We All Shine On

The first memoir to tell the story of John Lennon and Yoko's life from the Beatles' split to John's untimely death in 1980—from the inside. Honest, insightful, humane, revealing, it will bring the lives of two cultural icons to life like never before.

We All Shine On is the personal, intimate and, at times, heart-breaking memoir of an extraordinary friendship, giving a first-hand view of what it was like to be close to one of the most famous couples of all time.

From the moment he interviewed Yoko Ono on his late-night radio show in September 1971, Elliot Mintz's life would never be the same again. That phone call would lead him to an intense and revealing friendship with Yoko and her husband, John Lennon, until John's untimely death in 1980, and beyond, to the present day.

In 1971, as a talk host on American airwaves, Elliot Mintz was engaging with all of the major figures in the burgeoning West Coast music scene when he was asked whether he would interview Yoko about her new album. Their talk quickly led to other private calls and then to John Lennon, with whom he quickly formed a firm bond. Those conversations became hours-long epics, to the extent that Elliot had another phone line installed, for which only two people had the number—John and Yoko.

The aftermath of The Beatles' breakup ushered in a tumultuous decade. Elliot witnessed it, or heard all about it, at close hand, including the unbearable cost of such fame when John and Yoko separated for what became known as his 'lost weekend'. There was joy when their son Sean was born and the creative rebirth that was the multi-platinum selling triumph, Double Fantasy. But then there was unimaginable tragedy too when John was brutally murdered in December 1980.