Like, "What do you think this is going to be? And he'd say, "Oh, it's a froggy. It's a froggy. It was part of it. Q: A lot of these drawings weren't in color when John did them. You colorized them yourself, which made it a collaboration with you and John. Why did you decide to do that? Q: Well, first of all, yes, I did color them. But the reason for that is because, initially, when this whole program was set up and I got some professional people to set up the program, et cetera -- the Bag One art program -- and they brought this colored stuff.
And I said, "Why did you color John's work? That's sacrilegious. Record cover - we need this that and the other. But at least, let me do it, because I'm the partner. And maybe John wouldn't have minded if I did it. And the reason why I said that is not just because I was a partner with -- not just sort of like insisting that I do it because I was a partner, but I realized that the stuff that they did, of course, was -- the color was overwhelming John's work.
And the way I did it was, I wanted to make sure that John's original drawings were kind of standing out and that the color was just to enhance it or something, delicately.
Now, with the Real Love book, that was a different story. I supervised it, but I had a professional colorist who does children's books. And that was very important because they have a certain format, you see, of coloring children's books.
So I went along with that. Q: Sometimes it seems like you're between a rock and a hard place because if you don't share all this work, people say you're hoarding it. And then there're people who say you merchandise John too aggressively.
How do you feel about that? Q: Yoko, you co-produced the original "Imagine" album. And it's just been re-issued, digitally re-mastered and re-mixed at Abbey Road Studios. Why did you choose this album to focus on from all of John's discs? A: Well, I could have, but you see, if I did it, then -- I'm too -- you know, it's a very personal thing.
It's a personal subject. So that I could become a little bit too emotional about it and it chokes me up and everything. And I might be partial. And it's bad. It's bad that I do it. I just wanted a kind of objective person do it. And Andrew's not just objective, but he knows about us and everything.
It's just the ideal person. He did a great job, I think. Would you read something like that? A: I happen to -- well, I happen to like Jon Wiener a lot.
And he's a very nice person, et cetera. And it wasn't like -- it was just a coincidence that his book was "Gimme Some Truth" and mine was "Gimme Some Truth," the video. But I don't know. I mean, it's -- it's hard for me to go through a book like that. So I haven't had a chance to do that. It doesn't mean that it's not a worthy book. It's a very interesting book.
But I lived it, you know, so -- for other people it's very interesting maybe, but not for me. You know what I mean? I get too emotional.
But may I just go back to this thing about, okay, people think that I'm just aggressively merchandising John? And I just want to say, one, that I get the best people to create the program. I, myself, hand-pick all the drawings to make the serigraph. And I use the best material, best printer, et cetera, et cetera in the world. And also, whenever I present it in a city, I make sure to hook up with the local charity and make sure that something goes to them.
There's a format which I can live with because it's very John. It's presenting John in the right way. And if I hadn't done that, I think it would have been a very different situation, because some people are just greedy and just would do it, do something cheaply and try to sell it for a lot of money or something like that. And that would not have been right for John's work. So I would just like the fans to know that I'm doing my best.
The thing is, for instance, I mean, you do know that the art world now, every artwork is so expensive. It just goes on being so expensive. And we're keeping the price down and everything because it's definitely for the people. He was a big fan of Bob's photos, texted Bob, and when Johnny was in Austin he took my wife and I to dinner, and we had our publisher!
Johnny, like Yoko, didn't ask to change anything from the original book, so it remains a personal, private view into a very public person.
The whole project has been exciting and blessed, because it came from the purest intentions. What always amazes me looking at the pictures is that Bob Gruen witnessed and, of course, snapped every image. He preserved this amazing history of an amazing woman that otherwise would not have been as well documented.
It is such a joy. She is a beautiful, magical, wise woman. Working with her on so many Lennon projects for Capitol over the years was a privilege, and her art and music have helped guide my life since the s.
And her Christmas cards and gifts are amazing! We spent some quality time together beforehand, did some press and photos, and then we spent two hours watching people parade up to our table to show their appreciation for Bob and, of course, Yoko.
She was a good sport about it all -- and we got to whisper to each other about this and that while it was going on. A dream we dreamt together became reality. Song Charts Airplay Add Board. All Access 10 Questions. Welcome to AllAccess. Denberg, a long time advocate of music and social involvement, is most proud of the Broadcast CD, an annual collection of live on-air productions whose sales support charities. The project has raised over one million dollars for the Services Invested in Musician Support Foundation SIMS , a group which offers low cost mental health services to Austin musicians and their immediate families, as well as to the Austin Parks Foundation.
Musicians Off the Record: Jody Denberg. Scene Makers Scenemakers. Andy Langer. Michael Corcoran. John Kunz. Jody Denberg. James White. Eva Lindsey. Eddie Wilson.
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