In recent years there has been a realignment in how the public views Yoko Ono. When she initially became internationally well-known to the world and to millions of Beatles fans, it turned out to be a double-edged sword for all concerned parties. Yoko was a fiercely independent lady who certainly saw that her association with John would provide more exposure for her definition of “conceptual art”, which cynics have sarcastically coined a phrase labelling Yoko as a con artist! The popular exposure avenue that John Lennon’s celebrity opened up for her was also a curse as people were determined to blame Yoko Ono for the eventual breakup of the Beatles, never considering that John himself may have been looking for an excuse to break free from the pressures and restraints of being in the very famous and successful band. (a notion that the public would never want to accept or refused to believe)

In recent years, her vision of what constitutes “art” has become more acceptable to the mainstream. To be fair, if you were married to a worldwide celebrity, would you want your entire life to be judged negatively because the public sees you as taking that celebrity away from them. Certainly unfair, no matter how you look at it. Everyone makes choices of how to live their lives, and who to associate with, and it is their right to do so whether it pleases you or not! It is your right to not love her music, her singing or her art or even the perceived personality you believe that she has, but at least be fair. Don’t let selective perception rule the day whereby you ignore the positive about someone but you only emphasize their supposed negative traits. Yoko has done numerous charitable deeds for example quietly, that have not been fully recognized or acknowledged by the public. Look up using Google what she did to help out Lester Chambers of the Chamber Brothers for example when he had no place to live and had no medical coverage. You may be pleased at the help she provided to him. There are numerous other accounts that are kept quiet by the respective individuals for privacy sake.

Picture yourselves in a situation where you would be constantly vilified and chronically insulted because of the perceived impact your actions would have on the person you chose to live with.

The term “control freak” is often misused to characterize someone who is self-determined, strong-willed, and they know exactly what they want, and are possibly hell-bent on getting it. Ironically, both Yoko Ono and Paul McCartney could both be characterized using that definition as control freaks. They were both workaholics and knew what they wanted and strived constantly and consistently towards their goals whether those goals were stated directly or merely implied.

This new book written by David Sheff, the man who conducted one of the final interviews that John Lennon and Yoko Ono gave together for Playboy magazine back in 1980, attempts to give us a balanced and sensitive insight as to what makes Yoko Ono tick. Her complicated psyche and life experiences are detailed to give us a much better understanding of the lady who is considered by many to be very controversial simply partly due to the fact she decided to look at life differently or from a different angle or perspective and had the audacity to fall in love with a mega-celebrity who was loved by millions!

Despite David Sheff’s obvious friendship with Yoko Ono, his goal with the book does not appear to be an attempt to convince you to love her art, her work, or her life decisions. It is a sincere attempt to help us understand a very complicated insecure individual who possibly put up with more public abuse and severe criticism than possibly any female in world history. Sheff gives a balanced view of both her artistic strengths and her childlike naivete when viewing the realities of the life surrounding her. Sheff presents a strong narrative dealing with Yoko’s persistence in overcoming a lot of the negative perceptions that people held towards her over the years. Whatever your preconceived notions of Yoko may be, this book will open your eyes and enlighten and educate you and I reccomend that you check it out. You will see in David Sheff’s book a person that handled failure with resilience and was determined to have her artistic vision accepted by more people despite extraordinary blockades and hurdles. John Lennon never lived to see Yoko get the success or recognition he had predicted for her. Who could ever have imagined for example of Yoko Ono having thirteen #1 dance club hits on the Billboard charts. Her views on feminism and the contributions of women to society were way ahead of their time. In summary, I would like to conclude this commentary about David Sheff’s book with a line from the Yoko Ono song entitled Now or Never, taken from the early 70s release of Approximately Infinite Universe which I believe helped to sum up her general philosophy of life:

“A Dream We Dream Alone is Only A Dream. A Dream We Dream Together is Reality!”

Written by Yoko Ono. Appears on the Approximately Infinite Universe LP from 1973 on Apple Records

Copies of the David Sheff book are available at the Fest For Beatles fans:

YOKO: A BIOGRAPHY by DAVID SHEFF [6522] – $30.00 : Beatles Gifts and Products, The Fest for Beatles Fans

The books are also available at

Amazon US

Yoko: A Biography: Sheff, David: 9781982188245: Amazon.com: Books

Amazon UK:

Yoko: Amazon.co.uk: Sheff, David: 9781398517530: Books

The back cover of the David Sheff book:

A personal inscription from the author:

OTHER WORKS BY DAVID SHEFF

Published in 1981 by Playboy Press-First Edition: Contains the historic interview with John and Yoko shortly before John’s assassination

The back cover of the book:

BEAUTIFUL BOY- By David Sheff

A wonderful heart wrenching book with the title being inspired by John Lennon’s song about his son, Sean.

