"Open Your Box" is a The Plastic Ono Band song by

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono (, usually spelled in katakana as ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up in Tokyo and moved to New York ...

, released on 12 March 1971 as the B-side of

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

's single " Power to the People". Lennon played guitar and produced the song. In 1971, Ono's risqué lyrics were received in controversy ("box" is slang for

vagina In mammals and other animals, the vagina (: vaginas or vaginae) is the elastic, muscular sex organ, reproductive organ of the female genital tract. In humans, it extends from the vulval vestibule to the cervix (neck of the uterus). The #Vag ...

). Ono sings, "Open your box, open your trousers, open your sex, open your legs, open open open open open". The record was banned from radio in Britain, and was played on-air only when echo was added to blur the lyrics.

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

, which distributed music by

Apple Records Apple Records is a British record label founded by the Beatles in 1968 as a division of Apple Corps Ltd. It was initially intended as a creative outlet for the Beatles, both as a group and individually, plus a selection of other artists inclu ...

in the United States, initially refused to issue the recording, and it was replaced as the B-side by another Ono track, " Touch Me". "Open Your Box" was

remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...

ed and re-released by Orange Factory in 2001.

Availability on albums

"Open Your Box" eventually appeared in 1971 on Ono's '' Fly'' album, under the title "Hirake" ("ひらけ" means "opening" in Japanese.) It also appears as a bonus track on a compact disc reissue of '' Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band'', however in a different version. The Orange Factory remixed version was an underground hit and brought about renewed interest in Ono's career, inspiring her to create her album '' Blueprint for a Sunrise'' and further the remix project to much success. A compilation of these remixes entitled '' Open Your Box'' was released in April 2007.

Reception

''Ultimate Classic Rock'' critic Michael Gallucci rated it as Ono's 6th best song, saying that it "is about sex...but the noisy chaos surrounding it is pure primal rage."

Track listing

iTunes EP # "Open Your Box" (The Club) # "Open Your Box" (The Dub The Voice) # "Open Your Box" (Radio Edit)

Official versions

#Single version (censored) – 3:31 (as B-side of "Power to the People") #Album version (a.k.a. "Hirake") – 3:31 #Alternate version – 7:35 (from ''Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band'' CD reissue) #Orange Factory Radio Edit (2001) – 4:37 #Orange Factory Club Mix (2001) – 9:59 #Orange Factory Dub (2001) – 9:59 #Orange Factory Club Mix Edit – 6:20 (from ''Open Your Box'' compilation)

Credits and personnel

– vocals, songwriting, production *

– production, guitar *

Klaus Voormann Klaus Otto Wilhelm Voormann (born 29 April 1938) is a German graphic artist, artist, musician, and record producer. Voormann was the bassist for Manfred Mann from 1966 to 1969, and performed as a session musician on a host of recordings, includ ...

– bass guitar * Jim Gordon – drums

Charts

References

{{Authority control Apple Records singles Yoko Ono songs 1971 songs 2001 singles Obscenity controversies in music Song recordings produced by John Lennon Song recordings produced by Yoko Ono Songs written by Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band songs