The Ballad of John and Yoko

by Rolling Stone Magazine, Jonathan Cott (Editor), Christine Doudna (Editor)

Great book on the lives and career of John Lennon and Yoko Ono. 50 color and black and white illustrations of photographs of the Beatles, Lennon, Ono. Includes credits / bibliography. Softcover. 317 pages. Measures 6 by 9 inches. Interesting book, nicely illustrated.

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction

317 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1982

About the author

Rolling Stone is a U.S.-based magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner (who is still editor and publisher) and music critic Ralph J. Gleason.

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

As part of my Lennon-quest, I read this book. This is the first of the books I've read that are fairly pro-Yoko, which is a good change. This is a series of articles, essays and interviews that was previously published in Rolling Stone. Due to the difference in writers, passing of time, and tone, the book is very uneven. There are some very interesting parts (the Lennon interviews, the history of the Beatles, the Toronto Peace Concert history) and some much less interesting (like a history of Yoko's music - I can't help it, I'm just not a fan). It's worth checking out for the depth of the reporting, but I definitely felt it was biased by the times - Lennon in the place he was at in the 70's was selling hundreds of thousands of copies of this magazine, with all their coverage of him.

This was an interesting read, and good for some rock history. You could easily pick and choose the articles that interested you, and the photos are also good (and some are rare).

[Rena Sherwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommended detailed look at the relationship of John Lennon and Yoko Ono. They were one of the greatest romantic pairs in history and their story is far more interesting than that of Romeo & Juliet's.

I'm sure some would quibble that it paints both John and Yoko in TOO good light (as they were definitely not saints) but it didn't bother me any. Includes photos and illustrations, including a rather naughty drawing by John.

I used to have a first edition of this and sadly lost it during my misadventures. It's one book I'd like to read again -- although the ending is a bit sad.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

a collection of interviews, essays and stories about jl and yo. i'm the biggest yoko ono fan i know and i didn't hate it! seriously, though, it's a great lens through which to see the history that their lives and works made and coincided with.

[Katsumi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book basically because I'm a huge John & Yoko fan.
The book is quite good. It includes all the transcriptions of the interviews of john and yoko (from the earlier til dec 8 `80)

includes pretty cool pics of both of them (which are printed in pretyy good paper)

Excellent book!

[Jessica T. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved it!

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read a lot (too many?) books about John & The Beatles-- oddly, while they have spawned many volumes, there aren't many great ones. This collection of articles, interviews, analysis is one of the best. Many bases are covered by excellent writers (good pics too!)-- the music, the politics, the relationship, the films, the avant garde work. It's very refreshing to see a book that is fair to Yoko, her art and her influence. This, along with Lennon Remembers (excerpted here), Sheff's 1980 Playboy interview, and Cott's Days That I'll Remember paint a truer and more vivid portrait of J. and Y. than any biography I know (although I will revisit Norman's). Highly recommended to anyone who wants to get beyond the mythology and the image painted all too often by those with a dubious agenda.

[Johnny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent 👍👍

[Jose Luis · Rating 4 out of 5]

La Balada de John y Yoko - 4 Estrellas

Este libro lo pude encontrar en español y de segunda mano en Mercadolibre.
El libro contiene las entrevistas que se hicieron a John y Yoko por parte de la revista Rolling Stone, abarcando varias póstumas y amigos en común.
Muy buen libro, me gustó que se incluyeran las realizadas directamente a John Lennon y Yoko Ono y transcripciones completas.
Por las entrevistas conoces al John Lennon Público, al que dejaba su opinión sin pensar en las consecuencias, el John Lennon que agradaba a todos.

No me gustó algunas donde se relataba la biografía de ambos y parecía texto de relleno que contenido.
Igual los reportajes póstumos había mucha paja o relleno.
Las entrevistas a Mick Jagger y Harry Nilsson de lo mejor.
No hubo ningún reportaje de los otros ex-beatles acerca de Lennon ¿porque? Ni idea. Eso sí sería para 5 estrellas.