 <unk> by Apple Records in the United States in October 1971 , " Imagine " became the best @-@ selling single of Lennon 's solo career . It peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached number one in Canada on the RPM national singles chart , remaining there for two weeks . Upon its release the song 's lyrics upset some religious groups , particularly the line : " Imagine there 's no heaven " . When asked about the song during one of his final interviews , Lennon said he considered it to be as strong a composition as any he had written with the Beatles . He described the song 's meaning and <unk> its commercial appeal : " Anti @-@ religious , anti @-@ nationalistic , anti @-@ conventional , anti @-@ <unk> , but because it is <unk> it is accepted ... Now I understand what you have to do . Put your political message across with a little honey . " In an open letter to Paul McCartney published in Melody Maker , Lennon said that " Imagine " was " ' Working Class Hero ' with sugar on it for <unk> like yourself " . On 30 November 1971 , the Imagine LP reached number one on the UK chart . It became the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed album of Lennon 's solo career . 
