"
Give Peace a Chance" is a 1969 single by (
John LennonJohn Winston Ono Lennon, MBE was an English rock musician, singer-songwriter, author, and peace activist who gained worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles...
's) Plastic Ono Band that became an
anthemThe term anthem means either a specific form of Anglican church music , or more generally, a song of celebration, usually acting as a symbol for a distinct group of people, as in the term "national anthem" or "sports anthem".-Etymology:The word is derived from the Greek ἀντίφωνα through the Saxon...
of the American anti-war movement at that time.
A different song with the same name, written by
Leon RussellClaude Russell Bridges known professionally as Leon Russell, is an American singer-songwriter, pianist, and guitarist....
and Bonny Bramlett, was sung by Joe Cocker.
Writing and recording
The song was written during Lennon's ‘
Bed-InDuring the Vietnam War, in 1969, John Lennon and Yoko Ono held two week-long Bed-Ins for Peace in Amsterdam and Montreal, which were their non-violent ways of protesting wars and promoting peace.-Amsterdam bed-in:...
’ honeymoon: when asked by a reporter what he was trying to achieve by staying in bed, Lennon answered spontaneously "All we are saying is give peace a chance";
Lennon liked the phrase and set it to music for the song.. He sang the song several times during the Bed-In, and finally, on 1 June 1969, in Room 1742 at the
Queen Elizabeth Hotelright|thumb|Queen Elizabeth Hotel, with [[Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral]] in the foregroundThe Queen Elizabeth Hotel is a grand hotel in Montreal, Quebec. Completed in 1958, it was built by the Canadian National Railway, but was later sold to Canadian Pacific Hotels, now Fairmont Hotels and...
in
MontrealMontreal is the second-largest city in Canada and the largest city in the province of Quebec. Originally called Ville-Marie , the city takes its present name from Mont-Royal, the triple-peaked hill located in the heart of the city, whose name was also initially given to the island on which the...
, recorded it using a simple setup of four microphones and a four-track tape recorder rented from a local recording studio.
The recording session was attended by dozens of journalists and various celebrities, including
Timothy LearyDr. Timothy Francis Leary was an American writer, psychologist, futurist, advocate of psychedelic drug research, and one of the first people whose remains have been sent into space. An icon of 1960s counterculture, Leary is most famous as a proponent of the therapeutic, spiritual and emotional...
, Rabbi Abraham Feinberg, Joseph Schwartz,
Allan RockThis article is about the Canadian statesman. For the similarly-named places in Massachusetts, see Allen Rock.Allan Michael Rock, PC is a lawyer, former Canadian politician, diplomat and now the President of University of Ottawa...
, Rosemary Woodruff Leary,
Petula ClarkPetula Clark, CBE is an English singer, actress, and composer whose career has spanned seven decades.Clark's professional career began as an entertainer on BBC Radio during World War II...
,
Dick GregoryDick Gregory is an American comedian, social activist, social critic, writer, and entrepreneur....
,
Allen GinsbergIrwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet. Ginsberg is best known for the poem "Howl" , in which he celebrates fellow members of the Beat Generation and critiques what he saw as the destructive forces of materialism and conformity in the United States.-Early life and family:Ginsberg was born into...
,
Murray the KMurray Kaufman professionally known as Murray the K, was a famous and influential rock and roll impresario and disc jockey of the 1950s, '60s and '70s...
,
Al CappAlfred Gerald Caplin , better known as Al Capp, was an American cartoonist and humorist best known for the satirical comic strip Li'l Abner. He also wrote the comic strips Abbie an' Slats and Long Sam...
and
Derek TaylorDerek Taylor was a British journalist, best known as the long-serving press agent for The Beatles. He was a local journalist in Liverpool who worked for the Liverpool Daily Post and Echo, the News Chronicle, the Sunday Dispatch, and the Sunday Daily Express, and was also a regular columnist and...
, many of whom are mentioned in the lyrics. Lennon played acoustic guitar and was joined by Tommy Smothers of the
Smothers BrothersThe Smothers Brothers are an American music-and-comedy team, consisting of the brothers Tom and Dick Smothers. The brothers' trademark act was performing folk songs , which usually led to arguments between the siblings...
, also on acoustic guitar.
