At the 43rd Annual John Lennon Tribute in New York, the air was thick with memory. The night, dedicated to the spirit of John Lennon, built towards a breathtaking finale: a performance of “Imagine” by three living legends who shared his era—Graham Nash, Judy Collins, and Art Garfunkel.
They gathered around a single microphone, a symbolic gesture of unity. There was no band, just a piano and the weathered, wise voices of history itself.
Judy Collins began, her silvery soprano turning “Imagine there’s no heaven” into a gentle hymn. Graham Nash followed, his voice now carrying the grit of decades, making “Imagine no possessions” feel like an urgent, earned plea rather than a youthful dream.
Then came the chorus, and the magic unfolded. Art Garfunkel’s iconic, airy tenor wrapped around Nash’s lead, while Collins’ voice soared above. The three distinct sounds—Collins’ purity, Nash’s conviction, Garfunkel’s angelic blend—wove together into something fragile and powerful.
This wasn’t a concert performance; it was a shared prayer. As they stood shoulder-to-shoulder, singing “and the world will be as one,” you heard the enduring hope of a generation. In their hands, “Imagine” was no longer a familiar anthem, but a quiet, radical, and deeply moving promise, passed down like a sacred heirloom.