Australian singles chart:
The Ballad of John and Yoko entered the Kent singles charts on 21 June 1969 and was a #1 hit. The song was #14 on the Top 100 of 1969.
Album:
Originally released as a non-album single, The Ballad of John and Yoko was later included on Hey Jude, which entered the Kent album charts on 4 May 1970 and was #1 for 2 weeks.
Songwriter:
John Lennon (credited as Lennon-McCartney)
Producer:
George Martin
Record label of Australian release:
Apple
BONUS CLIP BELOW – Paul McCartney spoke about Yoko Ono after John Lennon’s death
Songfacts:
John Lennon wrote the song about his marriage to Yoko and their run-ins with various international authorities. They married on March 20, 1969 in Gibraltar and honeymooned in Amsterdam. John and Yoko’s decision to get married came very suddenly on 14 March 1969, just two days after Paul McCartney married Linda Eastman.
After the wedding, John and Yoko flew to Amsterdam and invited the press to join them in their room. Some reporters thought they were being called in to witness the couple consummate their marriage (John and Yoko appeared nude on the cover of their 1968 Two Virgins album), but what they got instead was a “Bed-In,” where John and Yoko protested the Vietnam war from their bed… fully clothed.
Read more: www.songfacts.com/facts/the-beatles/the-ballad-of-john-and-yoko
This song is also on our Spotify playlist Bang a Gong – the 60s
Find more songs to enjoy: Bang a Gong song finder
BONUS CLIP
Paul and Linda McCartney talking about Yoko Ono after John died
New to Bang a Gong? Click HERE to learn more about us.