The World Owes Yoko Ono an Apology!

Who does not know The Beatles? 

Formed in Liverpool, UK in 1960, whose best-known line-up comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr – they are regarded as the most influential band of all time! 

The Beatles officially parted ways in 1970 and rumors were a-plenty, blaming Yoko Ono for the band's split. I remembered being upset about it because I didn't believe it, not at all. 

Anyway, the footage from Peter Jackson’s “Get Back” proves that she did not. 

The producer, scriptwriter and director of LOTR's three-part docuseries on Disney+ compiles and presents hours of valuable unseen footage from the making of the legendary band's final album, Let It Be. 

Throughout the sessions, the four members were frequently at odds with each other, which they made little effort to hide from the documentary filmmakers they allowed into the studio with them. Consequently, the tensions that would lead to the permanent break-up of The Beatles were all on display, giving an intimate and revelatory glimpse into the beginning of the end for the world's greatest band. 

Yoko Ono, an avant-garde artist originally from Japan, met John Lennon in 1966 at a preview for one of her shows in London. They were married when they started their relationship – and they divorced their spouses to marry in March 1969. 

They were a highly controversial couple, as the public could not accept Yoko's eccentricities and provocative ideas about art. Once she and John were together, they were absolutely inseparable and didn't want to participate in anything that did not include the other. This can clearly be seen in The Beatles: Get Back, as Yoko is a constant presence by John's side. 

However, the footage from The Beatles: Get Back shows that Yoko was far from obtrusive; she was simply there to accompany John, enjoy the music, and occasionally read the paper while some of the world's most famous songs were being made. John, Paul, and Ringo even jam with her for a while, with Yoko on vocals doing her signature scream-singing as they seem to have more fun than they do throughout most of the series. Of course, her unique brand of avant-garde music is not a perfect match for The Beatles, but the documentary shows both parties' amiable efforts to accommodate and engage each other while still staying true to their own personalities and tastes. It's also worth noting that John and Yoko were addicted to heroin at the time of filming, which definitely plays a part in how they come across and is not necessarily reflective of who they went on to become after the foursome proceeded with their separate lives. 

Many factors contributed to The Beatles' break-up, including John's drug use and subsequent disengagement with the band. Because of this, Paul felt the need to step in and keep the band on track for them to get anything done. For many years, Paul too has been blamed in some ways for The Beatles' split, as he had been portrayed as too controlling and difficult. The Beatles: Get Back vindicates him as well as Yoko, as it becomes increasingly clear why Paul took the reins in the way he did – somebody had to do it; otherwise, the album would never get made. 

However, this restructuring of power irritated George, especially as his contributions to the group were repeatedly undervalued. There was also a heated legal battle going in in the band's final days, with Paul pitted against the other three members. In the wake of The Beatles' former manager Brian Epstein's death in 1967, they became unmoored, and the dynamics of the group shifted as they began to drift in different directions. Consequently, they disagreed over who should be in charge of their new management and burgeoning company, Apple, creating a big rift between Paul and the others. 

Really, Yoko was the least of their problems. The general public chose to blame her for The Beatles' break-up because they didn't want to blame their favorite band for growing apart or acknowledge that they had changed. Additionally, people often hate that which is different, and Yoko certainly fits that bill. She's a unique artist whose pieces and extensive charity work are well worth checking out. Yoko doesn't have anything to prove, but if she did, she'd prove it in the newest addition to the band's documentary canon, The Beatles: Get Out. 

The above excerpts are from Kylie Boersma’s piece “The Beatles: Get Back Debunks The Oldest Yoko Ono Myth” on Screen Rant published 4 days ago.

Methinks, James Parker (“Like Watching Six Different Marriages Fall Apart”, The Atlantic, December 02, 2021) is spot on when he wrote that the band's estrangement is due to the second law of thermodynamics. The inevitability of entropy. 

The world owes Yoko Ono an apology!