The song was credited to
Lennon/McCartneyThe songwriting partnership of John Lennon and Paul McCartney is one of the best-known and most successful musical and cultural collaborations in history. Between 1962 and 1969, they wrote and published approximately 180 jointly credited songs, of which the vast majority were recorded by The...
(John Lennon and
Paul McCartneySir James Paul McCartney, MBE , is an English singer-songwriter, poet, composer, multi-instrumentalist, entrepreneur, record and film producer, painter, and animal rights and peace activist. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings, McCartney is the most successful songwriter in the history of popular music...
) and published by
Northern SongsNorthern Songs Ltd. is a company founded in 1963 by music publisher Dick James, Brian Epstein, and The Beatles to publish songs written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney...
(now
Sony/ATV Music PublishingSony/ATV Music Publishing is a music publishing company co-owned by The Michael Jackson Family Trust and Sony. The organisation was originally founded as Associated TeleVision in 1955 by Lew Grade. In 1957, ATV acquired Pye Records as a wholly-owned subsidiary...
). On some later releases of the song, only Lennon is credited; viz. the 1990s reissue of the 1972 album
Live in New York CityLive in New York City is a posthumous live album by John Lennon. It was prepared under the supervision of his widow, Yoko Ono, and released in 1986 as his second official live album, the first being Live Peace in Toronto 1969....
, the 2006 documentary
The U.S. vs. John Lennon (in which the song appears), and the 1997 compilation album
Lennon Legend: The Very Best of John LennonLennon Legend: The Very Best of John Lennon is the third official compilation album of John Lennon's solo career, coming after 1975's Shaved Fish and 1982's The John Lennon Collection...
(and its
DVD versionLennon Legend: The Very Best of John Lennon was released on DVD in November 2003 as a series of remastered, remixed & new videos with Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound audio mixes....
six years later).
Lennon later stated his regrets about being
“guilty enough to give McCartney credit as co-writer on my first independent single instead of giving it to Yoko, , is a Japanese-American artist and musician. She is known for her marriage to John Lennon and for her work as an avant-garde artist and musician.-Early life:...
, who had actually written it with me.” However, it has also been suggested that the credit was a way of thanks to McCartney for helping him record "The Ballad of John and Yoko" at short notice.
Commercial release
The "Give Peace a Chance" single (with Yoko Ono's "Remember Love" as the B-side) was released on 45 RPM vinyl in the UK (on APPLE 13) on July 4, 1969 and July 7, 1969 in the US (on Apple 1809). The track's first full-length album appearance was on the Lennon hits compilation
The John Lennon CollectionThe John Lennon Collection is a retrospective compilation album of John Lennon's solo music, released in 1982 by Parlophone, through EMI and by Geffen Records in the United States. It was the first Lennon album to be issued following the singer's death in 1980...
issued November 1, 1982 in the UK (EMI/Parlophone Records) and November 8, 1982 (originally on Geffen Records, since re-released on Capitol Records). A significantly truncated version of the Montreal session and a snippet of the One to One Benefit concert performance of the song appear on Lennon's
Shaved FishShaved Fish is the seventh album by John Lennon, released in October 1975 on Apple Records, catalogue SW 3421. It is a compilation of singles, comprising every one that he had issued in the United States as a solo artist with the exception of "Stand By Me," taken from the album Rock 'n' Roll...
hits compilation from 1975.
"Give Peace a Chance" was the first "solo" single released by a member of the Beatles while the band was still intact, though, technically, the artist was credited as Plastic Ono Band, not John Lennon.
Popularity
The song reached number 14 on the pop charts in the United States and was kept out of the top slot in the UK by
The Rolling StonesThe Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in 1962 in London when multi-instrumentalist Brian Jones and pianist Ian Stewart were joined by vocalist Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards. Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early lineup...
' "
Honky Tonk Women"Honky Tonk Women" is a 1969 hit song by The Rolling Stones. Released as a single on 4 July 1969 in the UK and a week later in the US, it topped the charts in both nations.-Inspiration and Recording:...
".
The song quickly became the anthem of the anti-war movement, and was sung by half a million
demonstratorsA demonstration is a form of nonviolent action by groups of people in favor of a political or other cause, normally consisting of walking in a march and a meeting to hear speakers...
in
Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790...
at the
Vietnam Moratorium DayThe Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam was a large demonstration against the United States involvement in the Vietnam War that took place across the United States on October 15, 1969. The Moratorium developed from Jerome Grossman's April 20 1969 call for a general strike if the war had not...
