Yoko Ono says she didn't break up The Beatles

[yuiyoshida]

NEW YORK —



Yoko Ono has been a prominent artist for decades but at age 83 she is again answering a familiar question—No, she says, she didn’t break up The Beatles.

The Japanese-born singer, artist and widow of John Lennon defended her record in entertainment magazine Us Weekly in the form of a listicle-style interview, “25 Things You Don’t Know About Me.”

Number 24 on the list: “I had nothing to do with breaking up The Beatles. And I think Paul (McCartney) is a pretty cool dude.”

The reasons for the 1970 break-up of history’s best-selling band have long been a matter of dispute among fans and historians, with some arguing that Ono’s constant presence in the studio aggravated tensions among the Fab Four.

Lennon and Ono met in 1966 and eventually became constant romantic and artistic companions, famously sleeping together in “bed-ins” to protest the Vietnam War.

http://www.japantoday.com/category/entertainment/view/yoko-ono-says-she-didnt-break-up-the-beatles

[scscholar]

1. But the rest of us know the truth

Know the truth

[hifiguy]

2. I think her relationship with John played a part.

He dragged her into recording and mixing sessions to express her opinion, which she did. Speaking as a musician who has done a lot of recording, I really don't give a shit what a bandmate's girlfriend thinks and she has no business being there.

But by the time the Beatles broke up I think they were all thoroughly sick of each other, and that was by far the main driving force. They'd been cheek-to-jowl for ten years and that gets old.

[BillZBubb]

3. And she didn't. She's always gotten a bum rap.

There was no one person to blame, but I think Paul was probably the major reason (and I think Paul is great!).

If you watch "Let It Be", you can see the friction between Paul and the other band members, OK maybe not Ringo, he was glad to be there. Paul was really upset with George, because George didn't ever want to tour again. Paul loved live gigs. That was something that could never be resolved.

I like Yoko!

[hifiguy]

4. Yoko did get a bad rap.

And the ever-increasing tension between John and Paul at that time had a lot more causes than Yoko. Two equally huge talents/egos can't exist forever in the same band.

[msongs]

5. it was just the right time for them to break up and become individual artists and human beings. nt

[TexasProgresive]

6. Maybe her presence had a part in the breakup

The Fab 4 were having disputes and one other factor may be Apple Records. They sold themselves to the devil by placing all Beatle material in the control of Apple and then losing control. I'm probably wrong but that's the way I remember it.

Around the same time some very talented musician friends of mind formed a band. They signed a contract to be the house band for a popular club. The contract seemed good to their non legal minds but in truth was terrible. There was only one way to break it- dissolve the band and they were so good with each other.

[jberryhill]

7. Imagine Piss - Think Piss, Act Piss, and Spread Piss

[yuiyoshida]

8. Making fun of her accent?

I wouldn't expect that from a Democrat.

[jberryhill]

11. it just sounds that way

My mother was from Austria and my father was from the South. Both had very thick accents.

I was trying to find the clip from the Turin Winter Olympics where she opened with a speech to the effect of "If everybody think piss, then we will have piss." Yeah, well, in a stadium where people have been drinking beer for hours, I can see that happening.

I sound awful in other languages too. I was once telling a story to some folks over dinner in Argentina about an advertisement for tickets to a bullfight in Spain, and apparently my pronunciation of "boletos" (tickets) sounded a lot like the Argentine pronunciation of "pelotas" (balls), and in the context of talking about bulls, my story was outstandingly hilarious to them for reasons which were not made clear to me until they were in stitches.

[hifiguy]

13. Geddy Lee is called "Geddy" because of his Mom's thick Polish accent.

His parents were Holocaust survivors and "Gary" (his given first name) came out "Geddy" via Mom's accent. It stuck, and his name is now legally Geddy Lee Weinrib.

[liberalhistorian]

9. Well, I agree that she was simply the catalyst

for what would have happened soon, anyway (as it seems to happen to most bands after awhile), although I can certainly understand the irritation of the others at her constant opinions. If I were them, I wouldn't have given two fly shits what she thought and would have been irritated as hell at hearing the constant drum of "well, Yoko thinks...." from John, and from her. But, as I said, it was about to happen anyway regardless of her presence.

But what she IS partially responsible for is her horrible treatment of Julian and how she did her best to ruin John's relationship with him, especially after Sean was born. God forbid he have ANY baggage at all before she came into his life. She had no right whatsoever to interfere, and she treated Julian like shit after John died, making sure he got almost nothing and trying to erase him from John's life altogether. Selfish, thoughtless bitch all around. Of course, John was responsible, too, for allowing her to do that and for not standing up against her attempts to interfere in that relationship.

[edbermac]

10. The Beatles broke up the Beatles.

Everyone knows John and Paul had a tense relationship. And overlooked was George vs Paul in the end. He made that very clear in the Anthology book.

[Iggo]

12. George wanted out.

[hifiguy]

14. In any band that didn't contain John and Paul

George would have been the mega-star of the group.