John Lennon and Yoko Ono headline "One to One," his last full-scale concert

On August 30, 1972, John Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, headline the “One to One” benefit concert at New York City’s Madison Square Garden arena to raise funds for children with intellectual disabilities. The show proves to be the former Beatle’s last full-scale concert—and his final public performance with Ono.

The benefit—featuring both afternoon and evening performances—raised more than $1.5 million (equivalent to $11.6 million in 2025 value) for children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Much of it was intended to help those housed at Willowbrook State School, a now-defunct Staten Island institution exposed earlier that year in a shocking investigative report by TV journalist Geraldo Rivera. Rivera had invited Lennon to perform, along with an all-star lineup including Stevie Wonder, Roberta Flack, Sha-Na-Na and poet Allen Ginsberg.

During the event, tambourines were passed out to the audience, and by the finale, many jubilant fans joined the performers on stage to sing Lennon’s antiwar anthem “Give Peace a Chance.” Afterward, the crowd poured out onto New York City streets, continuing the chorus.

“This concert was our effort in grassroots politics,” Ono said in 1986. “It embodied what John and I strongly believed in—'Rock for Peace and Enlightenment.'” Their setlist mixed songs from Lennon’s and Ono’s newly released album Sometime in New York City, along with peace anthem “Imagine” and Beatles song “Come Together.”

By the early 1970s, Lennon and Ono had made New York City their home and creative base, drawn by its energy, diversity and political edge. Immersed in the city’s countercultural scene, they aligned themselves with peace and social justice movements, most notably the campaign to end the Vietnam War. Their activism—ranging from the famous “Bed-Ins for Peace” to public appearances supporting causes like women's rights and prison reform—brought both admiration and scrutiny. In particular, it prompted surveillance by U.S. authorities wary of Lennon’s growing political influence over young voters.