Wedding Album

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Wedding Album is the third and final collaborative experimental album by John Lennon and Yoko Ono. It was released by Apple in 1969 (US on October 20 and UK on November 7). In Britain the record was credited to “John and Yoko” (no last names); in the United States it was credited to “John Ono Lennon & Yoko Ono Lennon.” The album runs 47:38 and was produced by Lennon and Ono.

The collection has two main pieces:
- John & Yoko: A recording made on April 22 and 27, 1969, where Lennon and Ono call each other’s names at different volumes while their heartbeats play in the background. They recorded on separate microphones and Lennon later edited the pieces together.
- Amsterdam: Recorded March 25–31, 1969 in a Hilton Hotel room in Amsterdam. It includes interviews about their peace campaign (Bed-In), conversations, and sounds from their honeymoon, plus several short musical interludes. These include Lennon’s acoustic blues, Ono’s song Grow Your Hair, a brief a cappella excerpt from Good Night, and a short recitation of “Bed peace” and “Hair peace.” An early version of the peace message that would later reappear in their work is also heard on this side.

Packaging and presentation were unusual: the deluxe box set included photos, drawings by Lennon, a reproduction marriage certificate, a photo of a slice of wedding cake, a booklet of press clippings, and a Mylar bag with the word “Bagism.”

Release and reception:
- It did not chart in the UK and peaked at 178 in the US, staying on the chart for three weeks.
- Lennon later explained that the album was meant to share their wedding with fans, not to be a hit record.

The album has seen several reissues:
- 1997: Ryko released it with three bonus tracks (two B-sides by The Plastic Ono Band written by Ono).
- 2019: A version on Sean Lennon’s Chimera label with Secretly Canadian restored the original two tracks for the 50th anniversary.

Context: Wedding Album follows Unfinished Music No. 1: Two Virgins and Unfinished Music No. 2: Life with the Lions.