Author David Sheff once saw a bumper sticker that said, “Still Pissed At Yoko,” and felt inspired by this. He counted Yoko Ono as a close personal friend and felt the world needed to know the truth about her. He felt that he was in the best position to tell her story, free of the racism and misogyny that often is evoked in any telling of her story. Yoko: A Biography is the result of his effort, and it’s about time Yoko’s story be told.

Yoko was born to one of the wealthiest families in Japan and was trained at an early age on the piano. She was a shy and reserved child, thanks in no part to the often cold and indifferent relationship she had with her parents. Her family lost their wealth during the war and Yoko experienced trauma through this hardship, having witnessed the bombing of Tokyo. She rebelled against her parents by pursuing art and marrying a Japanese pianist and composer. 

When Yoko came to New York in the mid 1950s, she came at an opportune time; the underground arts scene was flourishing, and she fit in quite well, and even though racism and sexism often held her back from growing further as an artist, it didn’t stop her. Her art often consisted of performance pieces, with her developing an artistic style that was often humorous while being thought-provoking. Though her first marriage fell apart, she soon met Tony Cox, another artist who encouraged her and soon gave her a daughter, Kyoko. 

In 1966, she had the opportunity to go to London and show her art, and it was there that she met Beatle John Lennon.  That meeting goes down in lore as a great meeting of minds, and Yoko describes it in a very meet-cute kind of way. Lennon was intrigued with the humor of it all, and charmed Yoko with his reaction to her work. Lennon fell hard for her, and although both he and Yoko were still married, a relationship soon formed, and they would become inseparable. Her role as John’s partner wasn’t welcome, and when the inevitable Beatles breakup occurred, Yoko was—and still is, sadly—blamed as the cause of it.

About Yoko “breaking up” the Beatles, Sheff posits an interesting theory. He states that because of Yoko’s positive influence, she not only didn’t break the band up, but instead kept the band going longer than it might have been. Yoko had mellowed John’s more spontaneous, tempestuous side, and had it not been for that, he would have probably rage quit the band during the White Album sessions. Does this theory hold water? Perhaps; it depends on how much credit one is willing to give Yoko; that she changed his personality is without doubt. 

The Seventies found Yoko developing as a musician, releasing four albums of original material. More importantly, she split with Lennon and infamously enlisted an assistant to be his new mistress. When she and Lennon reconciled, he devoted himself to raising their son Sean, while she took over the business and financial affairs, becoming an astute businesswoman in the process. By the beginning of the new decade, John was reinvigorated enough to return to music, and so did Yoko.

Tragically, we know what happens next.

But do you know what happened next? Yoko: A Biography goes into detail what happened with Yoko in the first hours and days after John’s murder, giving the reader a harrowing look at the aftermath of senseless violence. Even more harrowing were the instances of insane people drawn to Yoko, threatening her life and the life of son Sean. The reader is also given an in-depth examination of Yoko’s life with Sam Havadtoy, her partner for twenty years, whose existence was kept a low-key secret with the general public.  

Perhaps it’s because of his proximity to his subject that keeps a lot of the more egregious accusations and tabloid-trash controversies to a minimum, opting instead to focus on major life events and actions. That’s not a criticism; Yoko: A Biography is meant to tell the reader who Yoko was, not what others claimed her to be. In doing so, Yoko: A Biography is an engaging and insightful look at one of the art world’s most unique personalities. 

Purchase: Amazon

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