I ran across this video on Youtube just the other day but it was not the exact same video because Jerry Lewis was cut out of it and I had no idea at the time that it was from the telethon. I found the same video but with Jerry Lewis in it and Jerry joins in at the end. It doesn’t feel like Labor Day like it used to with Jerry and the telethon gone.

From Bestclassicbands.

On Sept. 4, The couple appeared on Jerry Lewis’ annual Labor Day Muscular Dystrophy Telethon, broadcast from the Americana Hotel on 7th Avenue in New York City. Lewis introduced John and Yoko as, “…two of the most unusual people in all the world, and I don’t mean just in the world of entertainment. They fit no patterns, meet no standards except the standard of excellence. Ladies and Gentlemen, John Lennon and Yoko.”

With the backing of Elephant’s Memory, they performed “Imagine” and Yoko’s political song ‘Now or Never,” with the sadly prescient lyric, “Are we gonna keep shooting the ones that try to change?” Yoko introduced her song by saying, “John and I love this country very much and we’re very happy that we’re still here.” They closed with a sing-along reggae version of ‘Give Peace a Chance,” at a time when not many Americans had heard of reggae music. Lennon explained, “This is how they do it in Jamaica!” Contrary to the intended response, it’s very possible that the phones stopped ringing while John and Yoko were performing. Lennon praised Lewis as “a great comedian—I wish he never grew up!”

As they leave the stage, Lewis leads the excited crowd in a chant for an encore, “John, Yoko, John, Yoko!” but they’d already exited the building. Lewis realizes that they are not coming back, and says, “I would suspect that John Lennon is probably one of the wisest showmen I’ve ever met. He knows what he’s doing. He did two things tonight. He, one, came here to help, the primary purpose of his visit. And, two, he meant to say something. I think he did both those things. He has split. Let’s thank him very much