With a music catalog as extensive as John Lennon’s, it may be a matter of opinion to some fans which of his songs is most iconic. However, based on streaming data, it’s clear that his 1971 track “Imagine” has stood the test of time.
Lennon, who was born on October 9, 1940, became a member of The Beatles, consisting of Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, after the group was formed in Liverpool, England, in 1960.
After the world-famous group disbanded in 1970, Lennon went on to pursue a successful solo music career.
Lennon’s solo projects consist of John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band (1970), Imagine (1971), Some Time in New York City (1972, with Yoko Ono), Mind Games (1973), Walls and Bridges (1974), Rock ‘n’ Roll (1975), and Double Fantasy (1980, with Yoko Ono).
Ono, 85, who was married to Lennon from 1969 until his untimely death in December 1980, also released Milk and Honey posthumously.
What Is ‘Imagine’ About?
During an interview with David Sheff for Playboy Magazine, Lennon revealed his immediate inspiration for the song.
After receiving a Christian prayer book from Dick Gregory, he said, “The concept of positive prayer … if you can imagine a world at peace, with no denominations of religion—not without religion but without this my God-is-bigger-than-your-God thing—then it can be true.”
Lennon added, “The World Church called me once and asked, ‘Can we use the lyrics to ‘Imagine’ and just change it to ‘Imagine one religion?’ That showed [me] they didn’t understand it at all. It would defeat the whole purpose of the song, the whole idea.”
Eventually, Lennon did confirm what many listeners believed to be true, that “Imagine” had undertones of Communism.
“‘Imagine,’ which says: ‘Imagine that there was no more religion, no more country, no more politics,’ is virtually the Communist Manifesto, even though I’m not particularly a Communist and I do not belong to any movement,” he explained.
Related: The Story Behind Creedence Clearwater Revival’s 1971 Hit That’s Storming the Charts Again
‘Imagine’ Is John Lennon’s Most Popular Song:
Although it can be hard to quantify just how popular “Imagine” is, there are certainly some stats to support it. According to several outlets, as of October 2025, the song has over 804 million streams on Spotify and 331 million views on YouTube.
Not accounting for Apple Music, Amazon Music, Tidal, vinyl, radio play, and beyond, “Imagine” still boasts an estimated 1.125 billion streams.
Imagine was also the name of the 1971 album, which included the songs “Crippled Inside,” “Jealous Guy,” “It’s So Hard,” “I Don’t Want to Be a Soldier,” “Gimme Some Truth,” “Oh My Love,” “How Do You Sleep?,” “How?,” and “Oh Yoko!”
How Did John Lennon Die?
Lennon was shot and killed by Mark David Chapman on December 8, 1980, outside The Dakota apartment building in New York City.
Fans can now visit his Imagine memorial in Strawberry Fields, Central Park, New York City, to pay tribute.
This story was originally reported by Parade on Oct 9, 2025, where it first appeared in the Celebs section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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