Tells the story about a father struggling to deal with his son’s problems with addiction. This is truly a sensitive and remarkable piece of work.

Published in 2008 as a best seller on the New York Times best-seller list- Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Also available at Amazon and Ebay and numerous book search services like Abe Books

Back cover of Beautiful Boy:

OTHER PROMINENT BOOKS ABOUT YOKO ONO

MADELINE BOCARO IN YOUR MIND-THE INFINITE UNIVERSE OF YOKO ONO

Would like to take this opportunity to highlight several other very prominent and recommended books about Yoko Ono that deserve accolades and praise.

Prior to the David Sheff title there is the remarkable book by Madeline Bocaro 2021.

This title has received positive feedback and praise from many prominent sources including Olivia Harrison, Sean Lennon, and the book was accepted by the library at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Its unique way to present the material and the exhaustive research conducted by the author are only two of the highlights

In Your Mind – The Infinite Universe of Yoko Ono by Madeline Bocaro

You can veiw and order the hardcover or softcover here:

In Your Mind – The Infinite Universe of Yoko Ono -Madeline Bocaro

Yoko Ono An Artful Life

Published by T.H.E. Sutherland House Inc , published in 2022 Author-Donald Brackett

Back cover of the Brackett book:

Brackett’s bookplate signature:

Yoko Ono : One Woman Show, 1960-1971 Publisher-Museum of Modern Art 2015 by Paperback by Ono, Yoko; Biesenbach, Klaus (EDT); Cherix, Christophe (EDT); Bryan-Wilson, Julia (CON); Hendricks, Jon (CON)

Yoko’s sense of humor is exhibited with her letter choice with the bag she is carrying on the cover and the impact that has on the definition of ART!

Can You Imagine? : The Art and Life of Yoko Ono

A book about Yoko tailored for younger viewers written by Lisa Tolin and Yas Imamura-Published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2025

Yoko Ono : Lumière De L’aube

Yoko Ono, Thierry Raspail, Jon Hendricks, Emma Lavigne

Published by Somogy, Mac Lyon, 2016

Language: English: A large format book

About the Author:

Thierry Raspail is the director of the contemporary art museum of Lyon. This book was wrote under his direction and under the direction of the artist, Yoko Ono. It was also made with texts of Annie Claustres, Mathieu Copeland, Stéphane Davet, Jon Hendricks, Emma Lavigne and Olivier Lussac.

Odyssey of a Cockroach– Catalog of a Yoko Exhibition

Yoko Ono

Publisher: Deitch Projects

Publication Date: 2005

Binding: Soft cover

This catalog, has more than 40 color reproductions of Yoko’s exhibit with a narrative by Ono.

Yoko Ono: Half a Wind Show–A Retrospective Hardcover published in 2013 by Prestel Gmbh & Co KG. by
Max Hollein This retrospective book was published to commemorate Yoko’s 80th birthday!

YOKO ONO: EVERYTHING IN THE UNIVERSE IS UNFINISHED – Hardcover Published in 2018 by Jrp Ringier Kunstverlag A&G -Presents a unique collection of poems, short stories, and drawings by Yoko Ono

Grapefruit is a book of instructional poetry written by Yoko Ono, originally published in 1964.

This is the 2000 edition of the book published by Simon & Schuster. This is the book which helped inspire John Lennon to write the pop classic Imagine.

ACORN BY YOKO ONO–BOUND IN CLOTH, BOXED, AND SIGNED BY THE LEGENDARY ARTIST IN A LIMITED COLLECTOR’S EDITION OF ONLY 285 COPIES!

I was able to purchase copy #285 from the publisher OR Books

Harper-HarperCollins, 2015 By Bob Gruen and Jody Denberg released by the 2 authors as a birthday celebration for Yoko

Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind Hardcover – April 9, 2024 Yale University Press

by Juliet Bingham (Editor), Connor Monahan (Editor), Jon Hendricks (Editor), Yasufumi Nakamori (Contributor), Andrew Wilson (Contributor), David Toop (Contributor), Midori Yoshimoto (Contributor), Helen Molesworth (Contributor), Sanford Biggers (Contributor), Catherine Lord Ph.D (Contributor)

Yoko Ono (Phaidon Contemporary Artists Series) Paperback – Big Book, December 3, 2024

by Laurie Anderson (Author), Eriko Osaka (Author), Thierry Raspail (Author) Published by Phaidon Press

