John Lennon Rocks Back Onto The Charts Thanks To A Collaboration With His Wife

John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s “Happy XMas (War Is Over)” climbs on three Billboard charts this frame, … [+] bringing Gimme Some Truth. (2020) with it. (Original Caption) Yoko and John…Beatle John Lennon and Yoko Ono, his bride of three months at the time this photo was made in Montreal in June 1969, pose in bed. His first solo album at the time featured songs telling of his love for Yoko. They held, in bed, press conferences in several cities with the theme, “make love, not war.” Lennon was shot to death December 8, 1980. In a statement December 9th, Miss Ono said, “There is no funeral for John. Later in the week we will set the time for silent vigil to pray for his soul. We invite you to participate from wherever you are at the time.”

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The latter period of John Lennon’s solo music career was marked by a number of high-profile collaborations with his wife, Yoko Ono. The two worked together regularly until his death in 1980, and in the decades since then, she has remained tied to his legacy.

Lennon appears on the Billboard charts this week with both a successful album and one of his most popular solo singles. Ono joins him on the smash, which powers the full-length it’s now featured on.

“Happy XMas (War Is Over)” climbs on three Billboard tallies this frame, along with dozens—perhaps a hundred or more—of holiday tracks. That tune is led by Lennon, but it also credits Ono, as well as both The Plastic Ono Band With The Harlem Community Choir.

The song, which is considered a Christmas staple by this point, surges on both of the company’s world-spanning rosters. “Happy XMas (War Is Over)” jumps to No. 21 on the Billboard Global Excl. US, and it settles just two slots further down on the Billboard Global 200. The tune has now spent 24 weeks on both rosters, which were introduced in 2020, long after the former Beatle’s passing.

The single rises even higher on the one American list it can be found on this season. The anti-war/holiday tune improves from No. 7 to No. 5 on the Rock Streaming Songs chart, nearing its No. 3 high point.

For many years, “Happy XMas (War Is Over)” was one of Lennon’s most successful standalone singles, unattached to any collection. The song was later added to the tracklist of Gimme Some Truth. (2020), which benefits from that decision.

Gimme Some Truth. (2020) finds a home on a trio of Billboard charts this week, and it reappears on two-thirds of them. On the third, it’s on the rise, as streams and sales of “Happy XMas (War Is Over)” have turned the full-length into a commercial success once more.

Lennon’s compilation, which was released in 2020—as its name on the charts suggests—reappears on the Billboard 200 at No. 127, and on the Top Rock Albums roster at No. 21. It lands between those two positions, at No. 27, on the Top Rock & Alternative Albums ranking.

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