, on 15 October 1969. They were led by the renowned
folk singerFolk Singer is an album by Muddy Waters. Waters plays acoustic guitar, backed by Willie Dixon on string bass, Clifton James on drums, and Buddy Guy on acoustic guitar...
Pete SeegerPeter "Pete" Seeger is an American folk singer and a key figure in the mid-20th century American folk music revival. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early '50s as a member of The Weavers, most notably the 1950 recording of Leadbelly's...
, who interspersed phrases like, "Are you listening,
NixonRichard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States and is the only president to resign the office. He was also the 36th Vice President of the United States ....
?" and "Are you listening, Agnew?", between the
chorusA refrain is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse; the "chorus" of a song...
es of protesters singing, "All we are saying ... is give peace a chance".
Lyrics
The original last verse of the song refers to: "John and Yoko,
Timmy LearyDr. Timothy Francis Leary was an American writer, psychologist, futurist, advocate of psychedelic drug research, and one of the first people whose remains have been sent into space. An icon of 1960s counterculture, Leary is most famous as a proponent of the therapeutic, spiritual and emotional...
, Rosemary, Tommy Smothers,
Bobby DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet and painter who has been a major figure in popular music for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was, at first, an informal chronicler and then an apparently reluctant figurehead of social unrest...
,
Tommy CooperThomas Frederick "Tommy" Cooper was a British prop comedian and magician.While his stage persona required that his act went wrong for comic purposes, Cooper was a member of The Magic Circle, and respected by traditional magicians...
,
Derek TaylorDerek Taylor was a British journalist, best known as the long-serving press agent for The Beatles. He was a local journalist in Liverpool who worked for the Liverpool Daily Post and Echo, the News Chronicle, the Sunday Dispatch, and the Sunday Daily Express, and was also a regular columnist and...
,
Norman MailerNorman Kingsley Mailer was an American novelist, journalist, essayist, poet, playwright, screenwriter and film director.Along with Truman Capote, Joan Didion, Hunter S...
,
Allen GinsbergIrwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet. Ginsberg is best known for the poem "Howl" , in which he celebrates fellow members of the Beat Generation and critiques what he saw as the destructive forces of materialism and conformity in the United States.-Early life and family:Ginsberg was born into...
,
Hare KrishnaThe Hare Krishna mantra, also referred to reverentially as the Maha Mantra , is a sixteen-word Vaishnava mantra which first appears in the Kali-Santarana Upanishad, and which from the 16th century rises to importance in the Bhakti movement following the teachings of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.According...
".
In the performance of "Give Peace a Chance" included on the
Live Peace in Toronto 1969Live Peace in Toronto 1969 is a 1969 live album recorded by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, as the Plastic Ono Band, at the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival festival...
album, Lennon openly stated that he couldn't remember all of the words and improvised with the names of the band members sharing the stage with him and anything that came to mind: "John and Yoko,
Eric ClaptonEric Patrick Clapton, CBE is an English blues-rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, and composer. Clapton has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Yardbirds, of Cream, and as a solo performer, being the only person ever to be inducted three times...
,
Klaus VoormannKlaus Voormann is a German artist, musician, and record producer known for his long association with The Beatles, for whom he designed the cover of their album Revolver...
,
Penny Lane"Penny Lane" is a song by The Beatles, written by Paul McCartney, recorded during the Sgt. Pepper sessions, and released in February 1967 as one side of a double A-sided single, along with John Lennon's "Strawberry Fields Forever". The song was later included on the Magical Mystery Tour LP...
,
RooseveltFranklin Delano Roosevelt , the only U.S. President elected to more than two terms, was a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
,
NixonRichard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States and is the only president to resign the office. He was also the 36th Vice President of the United States ....
, Tommy Jones and Tommy Cooper, and somebody."
The third verse contains a reference to
masturbationMasturbation refers to sexual stimulation, especially of one's own genitals , often to the point of orgasm. The stimulation can be performed manually, by other types of bodily contact , by use of objects or tools, or by some combination of these methods...
, but Lennon changed this to "
masticationMastication or chewing is the process by which food is crushed and ground by teeth. It is the first step of digestion and it increases the surface area of foods to allow more efficient break down by enzymes. During the mastication process, the food is positioned between the teeth for grinding by...
