John Lennon & Yoko Ono
Double Fantasy
Info & Credits
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Studio album by John Lennon and Yoko Ono
Released
17 November 1980
Recorded
The Hit Factory, NYC4 August 1980 – late September 1980
Genre
Rock, pop rock
Length
45:05
Label
Geffen
Producer
John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Jack Douglas
Professional reviews
Allmusic link
John Lennon chronology
Shaved Fish(1975)
Double Fantasy(1980)
The John Lennon Collection(1982)
Yoko Ono chronology
A Story(1974)
Double Fantasy(1980)
Season of Glass(1981)
Double Fantasy is the comeback album by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, released in 1980 initially on the newly-formed Geffen Records, and then from 1989 onwards through EMI. It is notable for being John Lennon's last authorised release, released only three weeks before his murder. The album won the 1981 Grammy Award for Album of the Year.[1]
Contents[hide]
1 Recording
2 Tragedy and aftermath
3 Track listing
4 Singles
5 Accolades
6 Chart positions
7 Personnel
8 References
9 External links
[edit] Recording
Following the birth of his son Sean in 1975, Lennon put his career on hold to raise the boy. In the summer of 1980, both Lennon and Ono felt ready to resume work and began composing.
After five years of little musical activity aside from recording the occasional demo in his apartment at The Dakota, Lennon was absolutely bursting with creativity. He had fulfilled a lifelong ambition of learning how to sail in early 1980 and had been given fresh creative impetus in June of that year following his life-affirming experiences sailing a 43-foot sloop to Bermuda, accompanied by a small crew. Once in Bermuda, he started writing songs for a new album, sometimes writing about new experiences and occasionally reworking the half finished demos that he had recorded in the Dakota building.[2]
He was also, he claimed, the most content he had ever felt in all his years, even writing a song called "Life Begins at 40" to commemorate that milestone in his life. His assuredness and love for his family came through on the retro "(Just Like) Starting Over", as well as "Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)" and "Woman".
Yoko Ono approached producer Jack Douglas, with whom both Lennon and Ono had worked before, giving him John's demos to listen to. “My immediate impressions were that I was going to have a hard time making it better than the demos because there was such intimacy in the demos,” Douglas told Uncut's Chris Hunt in 2005.[2]
Lennon, Ono and Douglas produced dozens of songs beginning that August, enough to fill Double Fantasy and beyond. A projected second album, Milk and Honey, was well into the rehearsal phase when work was halted following Lennon's murder that December.
Ono was currently being regarded with fresh perspective after the onslaught of the late 1970's punk movement which bore similarities to her earlier work. As such, with renewed confidence, she produced many songs. Lennon's specific reference to the B-52's "Rock Lobster" was evidence that popular music had caught up with Ono's vision. [1]
Lennon and Ono made the decision to release their impending songs together on the same album, the first time they had done so since 1972's controversial Some Time in New York City. Subtitled "A Heart Play", Double Fantasy would be a collection of songs wherein John and Yoko would be singing to each other.
Signed by David Geffen, alongside Elton John and Donna Summer, for his new label, Geffen, Double Fantasy was preceded by Lennon's "(Just Like) Starting Over", which finally became a US and UK #1 hit in the aftermath of John's murder. The album itself was received with much interest, coming after such an extended break. However, sales were not so generous. The album debuted at #27 in the UK and the following week reached #14, but then it fell down very quickly to #25 and then #46, making the #14 its peak position. In the US, the situation was different. There, the album debuted at #25 and then rose to #12 and then #11. Although Double Fantasy was mildly criticized upon release for being slick, and Ono's songs were overlooked, the musical community was glad to have Lennon back.
Douglas brought Rick Nielsen and Bun E. Carlos of the band Cheap Trick to play on "I'm Losing You", but it was eventually re-recorded with the studio musicians. The Cheap Trick version was included on the John Lennon Anthology collection released in 1998.[3]
The cover of the album is said to be inspired in a photograph of Astrid Kirchherr and Stuart Sutcliffe, the first bassist of The Beatles and one of John's best friends, who died in 1962.Personnel
John Lennon – lead, harmony and background vocals; rhythm and acoustic guitars; piano and keyboards; arranger and producer.
