Posted on 12/07/2025 4:05:37 PM PST by nickcarraway
Jack Douglas was the producer behind John Lennon’s final albums: 1980’s Double Fantasy and 1984’s posthumously-released Milk and Honey.
Given his close relationship with Lennon and the musician’s tragic murder, Douglas initially didn’t make a big deal out of the money he was owed for the projects. But as the years went by, and royalty payments failed to come in, he approached Yoko Ono to settle up the finances.
What resulted was a bizarre court case that almost seems too strange to believe.
Jann Wenner’s Contradictory Testimony
“She was being advised by a really bad guy,” Douglas recalled during a recent podcast interview, noting that he was “the one guy” Ono should have trusted given the circumstances.
Though he tried to come to an agreement without a lawsuit, Douglas and Ono ended up in New York’s Superior Court battling their dispute.
One of the first witnesses Ono’s team called to the stand was Jann Wenner, founder of Rolling Stone magazine. According to Douglas, the media mogul was offered some exclusive content in exchange for his support.
“She promised Jann that he could have [Lennon’s] journal. If he came in and testified on her behalf,” the producer claimed. “Of course, she didn't have the journal. Nobody had the journal.”
“So Jan gets up there. And so her attorney is saying, ‘So who was this Jack Douglas, anyway?’” the music veteran continued. "And Jann is saying, ‘He was really a nobody…Kind of an engineer. That's all. I mean, John liked him. And he gave him a job.”
In addition to his work with Lennon, Douglas’ resume included major albums with the Who and Aerosmith. The producer was far from a “nobody,” and Wenner’s words immediately came back to haunt him.
“So now my attorney, Peter Parcher, gets up,” Douglas recalled. “And he's got a book in his hand. And it's Jann's book. And he said, ‘Jann, would you read this?’ And it's a chapter in his book where he talks about me being this producer. He makes Jann read it to the jury. And of course, that was terrible.”
Phil Spector Takes the Stand ‘Totally ----ed Up’
If Wenner’s testimony was embarrassing, Phil Spector’s was downright comical. According to Douglas, the legendary ‘wall of sound’ producer appeared incapacitated in court.
“Phil is totally ------ up. He's totally ------ up,” Douglas declared. “And he gets on the stand and they're asking him questions. And he can't make any sense out of even what they're asking him.”
Things only got worse when Spector’s testimony was over.
“So now no more questions. He gets up and he stumbles,” Douglas recalled. “And as he stumbles out of the witness box, his wig goes sideways. So now his sideburns are over his nose. And it was just a pathetic sight. And everybody was like, oh, my God.”
Yoko Hired a Witch?
Besides those who were testifying, the court room was filled with supporters on both sides of the lawsuit.
“The room was divided by an aisle in the middle,” Douglas remembered. “I was sitting up front. [Yoko] wouldn't sit up front because of assassination attempts. So she was sitting crowded by her people.”
Each day, Douglas made a point of thanking everyone who was sitting on his side showing their support.
“It would be the same people every day,” he recalled. “Same people. And I would come in. And I always [say], ‘Thanks. Thank you. Thanks for coming by.’”
“And there was one guy. He was sitting almost directly behind me,” the producer continued. “And I'd say, ‘Thank you so much for coming in.’ And he would just look at me. He wouldn't even say anything. Just look at me.”
Douglas further recalled this mystery man staring at him throughout the legal proceedings. “I could see the guy's eyes boring into the back of me… And then one day, he was gone."
The producer soon discovered the man’s mystical backstory.
“So now, (acclaimed rock photographer) Bob Gruen, because he worked with Yoko, had to sit on Yoko's side,” Douglas explained. “And Bob and I are very good friends. So Bob and I would meet in the men's room, so we could talk. And Bob said to me, ‘Boy, you ------ that guy up.’ So I said, ‘What guy? He's going, ‘That witch that Yoko hired to put a spell on you. He was sitting directly behind you. He went up to Yoko, and he said, I can't get anywhere with this guy. Every day, he comes in and thanks me. He smiles. He pats me on the back.’”
