The forgotten songs John Lennon once listed as his favourites
John Lennon was a lot of things, but compromising wasn’t one of them. Be that with his own music or that which he listened to (or chose not to), Lennon trusted his gut.
It was likely his experience with The Beatles which made him so devoted to his tastes. He’s said on plenty of occasions that as the band were making it big, and even once they had established themselves as one of the biggest bands in the world, he felt as though they had to compromise. This impacted their sound, their image and how they spoke to the press.
“We weren’t as open and as truthful when we didn’t have the power to be,” said Lennon. “We had to take it easy. We had to shorten our hair to leave Liverpool. We had to wear suits to get on TV. We had to compromise.”
Realistically, this is the reason why The Beatles eventually broke up. While there were a few factors, it all essentially boiled down to creative differences and problems with honesty. John Lennon felt as though the band wasn’t the place for him to write heartfelt pieces about politics, his upbringing and his outlook on society, as they wanted catchy surface-level pop songs.
When he left, songs like ‘Imagine’ and ‘Mother’ poured out, which he admitted he knew would upset some of his fans, but he couldn’t care. He wanted to wear his heart on his sleeve and allow that beating rhythm to sound all his music. While the choice divided audiences, Lennon was happier writing.
You can see these aspects trickling through when he begins talking about the different artists who have inspired him over the years. Some of them are obvious, as the likes of Bob Dylan, whose musical and lyrical influence was a massive part of Lennon. The others are lost names who haven’t aged quite as well as some of his contemporaries, rounding up Lennon’s list of favourite songs, and when you hear those songs, you can continue to appreciate the creative direction he wanted to take, which wouldn’t have been possible in The Beatles.
Songs of cities, lost loves and self-depreciation all find corners in his list of influences as he discusses the likes of Tommy Tucker, Gary US Bonds and James Ray. Of course, there are still some tracks that hold rhythm and melody at their heart, as these are part of Lennon’s songwriting style, built into him and something that he can continue to connect with.
The Lovin’ Spoonful received a mention for ‘Wild About My Lovin”, of which Lennon was a big fan, and Paul McCartney had also praised, admitting he felt as though it inspired some songs in his career. John Sebastian from The Lovin’ Spoonful was considerably complemented when he found out The Beatles were fans, noting, “To have influenced those boys is a wonderful thing for a songwriter because, of course, they influenced me, they influenced all of us.”
John Lennon’s favourite forgotten songs:
- ‘Hi-Heel Sneakers’ – Tommy Tucker
- ‘New Orleans’ – Gary US Bonds
- ‘Wild About My Lovin’ – The Lovin’ Spoonful
- ‘Some Other Guy’ – The Big Three
- ‘If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody’ – James Ray with the Hutch Davie Orchestra
- ‘Hey! Baby’ – Bruce Channel
- ‘Watch Your Step’ – Bobby Parker
