JOHN LENNON NYC ROCK HALL ANNEX OPENED BY YOKO ONO

The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Annex opened the John Lennon NYC exhibit in the big apple, and Yoko Ono talked about the controversial bag.

Yoko Ono and Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame curator Jim Henke were on hand at the Rock Hall Annex in New York City to debut the exhibit, John Lennon: The New York City Years. Memorabilia was donated by Yoko, and some of the neat display items are his hand written lyrics for “Imagine” and “Starting Over,” home movies filmed by the couple, and various musical instruments the former Beatle used during his time in New York City.

One of the most chilling exhibit items was the bag of clothes that were given to Yoko from the Hospital after Lennon was pronounced dead from a gunshot wound to the head by a deranged fan in 1980. Artisan News asked Ono about the impact of the bag and the decision to put it on display.

“Well it was pretty hard actually, and also I thought maybe it might be criticized in many ways as well. I had to have a think about it, and well I decided to do it because it was very important, now, for people to understand what violence is about, and how it affects all of us.”

Ono added that she felt like New York City was home to him.

“Well he was very much a New Yorker already in Liverpool I think. He was one of those rough intelligent guys, and sensitive as well, so when he came here I think he just felt like this was his home. Because there’s an element in New York City where anything goes, and I think he enjoyed that. He enjoyed it down to… When we were in a taxi and then we’d get off. ‘That’s a great accent, great accent,’ you know ‘He’s going back to Liverpool or something.’ And also when we were going through the park it was a little bit sad in a way because he would say something like, ‘You know my dad was here too, so maybe he was walking this very same street.'”

John Lennon: The New York City Years opens to the public Tuesday, May 12, and the museum will have extended hours to accommodate those interested in viewing the annex and the Lennon exhibit. Hours are listed at rockannex.com