Jack Douglas and Yoko Ono Mend Their Relationship
It didn’t take long for the jury to find in Douglas’ favor, awarding him over $2.5 million in royalties. Some years later, he and Ono were able to make peace at one of Sean Lennon’s concerts at the Bowery Ballroom.
“She was upstairs. I was sitting downstairs. (25:52) And somebody came downstairs and said, Yoko would like you to come up to the table,” Douglas recalled. And I came up, and I went upstairs, and she gave me a big hug. And she said, really, a lot of water has run onto the bridge. And then we started working on little things together.”
These days, the two remain close. Douglas has been a guest at Ono’s art exhibits and still receives a Christmas card from her every year. “We stay in touch,” the producer confirmed. “I love her.”
That’s a LOT better than Billy Joel’s version. I’d take that one any day. Can she also do that one where he goes “heart attackrtacktack.”
Then don’t listen to the Beatles.
Rumor is her real last name is Hashimoto but she changed it as every time she’d accompany Lennon to the studio with the Beatles, someone would say, “Here’s comes John with Yoko” and everyone would respond “OH-NO!!!”
There is no sound, yet I can still hear it.
She has the voice of an angel!
Chuck is pretty thrilled, I can tell. Yoko is turning his song into an unforgettable art performance. John ain’t too bad, singing and playing along, either. 🫠
RE: Phil Spector in court....
Amazing story of the time Leonard Cohen thought it was a good idea to have Phil Spector produce his album Death of a Ladie’s Man.
After disagreements and days of no good finished tracks in the studio:
Cohen did a couple of takes and felt happy enough with the result that he started making his way out of the recording booth and to the control room to take a listen on the studio monitors. Spector, however, was nowhere to be seen. Then, from the corner of his eye, Cohen saw Spector marching towards him with a bottle of something strong in one hand and a pistol in the other.
The producer, dressed in a blazer patterned with marijuana leaves, grabbed Leonard by the neck and pressed the gun into the singer’s skin.
Putting his mouth to Cohen’s ear, he whispered: “Leonard, I love you,” with a menacing tone.
“I hope you do, Phil,” Cohen replied...”
https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/phil-spector-held-gun-to-leonard-cohen-head/
Far Out article above also has the shots fired over John Lennon’s head by Spector story.
Leonard Cohen deserves it - he should have produced all his albums.
Gif....
What an honor it must have been for Chuck Berry to meet Yoko Ono in person. /S
LOL
That new music was here to stay.
Not to start a food fight, but Lennon’s post-Beatles albums are, at best, lukewarm.
His singles are also meh. Arguably, the best thing he did post-Beatles was Fame which he co-wrote with Bowie.
Macca, on the other hand, was a prodigious musical juggernaut with hit after hit after hit.
Even George and Ringo had more interesting solo stuff vs John.
OMG! You gotta love McCartney trying to crawl into his amp to escape the caterwauling.
On the Canteen thread Friday we were contributing Christmas songs and this video compared Britney Spears', Miley Cyrus' and Yoko Ono's versions of "Silent Night".
Alarmed, I posted: "didn't the onlookers recognize that Yoko was being electrocuted by a microphone short and she couldn't let it go to save herself? The howls of misery and plaintive cries for help should have...
Nah. Sometimes it's best to let nature take it's course."
I’m glad you wrote this. She’s a nightmare and controlled John, May Pang felt when she sent him for hypnosis to quit smoking she had it included he basically become her slave.
https://www.thevintagenews.com/2022/05/20/yoko-ono-brainwash-john-lennon/
Is there anything in any book which states that rock and roll stars must stay sane their whole lives?
Maybe Lennon’s career and living arrangements got wacky as he slowly started losing his grip on reality...maybe long term use of psychedelics from his early days and onward helped him along....
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