Sometime in New York City ( NYC ) [Scarce Limited First Edition signed by Yoko Ono] Leather Bound – January 1, 1995

by Yoko Ono and Bob Gruen (Author) Published by Genesis Publications

Kishin Shinoyama. John Lennon & Yoko Ono. Double Fantasy Photo Collection, Collector’s Edition, Signed and Numbered 1980 copies published by Taschen-2004

A New York Love Story–John and Yoko

Written By: Chris Murray, Allan Tannenbaum, Yoko Ono

Limited Edition of 1,250 published by Insight Editions-2007

A book of photography by Allan Tannebaum around the time DOuble Fantasy was being recorded:

The signature of the author on this copy of the limited edition book:

Yoko Ono – Arias and Objects Published by Salt Lake City, Peregrine Smith Books, 1991

Haskell, Barbara & John G. Hanhardt. Yoko Ono

Yes : Yoko Ono

Alexandra Munroe with Jon Hendricks

Published by Japan Society, New York and Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers, New York, 2000

Yoko Ono Between The Sky And My Head published in 2008 by Buchhandlung Walther König Gmbh & Co. KG. Abt. Verlag, Germany Authors–Yoko Ono, Thomas Kellein

Yoko Ono: Collector of Skies by Nell Beram and Carolyn Boriss-Krimsky Published in 2013 by Abrams, Inc.

Yoko Ono, Instruction Paintings, Hardcover in slipcase

Illustrators Yoko Ono, George Maciunas 1995 published by Weatherhill New York & Tokyo

Tokyo: Chimera Library & ADP, 2011, Hardcover. 47 pp. Japanese; English. First edition. Artist’s book featuring the poetic work of a young Yoko Ono, aged 19, published for the first time in 2011, after the sketches were discovered by her son Sean Ono Lennon.

Woman: The Incredible Life of Yoko Ono by Alan Clayson– Publisher-Chrome Dreams 2004

Yoko Ono by Jerry Hopkins (1986/87

Macmillan Company, Incorporated-Publisher

Yoko Ono Homage To Nora 

Rare collected interview with Yoko Ono and her involvement with the play Doll’s House Published in Norway in English 1992, published by Tangen Grafiske Senter AS Author –Grøndahl Dreyer

And That Is Why I’m Leaving You: How Henrik Ibsen influenced The Beatles – stephwritings

Nora Halpern: Yoko Ono: Art and Action – YouTube

A Loving, Challenging, Nurturing, Very Funny, and Enduring Force – MacDowell

YOKO ONO: TOUCH ME – Hardcover Published by CHARTA-2009 Another Instruction book by Yoko

VITRIOL OR SARCASM WITH THIS WORK OF FICTION??? AT THE CENTER OF CONTROVERSY

Most of the books that have been presented on this post have portrayed Yoko in a very positive light. Here is one that appears to be an exception to that description.

To be honest, I have not read it, but on the surface level it appears to be a book that once again portrays Yoko Ono as a demon, a witch or as the title stipulates in this case, a vampire (a parasite). How many of you that are reading this could tolerate an endless portrayal like this in the world press? You would need a very strong character to be able to ignore this type of characterization. The authors states that the book is a work of fiction, if so, what was the author’s intent on writing the piece? A question to post to the readers of this piece. What would you have done if you were the recipient of the vitriol or ridicule that Yoko endured? Would you have handled it the same way she has? (By not responding, in most cases)

Yoko Ono, Vampire: And Other Short Stories Paperback – December 14, 2016

by Brad Ashlock (Author) Independently published

The back cover of the book:

OFF THE BEATEN PATH

Yoko Ono always had a wide coterie of artistic friends that she frequently hung around with. I recently picked up this catalog of one of those associates, Sam Havadtoy who moved permanently back to Hungary several years ago. Mr. Havadtoy was the recipient of many unfounded rumors about his relationship with Yoko following the death of John Lennon. Yoko wrote a brief text for this 2005 document which I recently acquired:

Sam Havadtoy – Love is Hell Paperback (Galeria 56, Budapest 2005)

HAVADTOY, Sam ] Mark Allen (main text), Yoko Ono, Max Blagg (brief texts)

Published by Galeria 56, Budapest, 2005

Dear Me: A Letter to My Sixteen-Year-Old Self

Joseph Galliano

Published by Simon & Schuster Ltd, United Kingdom, London, 2009

If you were to write a letter to your 16-year-old self, what would it say? In Dear Me, some of the world’s best loved personalities have written just such a letter.

