October 11, 1971: John Lennon Releases "Imagine"

October 11, 1971: John Lennon releases his song "Imagine." It becomes one of the most beloved songs in the world, and remains the most popular song written by any of the men who were in The Beatles.

It was the title track to an album he released on September 9. The album also included songs he wrote to his wife, Yoko Ono, such as "Jealous Guy" and "Oh Yoko!" It also included a swipe at the previous most important person in his life, former Beatle Paul McCartney, attacking him for what John would later call "silly love songs," and for the business disputes between them: "How Do You Sleep?" And it includes "Gimme Some Truth," which is self-explanatory.

The following year, John released a promotional film based on the album -- they weren't called "music videos" yet -- including a performance of "Imagine," filmed at his home at Tittenhurst Park, near Ascot, Berkshire, England, a town known for its horse-racing track. The film shows Yoko slowly opening the windows of the room as John plays, and letting more light in. John had originally recorded the song there on May 27, 1971. He co-produced the song with Phil Spector, who added an orchestra.

(This was before a Los Angeles recording session at which Spector pulled a gun on Lennon, and Lennon actually dared him to pull the trigger. Not used to people standing up to him, Spector put the gun down.)

People who claim to be Christians have hated John for this song ever since. They haven't listened to the lyrics. He didn't say there is no Heaven, no Hell, no religion; he asked the listener to imagine that there wasn't. It's actually an implication that those things do exist.

Of course, asking people to imagine there's no countries might feel like an attack on people's patriotism. And asking people to imagine there's no possessions seems like an attack on capitalism. And they take those things personally.

In contrast, in 1970, for his solo album John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, John recorded a song titled "God," in which he rattled off things and people he said he didn't believe in: Magic, the I-Ching, the Bible, tarot cards, Adolf Hitler, Jesus, John F. Kennedy, Buddha, mantras, Gita, yoga, kings, Elvis, Zimmerman (meaning Bob Dylan), and, finally, The Beatles. He said, "I just believe in me. Yoko and me. And that's reality."

Talk about a concurrence of events: The day after Imagine was released, October 12, 1971, the musical Jesus Christ Superstar opened on Broadway.

A few weeks later, on November 24, John and Yoko released "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)," with backing from the Plastic Ono Band and the Harlem Community Choir. They also rented Times Square billboards with the messages "Happy Xmas from John & Yoko" and "War is over (if you want it)."

Eight years later, on November 16, 1979, Paul released "Wonderful Christmastime." How is it that John, who dared to "Imagine there's no heaven... and no religion, too" wrote such a fantastic Christmas song? While his former musical partner, Paul, one of the world's greatest songwriters and one of its greatest sentimentalists, facing that most sentimental of holidays, wrote such a weak one?

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October 11, 1971 was a Monday. In America, it was Columbus Day.

Game 2 of the World Series, delayed a day by rain, was played at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. The Baltimore Orioles beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 11-3. The Pirates would win the Series in 7 games.

The NHL season was underway, but no games were scheduled. The NBA season began the following night. The American Basketball Association's season began the night after that.

On ABC Monday Night Football, The Dallas Cowboys beat the New York Giants, 20-13. It was the last game the Cowboys played at their original home field, the Cotton Bowl. After losing away to the New Orleans Saints the next week, the week after that, they opened their new Texas Stadium in suburban Irving, with a win over the New England Patriots.