19 Imagine

JOHN LENNON 1971

As Yoko Ono recalled years later, “Imagine” was “just what John believed: that we are all one country, one world, one people.” Lennon admitted that “Imagine” was “virtually the Communist Manifesto.” But the elementary beauty of his melody, the warm composure in his voice, and the poetic touch of co-producer Phil Spector — who bathed Lennon’s performance in gentle strings and echo — emphasized the song’s fundamental humanity. Lennon knew it was special. In one of his last interviews, he declared “Imagine” to be as good as anything he had written with the Beatles.