Yoko was a contributor to this book in response to that question. Here is a list of others that contributed to this book:

Stephen Fry, Annie Lennox, Paul O’Grady, Jackie Collins, Fay Weldon, Alan Carr, Peter Kay, Debbie Harry, Brenda Blethyn , Jonathan Ross, Liz Smith, Will Young, Alison Moyet, Rosanne Cash, Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Yoko Ono, and Emma Thompson

I have chosen to close this post with this book and disk from the Museum of Contemporary Art in Japan entitled The Road of Hope which was published in 2011. Yoko was awarded the Hiroshima Art Prize for her work in advocating for World Peace. This book not only contained photos of many of her art pieces and sculpture but featured the only official release of a track on cd she recorded at the McCartney home in Sussex. The track her and Sean recorded with the McCartneys was entitled Hiroshima Sky Is Always Blue. The cd featured the nearly 8 minute track the two families recorded to commemorate the anniversary of the atomic bomb falling on the Japanese city in August of 1945.

This is a photo of the cd with the Horoshima track featuring both the Lennon and McCartney families!

CD contents/track listing:

1. Hiroshima Sky Is Always Blue 7:47
2. Namyohorengeko 2:42
3. Happy Xmas [War Is Over] 3:34
4. Rainbow Revalation 3:21
5. Un un. To 3:16
6. Scream 0:45
7. I Love You, Earth 2:47

Musicians on track 1 “Hiroshima Sky Is Always Blue” (this info is not credited on her book at all)

Yoko Ono (Vocal)
Sean Ono Lennon (Harpsichord)
Paul McCartney (Upright Bass)
Linda McCartney (Keyboard)
James McCartney (Guitar)
Mary, Heather, Stella McCartney (Percussions,Backing Vocals)

Recorded at “The Mill (Paul’s own studio in East Sussex)” Mixed by Paul McCartney

Please note that this list does not claim to be a complete list of books about Yoko Ono. There are many more!

Over the years I have acquired many wonderful Beatles-related artifacts from a bygone era from the UK business operation known as TRACKS. This is one of those documents. In late 1965, the Pye record company issued this two page press release concerning the release of Freddie Lennon’s first and only 45 record release, entitled That’s My Life, That’s My Love, and My Home. The track was co-written by Freddie Lennon and Tony Cartwright to seemingly take advantage of the wave of Beatlemania that surged throughout the world in both 1964 and 1965.

Controversy Over The Record

There was a lot of controversy surrounding this 45 as John was embarrassed by the perceived notions that his father was trying to capitalize on his fame by the issuing of this record. There were also rumors that had John demanding that their manager, Brian Epstein, somehow put a stop to the distribution of the record. Though there seemingly is no documentation as to the specifics of how this may have been done, the end result was that interest in the record quickly faded away. Was it due to the record simply being a poor song or was there a concerted effort, a behind the scenes campaign to squash the promotion of the record?

The subject of this recording was dealt with in an earlier post on the blog but the acquisition of the Pye Press release prompted a revisiting of the subject matter for this post.

John And Alf Lennon

How John Lennon sabotaged his dishwasher dad’s bid to be a pop star | Daily Mail Online

Here is the Pye Records Press release from the last day of 1965:

The 2nd page of the Pye Press release of the Freddie Lennon single:

My plans for the future of the press release is to frame it along with a picture of Freddie Lennon proudly holding his 45, along with his signature shown below, and the 45 rare picture sleeve of the Dutch version of the song that Freddie had recorded especially for Holland.

A Freddie Lennon signature I acquired from Omega Auctions in the UK with the help of my friend across the pond, Seamus Hayes:

A super rare Freddie Lennon Dutch picture sleeve from Holland. Life is misspelled as Live on the sleeve and the selling point for me to purchase this sleeve and record is that Freddie sings the song in the Dutch language on this 45. It took me more than ten years of searching for this record before a European friend found a copy for my collection. Little is known about this part of the story, but I believe Mark Lewisohn has verified that Freddie actually travelled to the Netherlands to lip sync the song on Dutch TV. Unfortunately or fortunately (depending on your point of view), no known copy of that performance is now known to exist.

Does the Dutch tv appearance by Freddie Lennon exist? – beatlegdb.com

Jimi Hendrix

One of the most fascinating bits of trivia about this recording is that two of the session musicians playing on the record were later to become two of the members of the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Both Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding both played on this Freddie Lennon recording.

The Freddie Lennon Record

Pretty ironic that Freddie Lennon actually recorded with Mitch Mitchell before John Lennon did so at the Rolling Stones Rock & Roll Circus in 1968!!!

DUTCH VERSION OF THE SONG

That’s My Life – Freddie Lennon – Dutch version – 1966 – YouTube

ENGLISH VERSION OF THE SONG

Freddie Lennon – That’s My Life – YouTube

THE FLIP SIDE OF THE 45

Freddie Lennon – The Next Time You Feel Important – YouTube

The English recording of the song’s picture sleeve:

Pauline Lennon’s Book

The front cover of the book Pauline Lennon wrote about her husband Freddie Lennon and his relationship with his first-born son. The book was based on Freddie Lennon’s unpublished book manuscript:

Back cover of the Pauline Lennon book:

Have not seen too many copies of this book signed by Freddie Lennon’s 2nd wife, Pauline Bought this copy from noted UK collector Pete Nash:

ALFRED LENNON pictured with his fiancée, 20-year-old PAULINE JONES, June 1968. The couple met two years prior in 1966, when… – @kaiserkeller on Tumblr

Freddie pictured with one of John Lennon’s half-brothers: Freddie had two children with Pauline Lennon. David Lennon was the eldest born in 1969. Robin Lennon was born in 1973, three years before Freddie Lennon passed away from stomach cancer.

Freddie Lennon and Pauline Lennon in a color photo that appears on the internet.

IDOLS

You may ask yourself, what does this magazine featuring Cher on the cover have to do with Freddie Lennon? Well this issue of Idols magazine published in the UK (issue number 35), I was able to purchase a copy from Ebay UK many years ago. If you scour the cover, you will see that the magazine has a mention of an article contained within detailing the relationship of Freddie and John Lennon.

Pauline Lennon, after Freddie passed away in 1976, was to remarry years later and became Pauline Stone!

A special thanks goes out to Jason Cornthwaite from TRACKS who always is willing to lend a helping hand in finding items for my collection!

A brief excerpt of the article contained within the magazine:

Hope you enjoyed this post about John Lennon’s dad, Alfred Lennon. (aka-Freddie Lennon)!

BUZZ

OUR BOOK OF THE WEEK AT THE BEATLES BOOKSTORE

The Country of Liverpool: Nashville of The North (Limited Hardback Edition)

The Country of Liverpool: Nashville of the North by David Bedford. The Untold Story of the Country Roots of The Beatles and Liverpool, when Liverpool had the largest country and western scene in Europe!

£49.00

Shop now

CASHBOX MAGAZINE APRIL 1968- Features the Beatles and executive Stanley Gortikov from Capitol Records on the cover. Capitol was now ready to distribute the Beatles Apple label in the United States. Love these rare Beatles on the cover magazines from the Sixties….A bit sad though because when we look back at these times it was actually the beginning of the end…I purchased this issue on Ebay!

For the old-timers, what was your favorite record chart magazine from the sixties?

Do you prefer to view previously unseen pictures from their early years or the later years? Would love to hear the reason for your choice!

In March of 2026, the photographer who took possibly the best photographs of the Beatles on their journey to find spiritual enlightenment in India back in 1968, is conducting a tour of the country where he found so much of his own inner peace and contentment. This however, is not merely a tour dealing with the subject of the Beatles, it is a fascinating exploration of both historical and cultural importance, exploring the rich and enduring contributions of India to the world. I have met Paul on a few occasions at Fests for Beatles Fans and he is a warm and kind soul and a bright intellect.

For those who may be interested and who may be intrigued about going on this tour hosted by Paul, he is happy to talk with anyone about the details of the journey. You can contact Paul for further information at Tel: 905-901-1000 (direct) Canada or you can reach him at his email address: paul@sfl-films.com

This is the website where you can see view the organization that is sponsoring the tour:

India – a Fusion of Colour, Music & Soul | Bestway Tours & Safaris

Details of the March, 2026 tour of India, hosted by cinematographer, photographer, and Emmy award winner, Paul Saltzman (If you have trouble reading any of the details, I suggest you write or call Paul or access the provided link above)

The itinerary of the 16 day tour:

Paul Saltzman suggested video and reading material if you are contemplating going on the trip:

A sample of one of the fabulous sites you will see:

India, India (Home Recording)

A gorgeous limited edition book of photographs that were taken by Paul Saltzman back in 1968. They are possibly the best photographs ever taken of the Beatles:

A side view of the book’s slipcase:

The opened slipcase featuring the video and audio material and the book:

Honored and privileged to have copy #1968 of this gorgeous book of photos from the same year in my collection: