Yesterday, the 22nd of March, Yoko Ono released a special reissue of Wedding Album with Chimera Music and Secretly Canadian to mark the 50th anniversary of her wedding to John Lennon.
On March 20, 1969, John and Yoko were married in a civil in Gibraltar (near Spain). The newlyweds hosted a “bed-in” for a week, starting March 25, inviting the press in to their honeymoon suite to call attention to their campaign for world peace. The Hilton is releasing a special video to mark the 50th anniversary of the Bed-in. You can stay in their room at the Hilton, and it will only set you back from 208 to 455 Euros. Of course, it is set aside for special tours and events this month.
John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s third record, Wedding Album, was released in 1969. The album features one “song” per side. “John & Yoko” is a call and response set to the sound of their heartbeats, with Yoko whining John’s name as if in the throes of passion, with him responding somewhat matter-of-factly. Then they eat apples. “Amsterdam” a 25-minute “sound collage” takes up the entirety of side two and starts with Yoko vocalizing a call for peace, followed by interviews with the press about peace–which are still relevant today. There is a little acoustic guitar, a little singing, a bit of a lullabye and some random noise.
Graphic designer John Kosh created their packaging for Wedding Album, filling it with souvenirs from the wedding, including a copy of the marriage certificate and a photograph of a slice of cake. Wedding Album is being released on limited-edition, white-vinyl LP; compact disc; and digital-download formats. Check it out here.
