John Lennon’s ‘Instant Karma’ – The Story Behind The Song
John Lennon’s “Instant Karma (We All Shine On)” was written AND recorded in just one day: January 27th, 1970. John told Rolling Stone about the song, “I wrote it in the…
1969: John Lennon (1940 -1980), singer, songwriter and guitarist of British pop group The Beatles, with his wife Yoko Ono listening to the playback of one of their tapes. (Photo by Keystone Features/Getty Images)
John Lennon's "Instant Karma (We All Shine On)" was written AND recorded in just one day: January 27th, 1970. John told Rolling Stone about the song, "I wrote it in the morning on the piano."
It's All in a Day's Work
Lennon finished writing the song within an hour. He sang it over and over, afraid he'd forget the music. “I went to the office and sang it many times. So I said, ‘Hell, let’s do it,’ and we booked the studio.” That afternoon, Lennon met at Abbey Road studio with George Harrison, keyboardist Billy Preston, bassist, Klaus Voormann, and Alan White (future drummer for Yes). Phil Spector showed up in the evening and things got cooking.
Lennon said of the experience, "I went to the office and sang it many times. So I said 'Hell, let's do it,' and we booked the studio, and Phil (Spector) came in, and said, 'How do you want it?' I said, 'You know, 1950's.' He said, 'Right,' and boom, I did it in about three goes or something like that. I went in and he played it back and there it was. The only argument was that I said a bit more bass. That's all and off we went."
The band had already been rehearsing the song. Lennon and Spector got along well. Spector was working on the leftovers from the Get Back tapes into the album that would become Let It Be. The true game changer of "Instant Karma" was Lennon releasing music apart from The Beatles and doing it with such lightning speed. Klaus Voormann told Rolling Stone, “There was a simplicity in the way he did ‘Instant Karma!’ that I don’t think he would have been able to get across with the Beatles. He felt much freer than before. John always wanted to get it out of his system as quick as he could. He felt that sometimes he lost that feeling.”
Paul McCartney called quits on The Beatles just three months later.
John Lennon's "Instant Karma"
Lennon is definitely talking to his critics in "Instant Karma."
"You better get yourself together..."
Yoko Ono said in a 1998 interview with Uncut that the song is an invitation to join the idea of peace and unity. "It's like, 'Let's all be together and anybody who's out there who's not in this game, why don't you join us?'"
John Lennon: 9 Memorial Tributes from Around the World
John Lennon has inspired a number of memorial tributes since his untimely death 40 years ago.
From Liverpool to New York City to Cuba, here are nine different memorial tributes to Lennon from around the world.
RELATED: An In-Depth Look At Howard Cosell Breaking The News Of The Death of John Lennon
John Lennon Statue outside the Cavern Club - Liverpool, England
Christopher Furlong/Getty ImagesIt should be no surprise that there are a number of Lennon tributes scattered throughout Liverpool. Among them is a statue outside the original location of the famous Cavern Club.
Imagine Peace Tower - Reykjavík, Iceland
KatrinAsa/Shutterstock.comThe Imagine Peace Tower, an outdoor art installation in Reykjavík, Iceland, was created by Yoko Ono and unveiled on Lennon’s 67th birthday.
Strawberry Fields - Central Park in New York City
Spencer Platt/Getty ImagesJust like Liverpool, there are plenty of tributes to Lennon in New York City. Without a doubt, the most famous would have to be Strawberry Fields in Central Park.
Parque John Lennon - Havana, Cuba
lulu and isabelle/Shutterstock.comLocated in Cuba's capital, Parque John Lennon features a statue of the late musician sitting on a bench that was unveiled on December 8, 2000, the 20th anniversary of Lennon's death.
The Hard Days Night Hotel - Liverpool, England
Christopher Furlong/Getty ImagesLocated near the Cavern Club, The Hard Days Night Hotel is a four-star hotel that opened in 2008 and features 110 rooms. Statues of all of the Beatles can be found on the hotel's façade .
The Lennon Wall - Prague, Czech Republic
kaprik/Shutterstock.comThe Lennon Wall has been a popular tourist attraction for a number of years now. The wall and its graffiti was a reaction to Lennon’s death in 1980, and since Western imagery was banned in a then Czechoslovakia due to Communism rule, the wall was part tribute-part peaceful protest. In November 2014, the wall was suddenly painted white, and the message “Wall Is Over” was left. Days later, people started painting more Lennon graffiti on the blank canvas and changed the message to “War Is Over.”
The Lennon Wall - Hong Kong
Anthony Kwan/Getty ImagesSimilar to Prague, The Lennon Wall in Hong Kong was a form of peaceful protest beginning in 2014. In the description of this photo via Getty Images, "The origins of Hong Kong's Lennon Wall dated back to the Umbrella Movement in 2014, when protesters covered a wall outside government headquarters with Post-it notes to express their frustrations and aspirations...'Lennon Wall' message boards became a phenomenon across Hong Kong in 2019 after protests against a controversial extradition bill began as hundreds and thousands of handwritten messages sprung up to show support for pro-democracy protesters."
Ellis Island Tapestry - New York City
Jamie McCarthy/Getty ImagesIn July 2015, Yoko One and U2's Bono and The Edge, in association with Amnesty International, helped unveil a special tapestry at Ellis Island that honored John Lennon.
Liverpool John Lennon Airport - Liverpool, England
Sion Touhig/Getty ImagesIn 2001, the Speke Airport in Liverpool was renamed the Liverpool John Lennon Airport. Yoko Ono was on hand for the renaming ceremony, which included the unveiling of a 7-foot-tall bronze statue of Lennon.
