It is pretty well known that John Lennon and Yoko Ono had a tumultuous relationship. Yet again, they always seemed to adore each other. Turns out, one Elton John may have had something to do with the couple getting back together, all thanks to a concern John and Lennon shared in 1974.
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The "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" icon met the "Imagine" legend back in 1973, according to Fox News Digital. They met during a commercial shoot. John discussed how it was meeting Lennon, someone he truly admired, in his new Disney+ documentary, "Elton John: Never Too Late."
"I was obviously very intimidated and very excited," John said. "This man was in The Beatles, and he still wanted to make music, he still wanted to be politically involved, he still has a purpose in his life, and I love people like that."
Not only did they meet and become friends, but they also collaborated by recording "Whatever Gets You Through the Night" in 1974. It quickly became a hit, leading the Billboard Hot 100 chart in November. As if they weren't on a roll already, they decided to appear together on a stage. Lennon made a surprise appearance in John's Thanksgiving concert at Madison Square Garden, on November 28, 1974.
"The reception that he got, I'd never heard a noise or roar like it," John said. "A lot of us cried, and there were tears running down our faces." However, what Lennon didn't know, is that, among the audience, Yoko Ono was watching the show. She had previously reached out to Lennon's team and they agreed to keep that secret from Lennon.
A Secret, Unveiled
Lennon had received two gardenias backstage. "I bet they're from Yoko," he said. "I couldn't do it if I knew she was here." Lennon then took the stage and performed while wearing one of the gardenias in his lapel. While Lennon was terrified of performing at a big venue after not performing for years, hits such as their recently recorded single and some Beatles classics helped soothe his nervousness.
The concert was Lennon's last, but it also helped Lennon and Yoko get back together. "I was probably the catalyst in Yoko and John getting back together," John said. "If I hadn't played on 'Whatever Gets You Through the Night,' if I hadn't told him that he had to do the show, maybe he never would have met Yoko again."
Elton John then remarked that the couple fell in love again, while Lennon rehabilitated himself, quitting drugs and his "craziness." After Lennon and Yoko's reconciliation, they had Sean Lennon. John sat down with Sean in an interview with the BBC, where John talked about the reconciliation.
"Just the fact that that night was so consequential in the history of his life, the fact that he got back together with your mum, and then they had you, and then, consequently, that's why he asked me to be your godfather because it was happenstance and kismet," John told Sean.