" on the official lyric sheet. He later admitted this was a "cop out" but wanted to avoid unnecessary controversy.
Chart performance
| Chart (1969) |
Peak
position |
| Germany The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband der phonographischen Wirtschaft...
|
4 |
NetherlandsThe Netherlands is a country in Northwestern Europe, constituting the major portion of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east...
|
1 |
| UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record industry. The full chart contains the top 200 singles based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 of this list...
|
2 |
U.S.The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Billboard Hot 100 |
14 |
Remixes
On June 1, 2008, the 39th anniversary of the song's recording, the first of three digital-only (and thus
environmentally friendlyEnvironmentally friendly are synonyms used to refer to goods and services considered to inflict minimal or no harm on the environment. To make consumers aware, environmentally friendly goods and services often are marked with eco-labels...
) singles was released through Twisted Records exclusively on
Beatport-Overview:Beatport is a US-based online music store located in Denver, Colorado that specializes in electronic music, dance music and remixes. Beatport offers new releases, classic and exclusive tracks, all of which are categorized by genre, such as house music, drum and bass, trance music and techno...
with remixes featuring a newly recorded vocal by
Yoko Ono, , is a Japanese-American artist and musician. She is known for her marriage to John Lennon and for her work as an avant-garde artist and musician.-Early life:...
. It reached #1 on the
Billboard Hot Dance Club PlayBillboard's Hot Dance Club Songs chart is a weekly national survey of the songs that are most popular in U.S. dance clubs...
chart on 16 August, 2008. It should be noted that these are not the first remixes Ono has done of this song: in 2005, she did a new version recalling the events of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on
Peace, Love & TruthPeace, Love & Truth is a compilation album of music celebrating John Lennon and Yoko Ono's songs for peace, released only in Asian and Australian markets in August 2005...
; and one of the first remixes with the lyrics used in this mix was released on the
Open Your BoxOpen Your Box is a remix album by Yoko Ono which was released on April 24, 2007. It is a compilation of her successful series of remix singles released since 2001 with the addition of several new mixes. Collaborators include Basement Jaxx, Felix Da Housecat and the Pet Shop Boys...
remix albumA remix album is an album consisting mostly of remixes or re-recorded versions of a music artists' earlier released material.Sly & The Family Stone's 1979 release 10 Years Too Soon featured disco remixes of the 1960s Family Stone hits...
. The last installment was released February 18, 2009, Yoko's birthday.
Track listings
Mindtrain/Twisted TW50066 (Released June 1, 2008)
- Dave Aude Club Mix (8:26)
- Dave Aude Dub (8:26)
- Johnny Vicious Warehouse Dub (8:23)
- Mike Cruz Dub (8:40)
- Tommie Sunshine Vocal Mix (6:41)
- Morel’s Pink Noise Vocal Mix (6:42)
- Morel’s Pink Noise Dub (7:09)
- Double B Full Vocal Mix (6:57)
Mindtrain/Twisted TW50069 (Released July 1, 2008)
- Phunk Investigation Mix (7:45)
- Eric Kupper Vocal Mix (8:50)
- Mike Cruz Extended Vocal Mix (10:25)
- DJ Dan Dub (8:53)
- Tommie Sunshine Give Peace a Dub (6:40)
- Morel’s Canister Dub (7:23)
- Mike Cruz Vocal Edit Mix (8:40)
Mindtrain/Twisted [TW50070] (Released February 18, 2009) [The International Remixes]
- Blow-Up Popism Mix (5:00)
- Blow-Up Electrono Mix (6:44)
- Kimbar Vocal Mix (8:11)
- Kimbar Dub Mix (6:54)
- Tszpun Remix (8:17)
- Tszpun Dub Mix (8:11)
- Alex Santer Peaceful Mix (6:11)
- DJ Meme Club Mix (9:54)
- Findo Gask Time for Action Dub (5:56)
- CSS Mix (4:12)
- Richard Fearless Reach Out Mix (7:05)
- Karsh Kale Voices of the Tribal Massive Mix (5:55)
Subsequent tribute or politically motivated performances and references
- The song has been used in motion pictures, television shows and theatre as it has become a recognised semiotic to indicate protest; for example it was sung by students in the movie The Trial of Billy Jack
The Trial of Billy Jack is a 1974 film starring Delores Taylor and Tom Laughlin. It is the sequel to the 1971 film Billy Jack and the third film overall in the series.-Plot:...
