Format 7" Length 4:54 | Genre Folk rock | |
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B-side "Remember Love" (Yoko Ono) Released 4 July 1969 (UK)
7 July 1969 (US) Recorded 1 June 1969, Room 1742, Queen Elizabeth Hotel, Montreal, Quebec, Canada | ||
"Give Peace a Chance" is a song written by John Lennon (credited to Lennon–McCartney), and performed with Yoko Ono in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Released as a single in 1969 by the Plastic Ono Band on Apple Records (catalogue Apple 13 in the United Kingdom, Apple 1809 in the United States), it is the first solo single issued by Lennon, released when he was still a member of the Beatles, and became an anthem of the American anti-war movement during the 1970s. It peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 2 on the British singles chart.
Contents
Writing and recording
The song was written during Lennon's 'Bed-In' honeymoon in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. When asked by a reporter what he was trying to achieve by staying in bed, Lennon answered spontaneously "Just give peace a chance". He went on to say this several times during the Bed-In. Finally, on 1 June 1969, in Room 1742 at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, André Perry 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 Leary, Rabbi Abraham Feinberg, Joseph Schwartz, Rosemary Woodruff Leary, Petula Clark, Dick Gregory, Allen Ginsberg, Roger Scott, Murray the K and Derek Taylor, many of whom are mentioned in the lyrics. Lennon played acoustic guitar and was joined by Tommy Smothers of the Smothers Brothers, also on acoustic guitar.
When released in 1969, the song was credited to Lennon–McCartney. On some later releases, only Lennon is credited; viz. the 1990s reissue of the album Live in New York City, the 2006 documentary The U.S. vs. John Lennon, and the 1997 compilation album Lennon Legend: The Very Best of John Lennon and its DVD version 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, who had actually written it with me.” However, it has also been suggested that the credit was a way of thanking McCartney for helping him record "The Ballad of John and Yoko" at short notice.
Lyrics
The original last verse of the song refers to: "John and Yoko, Timmy Leary, Rosemary, Tommy Smothers, Bobby Dylan, Tommy Cooper, Derek Taylor, Norman Mailer, Allen Ginsberg, and Hare Krishna". In the performance of "Give Peace a Chance" included on the Live Peace in Toronto 1969 album, Lennon openly stated that he could not 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 Clapton, Klaus Voormann, Penny Lane, Roosevelt, Nixon, Tommy Jones and Tommy Cooper, and somebody." The third verse contains a reference to masturbation, but Lennon changed this to "mastication" on the official lyric sheet. He later admitted this was a "cop out" but wanted to avoid unnecessary controversy.
Release and aftermath
"Give Peace a Chance", backed with Ono's "Remember Love" as the B-side, was released on 4 July 1969 in the UK, and a few days later on 7 July 1969 in the US. The song reached number 2 in the UK Singles Chart, and number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US.
The song quickly became the anthem of the anti Vietnam-war and counterculture movements, and was sung by half a million demonstrators in Washington, D.C. at the Vietnam Moratorium Day, on 15 November 1969. They were led by Pete Seeger, who interspersed phrases like, "Are you listening, Nixon?" and "Are you listening, Agnew?", between the choruses of protesters singing, "All we are saying ... is give peace a chance".
The British group Yes also paid tribute to Lennon's words on their 1971 release The Yes Album, in "Your Move".
After being issued as a single, it appeared on album in a truncated form for the singles compilation Shaved Fish in 1975. The track's first full-length album appearance was on the compilation The John Lennon Collection. Although technically the first "solo" single released by a member of The Beatles while the band was still intact, the artist credit was to the Plastic Ono Band, not John Lennon. Shortly after the death of Lennon, fans gathered outside the Dakota and sang "Give Peace a Chance". The single re-charted in January 1981, peaking at number 33. The song is one of three Lennon solo songs, along with "Instant Karma!" and "Imagine", in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.
Personnel
Yoko Ono version
On 1 June 2008, the 39th anniversary of the song's recording, the first of three digital-only (and thus environmentally friendly) singles was released through Twisted Records exclusively on Beatport with remixes featuring a newly recorded vocal by Yoko Ono. It reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart on 16 August 2008. These are not the first remixes Ono has done of this song: in 2005, she did a new version recalling the events of the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on Truth; and one of the first remixes with the lyrics used in this mix was released on the Open Your Box remix album. The last instalment was released 18 February 2009, Yoko's birthday.
Track listings
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
Covers
Lennon's fellow ex-Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr have each incorporated the song into their live performances; Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band often perform the song as an encore after "With a Little Help from My Friends", while McCartney has performed a medley of the song, combined with "A Day in the Life", on his 2009 live album Good Evening New York City, for most of his Up and Coming Tour, on Saturday Night Live 11 December 2010, and in 2011 during the US leg of his On the Run Tour.