Live Peace in Toronto 1969

Toronto rock promoters John Brower and Kenny Walker organised a festival held at Varsity Stadium in Toronto on 13 September 1969, around the notion of a revival of rock and roll stars from the 1950s, booking Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino, Bo Diddley, and Gene Vincent. They also booked more modern acts such as Alice Cooper, Chicago, and the Doors. Brower readily agreed, but since Lennon did not actually have a new group, he quickly began making phone calls to potential members to accompany himself and Yoko Ono. He initially approached Beatles band-mate George Harrison to play lead guitar, but Harrison declined, so Lennon turned to Eric Clapton, who had previously performed with Lennon in the one-off super group, the Dirty Mac. Bassist Klaus Voormann and drummer Alan White soon agreed to perform, along with their assistants, Anthony Fawcett, Terry Doran, and Jill and Dan Richter. The group was scheduled to fly to Toronto on 12 September, the day before the concert, but Lennon, Ono, and Clapton were late to arrive at the airport. who were still in bed. Lennon later said that the group "didn't know what to play" since they had not previously performed together, and they eventually settled on a set list consisting of older rock and roll standards, three Lennon-penned Beatle and solo songs, and two longer experimental songs featuring Ono. Though preparations for the show were rushed and chaotic, Lennon later said that he gained the confidence to leave the Beatles during those few days. Lennon mentioned this to Clapton at the time, and upon returning to London, he privately told Beatles' manager Allen Klein. ==Recording==

The group played eight songs to a crowd of 20,000 people. Before the start of the Plastic Ono Band's performance, they were introduced by Kim Fowley, and his two solo songs, "Give Peace a Chance" and "Cold Turkey", the latter of which had its premiere at the festival. "John John (Let's Hope for Peace)", Towards the end of Ono's performance, the audience began to boo and whistle, and the band departed the stage leaving their guitars and bass to resonate until Mal Evans turned off the amplifiers. With their stage remarks, Lennon and Ono linked their appearance there to their ongoing campaign for peace. being part of the audio portion of the documentary film being made of the festival by D.A. Pennebaker, later released as Sweet Toronto. Lennon and Ono made a deal with Pennebaker to license their portion of the show for record, in exchange for rights to include their appearance. According to the Beatles Monthly, due to the adverse reaction to Ono's performance, Pennebaker removed the segments with Lennon and Ono after limited screenings of the film, later re-edited as Keep on Rockin'. Showtime ultimately presented the performance in 1989, and the full movie appeared later on home video and DVD. ==Release and aftermath==

The album, released on the same day in both the UK and US, failed to chart in the UK but peaked at number 10 in the US. It was released to quash any bootleg versions that Lennon was sure would leak onto the market. US editions of the album wrongly stated that the album was recorded in England. Criticism was directed at side two of the LP, the side consisting entirely of two Yoko Ono songs. In a retrospective assessment, Richard Ginell of AllMusic remarks: In contrast, fellow musicians over the years remarked how Yoko Ono's half was a lot more inspirational and groundbreaking than the first half. Iggy Pop praised Yoko's part as "the part that stands out. The rest of it‘s just kinda pedestrian." Perry Farrell of Jane's Addiction echoed similar feelings, stating that Ono's sound experimentations were a cornerstone of his musical education. Music author Chuck Eddy wrote that despite Clapton's sporadically "really loud" playing, side one's covers were rendered "quaint" by the Flying Lizards' versions ten years later. However, Eddy believed Lennon's "Yer Blues", which features noisier feedback "than the LP's start and end combined", was the album's most disquieting moment. He also described Lennon's grooves on side two as "proto-harmolodic". Carl Perkins said to Lennon after the show that he was "so beautiful you made me cry." The album was reissued in the US in 1982, by Capitol, and again in 1986. released on 1 May 1995. Two of the remixed tracks feature a variation in Ono's vocals: while "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" has additional backing vocals from Ono, "Money" has fewer backing vocals from Ono. The CD booklet included a 1995 calendar, mimicking the original release. The album is also available from the audiophile label Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, utilizing the same remix. The booklet for the 2006 Mobile Fidelity release also included a calendar for 2007. A 2009 vinyl reissue from Capitol reverts to the original 1970. ==Track listing==

Side one • "Blue Suede Shoes" (Carl Perkins) – 3:50 • "Money (That's What I Want)" (Janie Bradford, Berry Gordy) – 3:25 • "Dizzy, Miss Lizzy" (Larry Williams) – 3:24 • "Yer Blues" (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) – 4:12 • "Cold Turkey" (Lennon) – 3:34 • "Give Peace a Chance" (Lennon, previously Lennon-McCartney) – 3:41 Side two • "Don't Worry Kyoko (Mummy's Only Looking for Her Hand in the Snow)" (Yoko Ono) – 4:48 • "John John (Let's Hope for Peace)" (Ono) – 12:38 ==Personnel==

• John Lennon – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, lead guitar • Yoko Ono – wind, presence, backing vocals, lead vocal, art • Eric Clapton – lead guitar, backing vocals • Klaus Voormann – bass • Alan White – drums ==Charts==