, and by peace activists in Pretty Village, Pretty FlamePretty Village, Pretty Flame is a 1996 Serbian film directed by Srđan Dragojević that gave uniquely bleak yet darkly humorous account of the Bosnian War.It is considered a modern classic of Serbian cinema...
,
- Paul McCartney performed the song as part of a tribute medley to John Lennon ("Strawberry Fields Forever
"Strawberry Fields Forever" is a song by the English rock band The Beatles. The song was written by John Lennon during the filming of How I Won the War and inspired by a Salvation Army house in Beaconsfield Road, Woolton, Liverpool near where Lennon lived as a child."Strawberry Fields Forever" was...
", "Help!"Help!" is a song by The Beatles that served as the title song for both the 1965 film and its soundtrack album. It was also released as a single, and was number one for three weeks in both the US and UK. "Help!" was written primarily by John Lennon, but credited to Lennon/McCartney...
" and "Give Peace a Chance") during his world tour stop in Liverpool on June 28, 1990.
- In 1991, Yoko Ono collaborated with Amina
Amina Sukhera was a Muslim princess of the royal family of Zazzau , in what is now northeast Nigeria. She was born c. 1533 and is estimated to have died around 1610. Amina was a preeminent gimbiya but various theories exist as to the time of her reign or if she ever was a queen...
, Adam AntAdam Ant is an English musician, who gained popularity as the lead singer of New Wave/post-punk group Adam and the Ants and later as a solo artist, scoring ten UK top ten hits between 1979 and 1983, including three No.1s...
, Sebastian BachSebastian Bach is a Canadian heavy metal singer, best known as ex-frontman of Skid Row....
, BrosBros were a British boy band active in the late 1980s and early 1990s, consisting of twin brothers Matt Goss and Luke Goss along with Craig Logan. They were managed by former Pet Shop Boys manager Tom Watkins...
, Felix CavaliereFelix Cavaliere is an American music producer and musician, having performed in The Young Rascals group during the 1960s...
, Terence Trent D'Arby, FleaMichael Peter Balzary , more commonly known by the stage name Flea, is an Australian bassist, trumpet player, and occasional actor. He is best known as the bassist and founding member of the alternative rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers...
, John FruscianteJohn Anthony Frusciante is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the guitarist of the alternative rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, with whom he has recorded five studio albums...
, Peter GabrielPeter Brian Gabriel is an English musician and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career. More recently he has focused on producing and promoting world music and pioneering...
, Kadeem HardisonKadeem Hardison is an American actor. He is best known for portraying college student Dwayne Wayne on the Cosby Show spin-off A Different World, which aired on NBC from 1987 to 1993.-Childhood:...
, Ofra HazaOfra Haza was a popular Israeli singer, actress and international recording artist.Her music, inspired by her love of her Yemenite Jewish culture, fused elements of folk, dance and pop. Combined with her being able to switch between traditional and more commercial styles, she became an instant...
, Joe HiggsJoe Higgs was a reggae musician from Jamaica. In the 1960s he was part of the duo Higgs and Wilson together with Roy Wilson.-Biography:...
, Bruce HornsbyBruce Hornsby is an American singer, pianist, accordion player, and songwriter...
, Lee JaffeLee Jaffe first came to international prominence in the 1980s with his large scale, multi-media historical assemblage works. His chosen themes are controversial and visionary, an exploration of the worlds urgently changing internal circumstances...
, Al JarreauAlwyn Lopez "Al" Jarreau is an American singer. A seven-time Grammy Award winner, he is the only vocalist in history to win in three separate categories: jazz, pop, and R&B...
, Jazzie BTrevor Beresford Romeo OBE , better known by his stage name Jazzie B, is a DJ, music producer, and entrepreneur. He is a founding member of the musical group Soul II Soul.-Life and career:...
, Davey JohnstoneDavey Johnstone , is a rock guitarist and vocalist, best known for his work with Elton John, Alice Cooper, and Meat Loaf.-Career:...
, Lenny KravitzLeonard Albert "Lenny" Kravitz is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and arranger whose "retro" style incorporates elements of rock, soul, funk, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, folk and ballads....
, Cyndi LauperCynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first artist to have four top-five singles released from one album. Lauper has released 11 albums and over 40...