Yoko Ono – lead and background vocals; arranger and producer.
Jack Douglas - arranger and producer.
Earl Slick – lead guitar.
Hugh McCracken – lead guitar.
Tony Levin – bass.
George Small – keyboards.
Andy Newmark – drums.
Arthur Jenkins – percussion.
Ed Walsh – oberheim, synthesizer.
Robert Greenidge – steel drum on "Beautiful Boy"
Matthew Cunningham – hammer dulcimer on "Watching the Wheels"
Randy Stein – English Concertina
Howard Johnson – horns.
Grant Hungerford – horns.
John Parran – horns.
Seldon Powell – horns.
George "Young" Opalisky – horns.
Roger Rosenberg – horns.
David Tofani – horns.
Ronald Tooley – horns.
Tony Davillo – horn arrangements and musical associate.
Michelle Simpson, Cassandra Wooten, Cheryl Mason Jacks, Eric Troyer, Benny Cummings Singers, The Kings Temple Choir – background vocals.
Toshihiro Hamaya – production assistant.
Julie Last – assistant engineer.
George Marino – original mastering and remastering.
Lee DeCarlo – engineer.
Jon Smith – assistant engineer.
Anthony Davilio – musical associate.
James A. Ball – assistant engineer.
Bob Gruen – photography.
Kishin Shinoyama – cover photo and photography.
Bruce Replogle - publicist.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Promotion
Press and Media Promotion
A great way to draw attention do your music is the press: national and regional physical print publications like Rolling Stone magazine, USA Today, Magnet, Alternative Press, Gramophone, LA Weekly and so on. To get reviewed or featured in any of these publications, you must first get a copy of your album to the editors, staff writers or freelance writers.
There are some general rules you'll want to observe:
STREET DATE
Before you even approach the press, you need some key information about your album The date that your album first becomes available to buy in retail outlets is called the "Street Date" of the album. If your album has already been released, the street date has passed.
LEAD TIME
Most of the large, influential magazines that review and cover music come out monthly, and they finalize their content four months before they plan on running it. This is called the lead time. For example, in the month of January, monthly magazines are working on the issue that comes out May. If these monthly magazines have your album four months before it is "released" (made available to the general public), it's more likely to be reviewed. Remember, these magazines want what's new, hot, fresh, "just out." For the most part, they won't review an album after it has already been available to buy in retail stores for any extended period of time.
Different types of publications have different lead times. For example, The New York Times, a daily newspaper, does not need four months lead time, whereas Spin magazine probably does.
THE PRESS WANTS TO KNOW WHEN AND WHERE YOU'RE PLAYING
Going on tour or playing a gig (even in your home town) gives press another reason to review your album or talk about your band. Identify the local weekly and daily publications in the city you are going to play in. Contact them to find the correct person at the publication and mail them your albums (or point them to where your music lives online). Be courteous and provide three to four weeks of lead time before the gig. Also, ask the person that booked you to play for a list of local press. They usually have one. TIP: The person that booked the gig wants press about you, as it might increase the number of people that come to see you play.
THE POWER OF YOUR MAILING LIST
Keep an up-to-date mailing list of names and addresses of appropriate publications where you want your album noticed. A comprehensive and accurate mailing list takes a lot of work, but it's one of the things that separates the successful artist. Some ways you can compile your own list:
Identify which magazines, fanzines and publications are best for your music. Start with your own reading list, and also go to a few book and magazine stores, see what magazines and publications are on the rack and write a list of the publications you think make sense.
Then go to the masthead (the section almost all publications have that lists the writers, publishers and editors, usually near the front) and find the names of the people that run the magazine and what each person does. If there is a reviews editor, that's probably the person you should target. Mail him or her your album.
Look in the magazine and see the names of the people that wrote the reviews. You can then call the publication (the number will be in the masthead) and ask for the mailing address of that writer. TIP: Not all writers are full-time staff for any magazine. Some are freelance writers that are hired by multiple magazines to write reviews and provide articles and features. So you need to do more than just mail a CD to a publication in the name of the reviewer, or it might not make it to the writer.
