Oh, Yoko. (Of Bowie and Photoshop)

We're all devastated today by the death of David Bowie.  Social media is full of sadness from those of us who survived adolescence learning from Bowie that it's not just okay to be different, it's actually more interesting.  As I commented elsewhere, There are only a handful of artists so iconic we take their eternal presence in our lives for granted. So when they die we are truly shocked they were mortal. 

So many artists chimed in with loving memories and feelings, like Annie Lennox, who sang at Freddie Mercury's memorial with him. (awesome rehearsal clip is here) 

Like a gazillion other people, I feel stunned by the news that David Bowie has departed this earth. At the loss of...
Posted by Annie Lennox on Monday, January 11, 2016

Singer Amy Rigby posted plaintively about her husband, Wreckless Eric, 

"I can't bear going upstairs to tell Eric about Bowie...I just can't. If I don't tell him I can pretend it's not true."

And then there's Yoko Ono. 

I am sure she meant well. 

But Yoko posted her own feelings today about Bowie's death -- well, it was all about David and John Lennon's relationship:

 "As John and I had very few friends we felt David was as close as family." 

and she declared he'd been like a second father to Sean.

She chose to illustrate her post with this photo: 

Cool, right? 

Except a friend of mine had just posted the original photo, which seems to have been from the Grammys, and seems to have looked like this:

Let's give her the benefit of the doubt.
Let's say in her grief, Ms. Ono forgot that Simon and Garfunkel were there too. Maybe she like everyone else just googled for an image of Lennon and Bowie and someone else had done the photoshop.

Still.  Ms. Ono, we all loved your husband and are daily devastated for your loss and ours. And we know he and David wrote "Fame" together. But don't hide Simon and Garfunkel in a hiding place where noone ever goes.

All I am saying is, give truth a chance.

Besides, Bowie himself already testified about his bond with Lennon, in this 1999 Commencement Address to Berklee students. (Click through, it's wonderful,  I'll just post this one excerpt: )

my greatest mentor, John Lennon. I guess he defined for me, at any rate, how one could twist and turn the fabric of pop and imbue it with elements from other artforms, often producing something extremely beautiful, very powerful and imbued with strangeness. Also, uninvited, John would wax on endlessly about any topic under the sun and was over-endowed with opinions. I immediately felt empathy with that. Whenever the two of us got together it started to resemble Beavis and Butthead on "Crossfire."

And by the way, Yoko, -- David also thought highly of S&G. Check this out:


david bowie simon and garfunkel america concert... by kobortigant