On this day 30 August, 1972: “One To One Concert” to raise money for Willowbrook, institution for children with physical or mental defects. 2 shows (afternoon, 2.00pm; evening), featuring John Lennon, Stevie Wonder and others at Madison Square Garden, New York. Organized by John and Yoko . Filmed by ABC-TV.

In 1972 John Lennon & Yoko Ono were two highly publicized figures. John was constantly in the news, on the front lines of the peace movement or helping support other activist causes. John was very accessible in those days, living in a small apartment on Bank Street in the West Village. John wanted to make New York his home, but the U.S. government was trying to deport him. The Nixon administration were afraid that Lennon’s popularity would destroy any chance for re-election. They came up with a plan, saying he was ineligible for admission to the U.S. due to a cannabis possession misdemeanor, he had received in London in 1968.

The FBI tapped the John’s phones and followed him & anyone associated with him on every move. Many public figures (including New York’s Mayor John Lindsay, Bob Dylan, Fred Aistare & Jack Lemmon to name a few) all supported him, as did the fans with letters & petitions. John went through deportation hearings for three years, but by then Tricky Dick, resigned was after his Watergate crisis. In the American bicentennial year of 1976, Lennon was given his green card.

In the midst of all this in 1972, there were the Beatles legal battles, John’s latest single had been banned & his new album Sometime In New York City wasn’t selling. The double album was filled with current political issues & lots of Yoko songs which the fans weren’t too thrilled with. The album never cracked the top forty.

At the time, a young New York reporter named Geraldo Rivera was following the Lennon deportation hearings very closely on the local news. He would get interviews when Lennon left court & they soon became friends. Rivera did a news story on the horrible conditions & abuse to the patients at a Staten Island Facility, called Willowbrook, which was a home for the mentally challenged. The Project became known as “One to One”.
The Lennon’s saw the story & wanted to help. Yoko Ono contacted Rivera, saying John offered to headline a benefit concert to raise money for the project. This was just one year after George Harrison’s benefit Bangla Desh concert, certainly an inspiration.

The concert was to be held at Madison Square Garden on August 30th 1972. Lennon would be backed by a Greenwich Village band called The Elephant’s Memory. It was the first full concert for Lennon in the United States, since the Beatles played Candlestick Park, San Francisco in 1966. As fate would have it, it would be the only full concerts of his solo career.
Originally it was thought that these shows would be a warm up for a Lennon Plastic Ono / Elephants Memory Band World Tour. But John wanted the Deportation issues settled first & then some mixed reviews of the concert may have also molded his decision. The fans lined up for tickets to see the ex-Beatle, tickets sold out very quickly. Lennon responded by adding a second show, a matinee afternoon performance. Also on the bill, were Stevie Wonder, Roberta Flack & Sha Na Na.

John, Yoko & the Elephant’s Memory Band rehearsed for just three days within a week before the show. Ticket prices were $5 – $7.50 & $10. Lennon himself bought $59,000 worth of tickets & gave them away to fans. Overall $1.5 million dollars was raised for the cause.
A video recording of the concert was filmed & first aired on ABC television later that year. It featured the better performance, the evenings show. In 1986, John Lennon-Live In New York City, CD & video were released by Ono. The Elephants Memory band members criticized her for releasing the weaker, matinee performance. As of 2012 a DVD has not yet been issued but some of the evening performance songs were included on the 1998 Lennon Anthology Box set.

1972 John Lennon One To One Concert Set List

Matinee:
Power to the People
New York City
It’s So Hard
Move On Fast (Yoko)
Woman Is The Niger of the World
Sisters O’ Sisters (Yoko)
Well Well Well
Born In A Prison (Yoko)
Instant Karma
Mother
We’re All Water (Yoko)
Come Together
Imagine
Open Your Box (Yoko)
Cold Turkey
Don’t Worry Kyoko (Mummys only Looking For Her Hand In The Snow) Hound Dog

Evening Performance:

Power to the People
New York City
It’s So Hard
Woman Is The Niger of the World
Sisters O’ Sisters (Yoko)
Well Well Well
Instant Karma
Mother
We’re All Water (Yoko)
Come Together
Imagine
Cold Turkey
Hound Dog
Give Peace A Chance