🖤 Yoko's Influence Over Punk

[maredevlin12]

Hi guys! If you're unfamiliar with me, I have been blogging about the Beatles since high school and currently run Beatles/Music History social media (come follow me @beatledirt!) where I have a combined following of around 55,000 between TikTok and Instagram.

A few months ago, one of my followers asked me what I thought about the idea that Yoko was one of the first punk artists. It gave me an excuse to dig through her often undervalued discography, and I wanted to hop in here and ask the experts (John & Yoko fans) what they think!

 

[Good Dog Nigel]

Welcome @maredevlin12! Great to have you here. Yes! Yoko is definitely the Grandmother of Punk!
Several years before The New York Dolls, Television, Patti Smith, The Ramones, The Saints, The Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Damned and The Buzzcoks, listen to Yoko recorded on 10 October 1970 at Abbey Road Studios with John Lennon, Ringo Starr and Klaus Voormann:

 

[maredevlin12]

Thanks so much for responding!

I think this idea is really cool, I would say that a lot of people outside of immediate Beatles fans wouldn’t think of punk when they think of Yoko and I say it’s time we turn that around!

 

[Ingryd Medeiros]

Yoko was punk for many reasons - and this is great!

 

[maredevlin12]

Yoko sort of embodies punk imo. She certainly never “sold out” and always remained truly authentic and unique.

 

[Madeline Bocaro]

This quote from Sean is in my Yoko biography, In Your Mind - The Infinite Universe of Yoko Ono - which has complete chapters about every album and every song in detail!

“She goes from not being into rock n’ roll to inventing punk rock, as far as I see it. “That is also remarkable, and it’s the other side of the story of the album (Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band).”

- Sean Ono Lennon to Strombo, Apple Music Hits – 10-9-20

 

[Good Dog Nigel]

https://www.nyu.edu/about/news-publications/news/2024/october/cool-course-dispatch---musical-worlds-of-yoko-ono-.html

Cool Course Dispatch: “Musical Worlds of Yoko Ono”​

In tracing the artist’s legacy, Brigid Cohen’s music history course calls for some imagination—and lots of New York City