They were a world famous and controversial couple.
John Lennon, arguably one of the most famous current musicians in the world and artist wife Yoko Ono, had staged their first bed-in for peace in Amsterdam. That event was part performance art and part honeymoon for the couple who had been married on March 20, and was intended to promote their message for world peace at the height of the Cold War, and with the Vietnam War escalating.
The second week-long bed-in was planned for New York to get more North American coverage, but Lennon was barred from the US for a previous marijuana conviction.
The next plan was to go to the Bahamas, but that proved too hot and humid, so it was that on May 26, 1969 the couple arrived at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal where they booked four adjoining rooms, including their room, 1742.
The scene was busy and confused to say the least as reporters crowded in for interviews, and fans crowded around outside the hotel hoping for a glimpse of the couple, or at least be part of the ‘scene’.
A number of top celebrities were also invited, including then well-known cartoonist Al Capp who ended up in a somewhat heated exchange with the couple about a number of things. Other much more admiring celebrities included Timothy Leary, Tommy Smothers, Allen Ginsberg, Dick Gregory and more.
One of the most notable aspects to come of the seven-day Montreal bed-in was the recording in the hotel room of the song “Give Peace a Chance”. The idea came from repeated answers to a variety of reporters who asked what Lennon hoped to achieve with the event.
“Just give peace a chance”, he would reply.
On June 1, using a small rented recorder and four microphones, a crowd of celebrities and hangers-on recorded the song.
It was released a couple of week later rising to number two on Britain’s pop charts, number 8 on Canada’s RPM chart, and number 14 on Billboards hot 100 in the US. It also quickly became the anthem for Vietnam war protesters.
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