Flashback: John Lennon & Yoko Ono release "Double Fantasy"

26 years ago today (November 17th, 1980), John Lennon and wife Yoko Ono released their album Double Fantasy. The album marked Lennon's first release since his self-imposed five-year retirement from the music business in 1975, during which time he had become a self described "house husband" raising the couple's son Sean, while Yoko managed the couple's finances.

At the time of the album's release, Lennon did an interview with Playboy magazine in which he said that his songs on Double Fantasy came rushing out of him all at once. Contrary to what Lennon told Playboy, most of the music on Double Fantasy actually dated back several years, and it was not the only music he composed during his "retirement." Lennon had begun recording material in 1976 for a pair of projects that never saw the light of day --: an unfinished album called Between The Lines, and a musical based on his life with Yoko, called The Ballad Of John And Yoko, after the Beatles song.

When Lennon sailed to Bermuda in June of 1980 he brought along an acoustic guitar and dozens of cassette tapes which contained fragments of songs which eventually became "(Just Like) Starting Over," and "Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)," among many others. It was also while he was in Bermuda that he composed "Woman," a song he jokingly referred to as "the Beatle track" because of it's intricate and soothing harmonies. These songs, along with the already-completed "Watching The Wheels," became the foundation for the rest of Double Fantasy.

John and Yoko officially began recording Double Fantasy on August 6th 1980 at New York City's Hit Factory. During those sessions, they actually recorded enough material for two albums, one to be released in the autumn, and another called Milk And Honey to be released in the spring of 1981. To ensure their artistic freedom, the Lennons decided to finance the album themselves and afterwards sign with the record company with the highest offer. They eventually signed with David Geffen's new label Geffen Records, because his was the only label that didn't demand to hear the completed tapes first.

When Double Fantasy was finally released on November 17th, 1980, the reviews were mixed. Some critics blasted Lennon because they believed the songs on Double Fantasy showed he had lost his "edge" because many of the songs found Lennon singing about the joys of fatherhood and domestic bliss. And, in a strange reversal, Yoko's tracks -- which were actually arranged by Lennon -- received many favorable reviews for what some critics called their innovative use of funk oriented dance grooves.

Joe Raiola, the writer/director of the annual John Lennon tribute to be held on December 10th at New York City's Alley Citigroup Theatre, told us that he was surprised at the quality of Lennon's songs after a five year layoff: "It surprised me in some ways, how clean and clear it was. If you take a song like 'Woman,' I think that compares to the best of John's Beatle work. It's that good. And there are a few songs on that album, probably 'Watching The Wheels,' even 'Beautiful Boy' -- those three come to mind that are among his best work."

By December 8th, 1980 -- the day Lennon was killed -- the album's first single "(Just Like) Starting Over" had reached Number Six on the singles chart and Double Fantasy had just cracked the album charts. In the days following the tragedy, "(Just Like) Starting Over," quickly reached the top of the singles chart, while Double Fantasy topped the album charts and stayed there for eight weeks.

After Lennon's death, two other singles were released from Double Fantasy -- "Woman," which went to Number Two, and "Watching The Wheels," which peaked at Number Ten. Double Fantasy went on to receive the 1981 Grammy Award for Album Of The Year.