From the Back Cover
Conceived expressly for Yoko Ono as a gift between friends on the occasion of her eightieth birthday, See Hear Yoko is a visual portrait of an icon of contemporary American cultural history, from her days with John Lennon through to the present. Legendary rock and roll photographer Bob Gruen was welcomed into the lives of John Lennon and Yoko Ono during their years in New York City, when Gruen served as their personal lensman, and he continues to document Yoko today. Approached by his friend Jody Denberg, an Austin rock radio mainstay who had logged twenty-five years of interviews with Yoko, Gruen collaborated with him to create an extraordinary birthday gift. In this breathtaking volume, Gruen has selected more than three hundred classic color and black-and-white photographs--accompanied by text of Yoko's insights gleaned from Denberg's many hours of interviews--to illuminate the intimate story of Yoko Ono at the height of her fame as a woman, wife, mother, and avant-garde artist who keeps creating because, as she notes, "that's who I am." Yoko's role as a peace activist and artist underscores the enduring legacy of the era. See Hear Yoko reveals a modern woman in love, in ascension, in grief, in joy, and in peace.
Lavish and beautiful, mirroring the deeply personal design of the original volume given to Yoko herself, See Hear Yoko brings into focus an extraordinary woman, and one of the most memorable periods in modern history.
Denberg, Jody: -
Jody Denberg is a thirty-year veteran of the Austin, Texas, radio airwaves who has interviewed such artists as Paul McCartney, R.E.M., Joni Mitchell, Tom Waits, Neil Young, and Willie Nelson. An accomplished journalist whose work has been published in the Austin Chronicle, Rolling Stone, and Texas Monthly, among others, Denberg is a featured DJ in a permanent radio exhibit in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. He lives, and still broadcasts, in Austin.
Gruen, Bob: -
Bob Gruen has documented the rock music scene for more than forty years, capturing renowned images of the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, the Clash, the Sex Pistols, Blondie, and Green Day, among many others. In 1972 Gruen formed a close friendship with John Lennon and Yoko Ono, and served as their personal photographer, documenting concerts and press conferences, as well as capturing serene moments between John and Yoko, and the first images of their son, Sean Lennon. Gruen took the iconic image of John Lennon wearing the New York City T-shirt. His photographs are in the permanent collection of London's National Portrait Gallery and have been shown at the Museum of Modern Art and the Brooklyn Museum. Bob Gruen lives and works in New York City.