, Sean Ono Lennon, Little RichardRichard Wayne Penniman , known by the stage name Little Richard, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist and recording artist, considered key in the transition from rhythm and blues to rock and roll in the 1950s...
, LL Cool JJames Todd Smith , better known as LL Cool J, is an American rapper and actor. LL Cool J stands for "Ladies Love Cool James." He is known for romantic ballads such as "I Need Love", "Around the Way Girl" and "Hey Lover" as well as pioneering hip-hop such as "I Can't Live Without My Radio", "I'm...
, MC HammerStanley Kirk Burrell , best known by his stage names MC Hammer, Hammer and Hammertime, is a rapper, entertainer and dancer most popular during the late 1980s until the mid-1990s...
, Michael McDonaldMichael McDonald is a gold and platinum-selling American R&B/soul singer and songwriter. He is sometimes described as a "blue-eyed soul" singer and sings in a distinctive "husky, soulful" yet baritone range...
, Duff McKaganMichael Andrew "Duff" McKagan is an American musician , who is best known for his thirteen-year tenure in the hard rock band Guns N' Roses...
, Alannah MylesAlannah Myles is a Canadian singer-songwriter. In 1988, she released her self-titled debut album, Alannah Myles. In 1990 "Black Velvet," a single taken from that album, was a worldwide smash hit and won a Grammy Award.When she was sixteen, she began performing in Southern Ontario...
, New Voices of Freedom, Randy NewmanRandall Stuart “Randy” Newman is an American singer/songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist who is notable for his mordant pop songs and for his many film scores....
, Tom PettyThomas Earl "Tom" Petty is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is the frontman of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and was a founding member of the late 1980s supergroup Traveling Wilburys and Mudcrutch. He has also performed under the pseudonyms of Charlie T...
, Iggy PopIggy Pop is a songwriter, and occasional actor. Although he has had only limited mainstream commercial success, Iggy Pop is considered an influential innovator of punk rock, hard rock, and other related styles...
, Q-TipKamaal Ibn John Fareed , better known by his stage name Q-Tip, is an American hip hop artist, producer, singer, and actor from Queens, New York City, part of the critically acclaimed group A Tribe Called Quest.-Personal life:...
, Bonnie RaittBonnie Lynn Raitt is an American blues singer-songwriter, born in Burbank, California. During the 1970s, Raitt released a series of acclaimed roots-influenced albums which incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk and country, but she is perhaps best known for her more commercially accessible...
, RunJoseph Simmons is one of the founding members of hip hop group Run-D.M.C. and a practicing reverend known as Rev Run. He is also known as DJ Run and Joey Simmons. Simmons was born in Hollis, Queens, New York, he is the younger brother of Daniel "Danny" Simmons, Jr and Russell Simmons, Def Jam...
, Dave StewartDavid Allan Stewart, often known as Dave Stewart is an English musician and record producer, best known for his work with Eurythmics...
, Teena MarieTeena Marie is an American Grammy Award-nominated singer–songwriter–producer. Marie, nicknamed Lady T, is a protegée of late funk legend Rick James, and is notable as one of the few successful white performers of R&B. She sings R&B with strong, robust vocals and plays rhythm guitar, keyboards and...
, Little Steven Van Zandt, Don WasDon Was is an American musician, bassist and record producer.Was was born in Detroit, Michigan. He graduated from Oak Park High School in the Detroit suburb of Oak Park, then attended the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor but dropped out after the first year...
, Wendy & Lisa, Ahmet ZappaAhmet Emuukha Rodan Zappa is an American musician, actor and novelist.-Early life:Zappa was born in Los Angeles, California, the third of four children born to businesswoman Adelaide Gail Sloatman and musician Frank Zappa. Zappa's father was of Sicilian, Greek-Arab and French descent and his...
, Dweezil ZappaDweezil Zappa is an American rock guitarist.-Early life:Zappa was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of Adelaide Gail Sloatman, who worked in business, and musician Frank Zappa. He is the second of four siblings: his older sister, Moon Unit, younger sister Diva and younger brother Ahmet. He...
, and Moon Unit ZappaMoon Unit Zappa is an American actress, musician and author. She goes by the name Moon Zappa; "Unit" is her middle name.-Personal life:...
as the Peace Choir to perform a version of the song in response to the imminent Gulf WarThe Persian Gulf War , known also as the Gulf War, the First Gulf War,or often as the Second Gulf War and by Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein as The Mother of all Battles, or commonly as Desert Storm, for the military response...