Many of these magazines also have we websites as well as email address contacts. Simply send an email to the correct recipient and ask the submission policy.
IMPORTANT: You will always get further by learning and following a publication's submission policies. Overrule them, and your music may never reach the right ears.
The Net is also a great resource. You can use places like http://newslink.org/news.html and http://www.yudkin.com/resources.htm to identify lists of all local and regional press outlets.
If you hire a publicist, they will have an up-to-date list of where to send your albums. They will either mail it for you or provide you mailing labels showing where to send your album.
PUBLICISTS
Publicists are experts you hire to promote your band and music to media and press outlets. It's their job to get writers and editors to listen to your music, learn who and what you are and (hopefully) have them write about you. Remember, a publicist can not guarantee reviews or coverage. The best you should expect is that they can get a writer or editor to learn about you, listen to your music and provide them reasons as to why they won't write about it.
Publicist will send you reports. Depending on the publicist, these reports will be provided to you each week, every two weeks or every month and will list all the activity, comments and results regarding your project in the press world. As things get updated, the report should reflect any additions or changes. If you are paying for the clipping service (a third-party service that scours all print publications for mention of your band), the publicist should also provide you copies of any all press.
A publicist will usually charge you a monthly fee and request a minimum number of months to work on your "project." Fees can range widely but tend to fall between $750 and $5,000 a month. Most publicists require a minimum commitment of three months, as they need time to properly set up and promote your album. Some publicists might be willing to charge you a flat one time fee, called "Life Of Project," rather than a monthly fee. Life Of Project fees can also range widely but tend to fall between $1,000 and $4,000.
In addition to these fees, most publicists also charge you expenses, which can vary a bit from publicist to publicist but tend to include:
Cost of their local phone charges
Cost of their long distance charges
Internet connection fees
Photocopying
Mailings and postage
Travel
Third-party services that scour all print publications for mention of your band (called "clipping services")
Messenger charges
...and more
Expenses can run anywhere from $150 to $1,000 a month, depending on the level of activity.
TIP: Most of the time, a publicist will be working on more than one artist or project. Be prepared to "work" your publicist to get them to "work" others.
A short list of our recommended publicists:
ROCK MANAGEMENT USA www.rockmanagementusa.com
WHAT TO MAIL
Although the Internet does allow the ability to email songs and albums, almost all print magazines and publications require a physical copy of your album. When you mail the CD to the writers and editors of any publication, it should contain:
a full-art CD
a completed, mastered and sequenced final version of your album
one sheet of paper including:
the name of your band
the name of your album
some biographical information on the band
any other key press points
contact information
street date
Licensing Opportunities
Your music belongs everywhere you want, even in major motion pictures, on television, in video games, in retail stores, in restaurants and much more. If your music is used, you deserve to get paid for it. We open the doors.
A great way to draw attention do your music is the press: national and regional physical print publications like Rolling Stone magazine, USA Today, Magnet, Alternative Press, Gramophone, LA Weekly and so on. To get reviewed or featured in any of these publications, you must first get a copy of your album to the editors, staff writers or freelance writers.
There are some general rules you'll want to observe:
STREET DATE
Before you even approach the press, you need some key information about your album The date that your album first becomes available to buy in retail outlets is called the "Street Date" of the album. If your album has already been released, the street date has passed.
LEAD TIME
Most of the large, influential magazines that review and cover music come out monthly, and they finalize their content four months before they plan on running it. This is called the lead time. For example, in the month of January, monthly magazines are working on the issue that comes out May. If these monthly magazines have your album four months before it is "released" (made available to the general public), it's more likely to be reviewed. Remember, these magazines want what's new, hot, fresh, "just out." For the most part, they won't review an album after it has already been available to buy in retail stores for any extended period of time.
Different types of publications have different lead times. For example, The New York Times, a daily newspaper, does not need four months lead time, whereas Spin magazine probably does.
