchartarchive
• 1971 singles
• 1975 singles
• 1980 singles
• Anti-war songs
• Apple Records singles
• Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals
• Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients
• Irish Singles Chart number-one singles
• John Lennon songs
• Number-one singles in Australia
• Peace symbols
• Rock ballads
• RPM Top Singles number-one singles
• Songs critical of religion
• Song recordings produced by John Lennon
• Song recordings produced by Phil Spector
• Song recordings produced by Yoko Ono
• Songs written by John Lennon
• UK Singles Chart number-one singles
• A Perfect Circle songs
• Blues Traveler songs
• Joan Baez songs