Yoko Ono is turning 82, and she is celebrating with the release of two 10-inch LPs and a book on Feb. 18 (her birthday).
“Antony & Yoko” features two of Ono’s songs interpreted by British songwriter and visual artist Antony Hegarty, of Antony and the Johnsons. Thomas Bartlett joins on piano and Ono jumps in for a duet on “I Love You Earth” while Antony goes solo for “I’m Going Away Smiling.”
According to a press release, proceeds from the LP will benefit the Rain Forest Trust.
On the second LP, “Yoko Ono & John Zorn,” Ono joins forces with John Zorn, a contemporary and experimental composer, on “Blink,” first performed live by Ono on David Garland’s “Spinning On Air” radio program on WNYC in 2012. The track’s release is a celebration of the 25th anniversary of the show. The rebirth of the track is called “an intense, wild improvisation by two masters of the avant garde,” by the press release.
The Stone, Zorn’s non-profit New York performance space, will benefit from the proceeds.
The two new releases are part of a larger series created by Ono which includes other collaborations with artists like tUnE-yArDs, Iggy Pop, RZA, Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon.
Ono’s book entitled “See Hear Yoko,” also being released on her birthday, includes black and white photography by Bob Gruen, a rock-and-roll photographer, and 25 years of interviews with Ono edited by Austin rock radio DJ Jody Denberg. The book is published by Harper.
Happy birthday, Yoko.
(To read Highway 81 Revisited’s 2013 interview with Yoko Ono, click here.)
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