“Imagine,” John Lennon’s seminal 1971 ballad for a utopian future without religion, borders or property, is getting a co-writer: Lennon’s widow and collaborator, Yoko Ono.

David Israelite, the chief executive of the National Music Publishers Association, announced at an industry event in New York on Wednesday, at which “Imagine” was honored with the association’s “Centennial Song” award, that Ms. Ono would be added as a writer.

“Tonight, it is my distinct honor to correct the record some 48 years later, and recognize Yoko Ono as a co-writer,” Mr. Israelite said at the ceremony, calling the credit, while belated, “well-deserved,” according to Billboard.