With Frank Zappa And The Mothers Of Invention

Howard Smith introduced John to a rather unenthused Frank Zappa today. After a quick interview, Zappa offered John and Yoko to join him and his band the Mothers at the Filmore. John practiced backstage, and was soon invited to the stage. They opened with 'Well (Baby Please Don't Go)', an old song John used to play at the Cavern, and a song that he had recently played during the Imagine sessions. The performance then turned to a lengthy jam, including a brief minute long segment of Zappa's 1969 song 'King Kong'. The show ended with an experimental piece performed by Yoko. John and Zappa were both given permission to use the tapes.

Zappa was critical of John's release of the show as he had mistakenly mislabeled 'King Kong' as a jam track instead of crediting him. A cut down version of the show was released in 1972 on the 'Some Time In New York City' Jam disc, with overdubbed bass from Klaus Voormann (who wasn't present at the original concert). Zappa also released a cutdown version of the concert on his 1992 album 'Playground Psychotics', but it wasn't until 2022 that the full unedited performance was released on 'The Mothers 1971' box set. Track names varied and can be seen below.