Though Julian Lennon had intense reservations about ever covering his dad’s classic song of Imagine, when the crisis in Ukraine occurred with the invasion from the north, he felt compelled to do so because of the urgency of the moment. He produced a vinyl benefit 45 of the song. With the assistance of his friend Nuno Bettencourt, he recorded a unique acoustic guitar version of the song as Julian wanted something done differently in the production of the song because of it’s very strong association of being a piano based number. He was very successful in pulling it off.
Things change so quickly with song accreditation these days as a song that was always listed as being a John Lennon composition was changed to give credit to Yoko Ono as the co-writer and inspiration of the song via her book Grapefruit where she uses the Imagine term several times which clearly influenced John in the creation of the title and its contents, the song is now credited to Lennon/Ono. John himself stated during his lifetime that he should have given Yoko a songwriting credit for the song. That has now been rectified.
Julian’s was very resistant to ever doing a cover of the song for a multitude of reasons. One major reason is the curse of always being judged by media critics in comparisons with his father. Julian felt that the cause to help Ukraine outweighed and overruled that resistance and used the new recording to help with the Ukrainian cause as he donated the proceeds to Ukraine. Audience members who have heard the new version admire it and it seems to have received universally positive praise.
When the new Julian version of Imagine was issued, I saw this sheet music on eBay which featured Imagine signed by his son Julian. I could not resist in adding this to my collection. In the future I will have the sheet music framed with the 45 picture sleeve of the song. it is interesting to note that when John was recording the Imagine song and LP at Tittenhurst Park back in 1971, Julian was only a young boy of 8 years old, visiting his dad at the time and he was filmed playing with his friends on the immense estate, seemingly having a great time!
JULIAN LENNON SIGNED IMAGINE SHEET MUSIC
BMG-2022
Issued by BMG in 2022, this is the cover of the 45 issued by Julian of Imagine. The B-side was an etching of the word IMAGINE
The white vinyl 45:
Julian’s notes about his cover version appearing on both YouTube and his website- Official Store https://store.julianlennon.com/
Imagine 7” Vinyl – Julian Lennon Store
IMAGINE-JULIAN LENNON FEATURING NUNO BETTENCOURT
“The War on Ukraine is an unimaginable tragedy… As a human, and as an artist, I felt compelled to respond in the most significant way I could.
So today, for the first time ever, I publicly performed my Dad’s song, IMAGINE.
Why now, after all these years? – I had always said, that the only time I would ever consider singing ‘IMAGINE’ would be if it was the ‘End of the World’…
But also because his lyrics reflect our collective desire for peace worldwide. Because within this song, we’re transported to a space, where love and togetherness become our reality, if but for a moment in time…
The song reflects the light at the end of the tunnel, that we are all hoping for…
As a result of the ongoing murderous violence, millions of innocent families, have been forced to leave the comfort of their homes, to seek asylum elsewhere.
I’m calling on world leaders and everyone who believes in the sentiment of IMAGINE, to stand up for refugees everywhere! Please advocate and donate from the heart. #StandUpForUkraine”
—Julian Lennon
Executive Producers – Julian Lennon, Rebecca Warfield
Director – Nuno Bettencourt & Rene Rigal – A Simplexity Creation / Atlantis Entertainment
Management: Rebecca Warfield, Chicane Group
Director of Photography – Thor Wixom
First A.C. – Lance Rand
Editor – Nuno Bettencourt
Special Thanks -Global Citizen, BMG, Downtown and Mike Savas
Official Store https://store.julianlennon.com/
Recorded at Capitol Studios, Hollywood
Julian’s performance of the song on YouTube:
Julian Lennon Performs ‘IMAGINE’ for Global Citizen’s Stand Up For Ukraine w/Nuno Bettencourt
Interview on YouTube where Julian discusses his version of Imagine and other issues:
Julian Lennon talks new album, ‘Imagine’ cover and ‘Get Back’ documentary
Be healthy and be happy!
Buzz
