John Lennon, Yoko Ono And Kyoko Cox

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Details

John Lennon, Yoko Ono And Kyoko Cox
Two previously undocumented recordings of John Lennon and his step-daughter Kyoko Cox, the recordings made on two cassette tapes:
- the first tape, recorded by Lennon during the summer of 1969 whilst Kyoko was staying with the Lennons in the U.K., consists of Lennon and Kyoko improvising songs and nursery rhymes such as The Night-Beddy Song and stories including a tale about a dwarf in the garden, the Philips tape inscribed on the A-side in blue felt pen in Yoko's hand Kyoko & John -- given by Lennon to Tony Cox during a visit to Cox's home in Denmark in January 1970; accompanied by a typescript document titled John Lennon Audio Cassette: "John and Kyoko Music", from Tony Cox, signed, 31st August, 1995, concerning the provenance and stating...John had intended to develop this recording for release as an album, but the project was never completed... -- approx. running time 46 mins.;
- the second tape, recorded by Lennon and Cox during the January 1970 visit consists of Lennon and Kyoko playing Cox's acoustic guitars and improvising songs with occasional interjections from Yoko and Cox, the Scotch tape label inscribed on the B-side in blue felt pen in Yoko's hand Kyoko Singing -- running time approx. 23 mins.; accompanied by a typescript document titled John Lennon Audio Cassette "Denmark Music 3", from Tony Cox, signed, 29th August, 1995, concerning the provenance; and two black and white photograph (printed recently), one of John and Yoko with Julian at a rehearsal for The Rolling Stones' Rock And Roll Circus, the other of John and Yoko with Kyoko at a London airport, both -- 8x10in. (20.3x25.4cm.)
The tapes are offered for sale without copyright, broadcast rights, performers consents, and other reproduction rights. The Buyer must apply to the relevant parties to obtain such clearance and consents as may be necessary. (4)

Literature

DOGGETT, Peter Life With The Lennons, article, Record Collector, March 2002, no.271

Special notice

VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price plus buyer's premium.

Further details

Photographs courtesy of Associated Newspapers Ltd.

Lot Essay

In a recently published article in Record Collector, Peter Doggett reviews the recordings included in this lot:
"John Lennon's endearingly close relationship with his stepchild is revealed...Some 90 minutes long the recordings feature Lennon telling stories to Kyoko, and vamping blues, folk and funk guitar riffs as she improvises songs and nursery rhymes. Along the way, he debuts his Imagine tune, Oh Yoko (retitled in honour of Kyoko), runs down the riffs to Beatles tunes such as Sun King and I Got A Feeling, and even accompanies Kyoko as she breaks into an unlikely rendition of Frank Zappa's Jelly Roll Gum Drop.
John, Yoko and Kyoko join forces for a brief romp through Yellow Submarine, while Lennon reveals a previously undocumented talent for penning children's ditties, including a touching fragment addressed to his own son, Julian. The tapes are made all the more poignant by our knowledge that, soon after they were made, John and Yoko were estranged from Kyoko while Cox and the Lennons fought an increasingly bitter custody battle.

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