(Credits: Far Out / Tony Barnard / Los Angeles Times / UCLA Library)
Mon 29 December 2025 14:26, UK
John Lennon was never one to sit on the fence, whether he was being positive or negative about any given subject. If Lennon felt strongly, everybody would know about it.
As much as he had a reputation for being his own harshest critic, Lennon was also more than happy to give himself a pat on the back if he felt that it was deserved. The ultimate contrarian’s contrarian could throw his most beloved material under the bus, but he would never utter words of contempt for the work of Yoko Ono.
Following the demise of The Beatles, Lennon did eventually become somewhat calmer and reserved. However, during those initial years, before the dust had settled, he had a bee in his bonnet and wanted people to take notice of the art he was creating with Yoko, who he felt was unfairly treated in the music industry. Working alongside Ono in The Plastic Ono Band was a fresh experience that he truly relished and gave him a new lease of artistic life that was the perfect tonic to leaving the Fab Four.
As much as their debut album, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, was eventually lauded as a masterpiece, it didn’t top the charts upon release, and Lennon felt one song from this era, particularly, had been overlooked.
A vital reason why this song, which Lennon attested to love so dearly, didn’t get the credit it deserved was due to being released as a B-side. The track in question is ‘Don’t Worry, Kyoko’, which The Plastic Ono Band placed on the other side of their ‘Cold Turkey’ single. It’s a slick, blues-infused track on which Ono’s raw emotion is laid bare, and is duly one of her finest musical moments, even if it flew under the radar at the time.
Sentimentally, for Ono, it’s an incredibly personal song written about her daughter, whom she had lost custody of and lived with her ex-husband, Anthony Cox. Heartbreakingly, they remained out of contact until Kyoko reappeared in Yoko’s life in 1994, but thankfully, they have stayed in close touch ever since.
In 1970, Lennon applauded the track and told Rolling Stone that he believed it’s as good as anything that had come before, stating, “Don’t get the therapy confused with the music. Yoko’s whole thing was that scream. ‘Don’t Worry, Kyoko’ was one of the fuckin’ best rock and roll records ever made. Listen to it, and play ‘Tutti Fruitti’. Listen to ‘Don’t Worry, Kyoko’ on the other side of ‘Cold Turkey’.”
Lennon believed Ono didn’t get the praise that her work deserved compared to other artists, including The Beatles, and for him, she operated in a league of her own. While she didn’t sell as many records as the Fab Four, Lennon believed Ono’s barrier-pushing methods were equally vital in progressing popular music into new territory.
He elaborated: “I’m digressing from mine, but if somebody with a rock-oriented mind could possibly hear her stuff, you’ll see what she’s doing. It’s fantastic, you know. It’s as important as anything we ever did, and it is as important as anything the Stones or Townshend ever did. Listen to it, and you’ll hear what she is putting down. On ‘Cold Turkey’ I’m getting towards it. I’m influenced by her music 1000 per cent more than I ever was by anybody or anything. She makes music like you’ve never heard on earth.”
Yoko was a relentlessly inventive creative, and ‘Don’t Worry, Kyoko’ is a prime example of her forward-thinking approach. However, due to Lennon being the star name in the group, ‘Cold Turkey’ was chosen as the A-side despite his own admission that he prefers ‘Don’t Worry, Kyoko’. As a result, and due to the song’s experimental nature, it was unlikely to be picked up by the radio to make the world view it as Lennon did.
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