Every holiday season, listeners are swept into John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” by a chorus of bright, unmistakably youthful voices. And since the track’s release in December 1971, those children have carried the song’s message and Christmas spirit. While their hopeful sound is instantly recognizable, the identities behind those harmonies remain a mystery to most.
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Let’s unpack the message behind this heart-warming track, and how those angelic voices helped to spread holiday cheer despite a time of war and uncertainty.
Yoko Ono and John Lennon Had a Plan
By the late 1960s, the Vietnam War — which included over 300,000 Black Americans — had been raging for more than a decade. The conflict claimed as many as two million civilian lives, sparking widespread outrage and protest in the U.S. and around the world. Amid such loss and unrest, John Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, embarked on an anti-war campaign launched in 1969, which included “Bed-Ins for Peace,” “Give Peace a Chance,” and the “WAR IS OVER! (if you want it)” campaign.
“War Is Over!” emerged as a pivotal slogan of the anti-war movement. Amid the tensions of war, the musicians turned their attention to write a Christmas song with a goal to create a hit that could rival the classic, “White Christmas.” To bring their vision to life, they invited the young Black children of the Harlem Community Choir.
The Harlem Community Choir
When studio manager Arlene Reckson was asked to bring on a kids choir, nighttime receptionist Dion Lee — a Black woman — knew exactly where to look. “The very first Harlem church that I called said ‘OK.’ I said to Yoko and John, ‘Can I get a limousine to take me up there to talk to the vicar?’ and I went up,” Reckson said of her visit, per Imagine John n Yoko.
“I remember getting them all Happy Meals and I think that the donation John & Yoko made to the church was $500, which was a lot of money then,” Reckson added.
The 30-member Harlem Community Choir — ranging in ages around four to twelve — became an essential part of the song’s warmth and joy. The group recorded their vocals on a Halloween afternoon, per Medium, bringing the track to completion with a memorable, uplifting energy. A photograph of Lennon and Ono sitting alongside the choir — used for the record’s sleeve cover — became an iconic image, capturing the innocence and inspiration their vocals brought to the song.
John Lennon Finds The Perfect Choir
Producer Jack Douglas was pleased to be involved with the heart-warming collaboration. And despite Lennon’s superstardom as a former member of The Beatles — regarded as one of the most influential musicians of all time — the children of the choir didn’t know who John Lennon was at all. That said, Douglas described the studio session as fun and exciting.
“I was so happy to be a part of it,” Douglas recalled, per Imagine. “It was so much fun to watch John [Lennon] & Yoko [Ono] work with the kids, who were so excited. It was funny, because they didn’t quite know who John was, which was kind of cool,” he added.
Although the Vietnam War wouldn’t officially end until 1975, “War Is Over!” stood as both a bold declaration for peace and an invitation to imagine a world without violence. Decades later, the Black voices of the Harlem Community Choir endures every time “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” fills the air, carrying its message of unity, peace, and holiday cheer around the world.
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