John Lennon would have been 75 this past weekend, so let’s share the best John Lennon songs in our humble opinion.
“Give Peace a Chance” written by John in 1969 while still a Beatle, and became the signature song for the anti-war sentiment. Do you remember the famous Toronto ‘sit in’ (actually in bed with Yoko)? That’s when the song was written. Petula Clark, Tom Smothers, Timothy Leary, and Yoko were all on the single.
It should not come as a surprise that the song “Imagine” might be considered his signature tune. Recorded and produced by legendary music mogul Phil Spector, John found nirvana with this tune. The song has been covered by more than 200 artists over the years, and Rolling Stone magazine ranks this as the number three song of all time. The early 60s book ‘Grapefruit’ became the lyrical inspiration for the song.
“Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)” is our choice for one of John’s best songs ever. The song is a lament for John to his estranged first born Julian, but about his son Sean, born to mother Yoko. The song was released in 1980 the year John died from his ‘Double Fantasy’ LP. The song was also featured prominently in the hit movie ‘Mr. Holland’s Opus’ with Richard Dreyfuss in 1995.
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Photo credit: Capitol/UMe