We All Shine On

John, Yoko, and Me

By: Elliot Mintz

Narrated by: Elliot Mintz

Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

A personal and revealing look at the last ten years of John Lennon’s life and his partnership with Yoko Ono, written by the friend who knew them best

In 1972, Elliot Mintz installed a red light in his bedroom in Laurel Canyon. When it started flashing, it meant that either John Lennon or Yoko Ono—or sometimes both—were calling him. Which they did almost every day for nearly ten years, engaging Mintz in hours-long late-night phone conversations that all but consumed him for the better part of a decade.

In We All Shine On, Mintz—a former radio and television host in Los Angeles—recounts the story of how their unlikely friendship began and where it led him over the years, revealing the ups and downs of a wild, touching, heartbreaking, and sometimes shocking relationship. Mintz takes listeners inside John and Yoko’s inner sanctums, including their expansive seventh-floor apartment in New York’s fabled Dakota building, where Mintz was something of a semipermanent fixture, ultimately becoming the Lennons' closest and most trusted confidant. Mintz was with John and Yoko through creative highs, relationship and private challenges, fascinating interactions with the other former Beatles, and the happiest moment of their lives together, the birth of their son, Sean. He was also by Yoko’s side during the aftermath of John’s assassination on the doorstep of the Dakota—not merely a witness to it all, but a key figure in the drama of John and Yoko’s extraordinary lives.

We All Shine On is a must-hear for Beatles and Lennon fans, offering an up close and intimate view of one of the most celebrated artists of the twentieth century, as well as one of the most fascinating marriages. But it’s also a relationship story that just about everyone can relate to, a tale about partnership, loyalty, and trust, and most of all, the lasting legacy of a true and deep friendship.

©2024 Elliot Mintz (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“It’s hard to define the relationship Elliot had with our family. But I ultimately think the best word to describe him is: friend. Perhaps our closest friend. The reason I wanted Elliot to write a book, first and foremost, is because he is a good storyteller. The fact that he was there in the lives of John and Yoko (and mine), is really just icing on the cake. I like hearing him talk, and I’m sure you will, too.” —Sean Ono Lennon

“Radio personality Mintz debuts with a vivid account of the decade he spent as John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s confidante, fixer, and friend… It’s a captivating and intimate window into the complicated lives of one of rock’s most legendary couples.” —Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

“A charmingly modest tale of a long brush with stardom, with all its pleasures and frustrations.” —Kirkus

Great storytelling :)

The book is not comprehensive enough; could have been much longer; but what it did have in it was great and I only wish there was more. Like any good book, I didn’t want it to end.

Loved this book!

The author had in-depth knowledge of his subjects. His personal friendships with John and Yoko provided interesting and unknown information about the couple and their relationship.

Stunning. Fascinating human story, all engrossing. A new appreciation for Yoko! Thanks Elliot!

I look forward to listening again. This book stands alone for its integrity and affection towards Yoko and John.

Give it an hour and you will be hooked.

I listen to books and abandon them because they bore me, but this one is different. I couldn’t stop listening. It’s really well written and has a lovely flow in terms of structure. But this is like getting a glimpse inside the genius and the insanity of one of the most notorious couples of the 1970’s. Growing up, my dad, who was just a typical American nobody guy, always hated John Lennon. My mom hated Yoko Ono. They had oddly strong views on this weird famous couple. Apparently a lot of common folks did and this book helped “shine light” for me on what a complex and controversial individual John Lennon was but more importantly, how the relationships around him had their own lives and were influenced by his potentially narcissistic greatness. You get the point without the author directly saying it that John Lennon was a real piece of work at times and it was a difficult relationship to maintain. Elliot, the author, seems like a hell of a guy with a crazy interesting life and it was almost more interesting to hear about his life than John Lennon’s. Still there are some gems here for John Lennon fans, glimpses inside his world that you wouldn’t hear anywhere else. Getting to hear about Yoko Ono was the real gift here and I can’t explain why but you’ll get it when you listen. If you know nothing about the Beatles, Yoko Ono, John Lennon, Elliot Mintz (and even if you think you know everything there is to know,) this book will surprise you. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed.