Two days after John came back from Spain an event happened that would truly change his life forever. The thing he’d really and truly searched for came into his life when John met Yoko Ono and the rest as they always say was history. When he first heard about "this new artist" and followed his instincts by going to see "something different, a happenning" he found something he truly appreciated and enjoyed. He climbed up a ladder at the exhibition, leaned over and used a magnifying glass to read the small word printed on the piece. The word was "yes". It was positive and he was impressed. It was the genesis for one of the greatest love stories ever told and also one of the oddest. John found someone that was much more important than his bandmates or pop music in general. Unfortunately for Cynthia Lennon, John’s wife at the time, Yoko was also soon to be more of a priority than the mother of his only son. Yoko corresponded with John while the Beatles and their wives went off to study with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. After they were all back, and Cynthia was away for a night, the romance of John and Yoko began when the two spent an entire night making a recording and then making love as the sun rose after the all night session. John told her they would be together forever afterwards.
It wasn’t long before the press had nothing short of the proverbial "field day" with John and Yoko. She was "horrible" she was a "dragon lady" she was this and she was that. Beatle fans were up in arms, How could he leave Cynthia? A lot of unflattering photos of them together seemed to fuel the fire. I always thought if he loved her what was everyone’s problem? I was probably just about thirteen years old when I first became aware of Yoko. I would be about thirty five or so when I would finally understand why John was so attracted to the woman. Around 1989 I went to see an exhibit of John’s art here in my hometown and Yoko was going to be there on the opening night of the exhibit. I showed up hours early, walked in as if I belonged there and was hoping just to get a glimpse of the woman John loved for the last few years of his life. I was rather quickly told I did NOT belong there and was invited to come back later on when the public was invited in. A few hours later I did return and saw a white limousine outside of the building. Something told me it was hers and it was. There was now a crowd around the building and they were still not being allowed in. My guess is it was a hundred to two hundred people wanting to see Yoko, the exhibit, or both. A side door finally opened and the crowd scrambled towards it. Out stepped Yoko Ono just a few feet away from where I stood. Instantly I knew why John was so attracted to her. She was tiny and she was beautiful. NEVER had I ever seen a picture that did her real appearance any justice whatsoever. This was my very first thought as I looked at her standing with some very large bodyguards around her. A few girls in the crowd starting singing the refrain of "Give Peace a Chance". A man stepped out of the front of the crowd and handed her a copy of "John&Yoko’s Wedding Album" and asked her if she would autograph it. She politely refused, saying "I’m sorry but I won’t because it wouldn’t be fair to the others." Clearly she was not going to sign anything for anyone else so she wouldn’t sign one for him either. She began to try to speak to the crowd and I worried that the girls that were singing would drown her out. They stopped and she finally said in her familiar voice, "Thank you all for coming, I think John would be really proud that you came to see his artwork." That was just about all she had to say and in a moment the men surrounding her cleared a path to the limo and they soon drove off. I’m so glad I saw her though. I’ve never seen a decent picture of her to this day that portrays how she really looks and probably never will. But I got to see her with my own eyes and finally understand why John was so in awe of the woman. When the press and a lot of the world put them down and made fun of them, John stuck by her. His attitude was "let them talk". Few relationships could stand what they went through with all of the adversity. John always stuck by her. For this alone, John could be considered the coolest guy around.
After John and Yoko first became an item publicly the world was in for a real shocker. They were releasing a new album together and the cover would have a photograph of the two of them in the nude. It was only the first of many many times that the press, and people of the world would ask, "What are they up to now?" John would later say "We felt like two virgins because we were in love, just met, and we were trying to make something and we thought to show everything. People are always looking at people like me, trying to see some secret: ‘What do they do? Do they go to the bathroom? Do they eat? So we just said ‘Here.’...It was insane. People got so upset about it-the fact that two people were naked." Nobody understood it nobody liked it and most just thought he should "stop all of this stuff", and go back to being the guy that sang I Wanna Hold Your Hand . There WAS no turning back for John though. He not only had the world’s attention, it was affecting the band he was in.....and he didn’t care either. Instead of "meeting her after work" John brought her straight into the recording sessions and she sat right next to him in the studio. It was something the other Beatles had never done or even thought of doing. John had broken the "unwritten law" of bringing a woman into the recording studio. He wanted nothing less than to be with Yoko twenty four hours a day. What the other three members of his group thought mattered not one bit to John. By this time the Beatles were not exactly the same happy little group they had once been. Brian Epstein had died while they were away with the Maharishi. Business problems were beginning to pile up quickly. Bringing his new love to every Beatle session made an unhappy situation even less happy. The other’s were resentful. The truth was John didn’t care. He knew the others didn’t really want her there, but he kept his cool. He kept it right up till the time he got the chance to do something else he really wanted to do. He quit the Beatles. Broke them up. Put an end to them. Told them he "wanted a divorce". While the world remained unaware for several more months John and Yoko continued to make stories of themselves. They got married and then decided to have a honeymoon in a Canadian hotel. While that would not usually be too strange, the difference was they also invited the press to their honeymoon and had what would come to be known as "A Bed-In for Peace". Half of the press people expected to see the two of them doing something pornographic after the Two Virgins debacle. Instead they found the couple doing what they called "a commercial.....for peace." John and Yoko sat in their pajamas and let reporters ask whatever they wished. On the walls were signs saying "Peace", "Love", and things like "Bed Peace".They had a rather odd mixture of celebrities with them as well and the group of onlookers helped sing the chorus as John and Yoko recorded "Give Peace A Chance" in their hotel room. The recording was put out as John’s first commercial solo single and was a substantial hit. The Plastic Ono Band was born and it would go through various incarnations over the next few years.
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