People blamed Yoko for "breaking up the Beatles" and they were pissed that Lennon didn't want anything to do with a Beatles reunion, and that he had decided to spend his time, and make music with, Yoko Ono instead.
It was a real love story between two extraordinary artists, but much of the Pop world didn't like it. They acted as if John Lennon was their beloved mop-top and hanging out with an avant-garde, Fluxus conceptual artist was just not cool.
But of course, it was cool. One of the coolest collaborations you can imagine. Still it was difficult for Ono and Lennon, here's Yoko about that time: "The situation was hell. It was getting dangerous for me. For John, it was affecting the sales of his albums. That meant a big dent in his career. I felt guilty. But John was gung-ho about us being together. So we went back to sit in hell and enjoy it. Hell! What’s hell?"
Of course, once Lennon was gunned down he was "sainted" and Yoko was sort of "redeemed." But really the Ballad of John and Yoko was always, always an amazing story of two talented and committed artists who met and fell in love and who inspired each other to do amazing work.
Listen to "Double Fantasy" today and you realize it's a masterpiece - you get two powerful visions/voices on one record. And Yoko contiunes to make great music to this day...