THE PRESS WANTS TO KNOW WHEN AND WHERE YOU'RE PLAYING
Going on tour or playing a gig (even in your home town) gives press another reason to review your album or talk about your band. Identify the local weekly and daily publications in the city you are going to play in. Contact them to find the correct person at the publication and mail them your albums (or point them to where your music lives online). Be courteous and provide three to four weeks of lead time before the gig. Also, ask the person that booked you to play for a list of local press. They usually have one. TIP: The person that booked the gig wants press about you, as it might increase the number of people that come to see you play.
THE POWER OF YOUR MAILING LIST
Keep an up-to-date mailing list of names and addresses of appropriate publications where you want your album noticed. A comprehensive and accurate mailing list takes a lot of work, but it's one of the things that separates the successful artist. Some ways you can compile your own list:
Identify which magazines, fanzines and publications are best for your music. Start with your own reading list, and also go to a few book and magazine stores, see what magazines and publications are on the rack and write a list of the publications you think make sense.
Then go to the masthead (the section almost all publications have that lists the writers, publishers and editors, usually near the front) and find the names of the people that run the magazine and what each person does. If there is a reviews editor, that's probably the person you should target. Mail him or her your album.
Look in the magazine and see the names of the people that wrote the reviews. You can then call the publication (the number will be in the masthead) and ask for the mailing address of that writer. TIP: Not all writers are full-time staff for any magazine. Some are freelance writers that are hired by multiple magazines to write reviews and provide articles and features. So you need to do more than just mail a CD to a publication in the name of the reviewer, or it might not make it to the writer.
Many of these magazines also have we websites as well as email address contacts. Simply send an email to the correct recipient and ask the submission policy.
IMPORTANT: You will always get further by learning and following a publication's submission policies. Overrule them, and your music may never reach the right ears.
The Net is also a great resource. You can use places like http://newslink.org/news.html and http://www.yudkin.com/resources.htm to identify lists of all local and regional press outlets.
If you hire a publicist, they will have an up-to-date list of where to send your albums. They will either mail it for you or provide you mailing labels showing where to send your album.
PUBLICISTS
Publicists are experts you hire to promote your band and music to media and press outlets. It's their job to get writers and editors to listen to your music, learn who and what you are and (hopefully) have them write about you. Remember, a publicist can not guarantee reviews or coverage. The best you should expect is that they can get a writer or editor to learn about you, listen to your music and provide them reasons as to why they won't write about it.
Publicist will send you reports. Depending on the publicist, these reports will be provided to you each week, every two weeks or every month and will list all the activity, comments and results regarding your project in the press world. As things get updated, the report should reflect any additions or changes. If you are paying for the clipping service (a third-party service that scours all print publications for mention of your band), the publicist should also provide you copies of any all press.
A publicist will usually charge you a monthly fee and request a minimum number of months to work on your "project." Fees can range widely but tend to fall between $750 and $5,000 a month. Most publicists require a minimum commitment of three months, as they need time to properly set up and promote your album. Some publicists might be willing to charge you a flat one time fee, called "Life Of Project," rather than a monthly fee. Life Of Project fees can also range widely but tend to fall between $1,000 and $4,000.
In addition to these fees, most publicists also charge you expenses, which can vary a bit from publicist to publicist but tend to include:
Cost of their local phone charges
Cost of their long distance charges
Internet connection fees
Photocopying
Mailings and postage
Travel
Third-party services that scour all print publications for mention of your band (called "clipping services")
Messenger charges
...and more
Expenses can run anywhere from $150 to $1,000 a month, depending on the level of activity.
TIP: Most of the time, a publicist will be working on more than one artist or project. Be prepared to "work" your publicist to get them to "work" others.
A short list of our recommended publicists:
ROCK MANAGEMENT USA www.rockmanagementusa.com
WHAT TO MAIL
Although the Internet does allow the ability to email songs and albums, almost all print magazines and publications require a physical copy of your album. When you mail the CD to the writers and editors of any publication, it should contain:
a full-art CD
a completed, mastered and sequenced final version of your album
one sheet of paper including:
the name of your band
the name of your album
some biographical information on the band
any other key press points
contact information
street date
Licensing Opportunities
Your music belongs everywhere you want, even in major motion pictures, on television, in video games, in retail stores, in restaurants and much more. If your music is used, you deserve to get paid for it. We open the doors.
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