.
- Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American hard rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and seen by some as America's greatest rock and roll band. Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues,, and has...
(featuring Sierra Leone's Refugee All StarsSierra Leone's Refugee All Stars is a band from Sierra Leone which was formed by a group of refugees displaced to Guinea during the Sierra Leone Civil War. Since their return to Freetown in 2004, the band has toured extensively to raise awareness for humanitarian causes...
) covered the song for the 2007 benefit album Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save DarfurInstant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur is a compilation album of various artists covering songs of John Lennon to benefit Amnesty International's campaign to alleviate the crisis in Darfur...
.
- The song was also being used illegally for political gain in Nicaragua, during the political campaign for presidential elections (2006), Daniel Ortega
José Daniel Ortega Saavedra is the current President of Nicaragua, having served since 10 January 2007. He previously served as the 79th President, between 10 January 1985 and 25 April 1990...
(FSLN) used its melody, modifying the lyrics in Spanish. Now it has become like the government's anthem and many Nicaraguan fans are pleading Yoko to make a claim to the government as they believe that Ortega is creating an institutional dictatorship.
- Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE is an English singer-songwriter, composer and pianist.In his four-decade career, John has sold more than 200 million records, making him one of the most successful artists of all time. His single, Candle in the Wind 1997, has sold over 37 million copies, becoming the...
also recorded the song, released as a B-side to the UK single "Club at the End of the Street"Club at the End of the Street" is an up-beat song performed by Elton John. From the album Sleeping with the Past, the song describes a night on the town between two lovers at a disclosed nightclub. John also describes about the music of Otis Redding and Marvin Gaye being played...
" in 1990.
- The song was referenced in the "Your Move" part of the 1970 song "I've Seen All Good People
"I've Seen All Good People" is a song performed by the band Yes and written by Jon Anderson. It is included on 1971 The Yes Album. The song is one of Yes' best-known, notable for being a staple of classic rock radio.-Structure and lyrics:...
" by the progressive rockProgressive rock is a form of rock music that evolved in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility."...
band YesYes are an English progressive rock band that was formed in London in 1968. Their music is marked by sharp dynamic contrasts, extended song lengths, abstract lyrics, and a general showcasing of instrumental prowess. Yes blends symphonic and other 'classical' structures with their own brand of...
and in the song "California" by Joni MitchellJoni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, songwriter, and painter.Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Western Canada and then busking on the streets of Toronto...
from her 1971 album BlueBlue is the fourth album of Canadian-born singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. Exploring the various facets of relationships from infatuation on "A Case of You" to insecurity on "This Flight Tonight", the songs feature simple accompaniments on piano, guitar, and Appalachian dulcimer...
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- Ringo Starr
Richard Starkey, MBE , better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer-songwriter, and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for the rock group The Beatles. When The Beatles formed in 1960, Starr belonged to another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes....
did a tribute cover of the song during the performance with his Ringo Starr & His All-Starr BandTo date, Ringo Starr has toured with ten versions of his All-Starr Band, where "everybody on stage is a star in their own right." The band has consistently toured for almost two decades, and, in similar fashion to Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings, rotates its lineup depending on the musicians' projects...
at the Seminole Hard Rock Live in South Florida on July 3, 2007.
- Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE , is an English singer-songwriter, poet, composer, multi-instrumentalist, entrepreneur, record and film producer, painter, and animal rights and peace activist. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings, McCartney is the most successful songwriter in the history of popular music...
and his band played the song during their performances at Tel AvivTel Aviv-Yafo , usually called Tel Aviv, is the second largest city in Israel, with an estimated population of 391,300. The city is situated on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline, with a land area of...
, IsraelIsrael officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...
on September 25, 2008, Halifax, Nova ScotiaNova Scotia is a Canadian province located on Canada's southeastern coast. It is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. Its capital, Halifax, is a major economic centre of the region. Nova Scotia is the second-smallest province in Canada with an area of...
on July 11, 2009 and at the Liverpool Sound ConcertThe Liverpool Sound was a concert held at Anfield stadium in Liverpool on 1 June 2008 to celebrate the city's year as the European Capital of Culture...
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