Give Peace a Chance
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Give Peace a Chance" | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Single by John Lennon with the Plastic Ono Band | ||
| Released | 1969 | |
| Format | 7" vinyl | |
| Recorded | 1969 | |
| Genre | Rock/Pop | |
| Length | 4:54 | |
| Writer(s) | John Lennon (originally credited to Lennon-McCartney) | |
| Producer(s) | John Lennon | |
| Chart positions | ||
| John Lennon with the Plastic Ono Band singles chronology | ||
| "Give Peace a Chance" (1969) |
"Cold Turkey" (1969) |
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"Give Peace a Chance" was a hit song written by John Lennon and originally credited to Lennon-McCartney. However, when Lennon's live album with Yoko Ono and Elephant's Memory, Live in New York City (recorded in 1972), was reissued in the 1990s, "Give Peace a Chance" was credited solely to Lennon.
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[edit] Writing
Early in the Bed-In, a reporter asked John what he was trying to do. John said, "All we are saying is give peace a chance," spontaneously, but he 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, rented an 8-track tape machine from a local music store and recorded it in bed.
[edit] Recording
It was recorded by John Lennon and Yoko Ono under the name The Plastic Ono Band. It was recorded on 31 May 1969 at the famous "Bed-In" to promote peace, in Room 1742, Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Canada. The recording session was attended by dozens of journalists and various celebrities, including Timothy Leary, Rosemary Woodruff Leary, Petula Clark, Dick Gregory, Allen Ginsberg, Murray the K and Derek Taylor. John played acoustic guitar and was joined by Tommy Smothers of the Smothers Brothers, also on acoustic guitar.
[edit] Popularity and chart position
Give Peace a Chance was the first single recorded by a solo Beatle, although it only 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 Stones' "Honky Tonk Woman". The song has become a peace anthem and is often sung at protests.
[edit] The last verse
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, Hare Krishna".
In the performance of "Give Peace a Chance" included on the Live Peace in Toronto 1969 album, Lennon changed the lyric to: "John and Yoko, Eric Clapton, Klaus Voormann, Penny Lane, Roosevelt, Nixon, Tommy Jones and Tommy Cooper, and somebody." Eric Clapton plays guitar, Klaus Voorman plays bass and Alan White plays drums on this recording of the song.
[edit] Trivia
- In 2003, Yoko Ono released a remixed version of "Give Peace a Chance" in response to the events of 9/11.
- In 1991, Yoko Ono collaborated with Amina, Adam Ant, Sebastian Bach, Bros, Felix Cavaliere, Terence Trent D'Arby, Flea, John Frusciante, Peter Gabriel, Kadeem Hardison, Ofra Haza, Joe Higgs, Bruce Hornsby, Lee Jaffe, Al Jarreau, Jazzie B, Davey Johnstone, Lenny Kravitz, Cyndi Lauper, Sean Ono Lennon, Little Richard, LL Cool J, MC Hammer, Michael McDonald, Duff McKagan, Alannah Myles, New Voices of Freedom, Randy Newman, Tom Petty, Iggy Pop, Q-Tip, Bonnie Raitt, Run, Dave Stewart, Teena Marie, Little Steven Van Zandt, Don Was, Wendy & Lisa, Ahmet Zappa, Dweezil Zappa, and Moon Unit Zappa as the Peace Choir to perform a version of the song in response to the imminent Gulf War. This version hit #54 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart.
[edit] References in Popular Culture
- At the end of the Your Move section of I've Seen All Good People by Yes, the chorus All we are saying/Is give peace a chance is the backing vocal.
- In the CGI animated film Antz (1998), worker ants sing an ode to hero ant Z-4195 (voice of Woody Allen) Give Z a Chance.
- In The Simpsons episode, New Kids on the Blecch, Homer mentions it as being nonsense, along with rama lama ding dong.
- In the comic Strip Zits, Jeremy, Hector, and Autumn sing this song after they release thousands of crickets on the school.
- In Nicaragua, during the political campaign for presidential elections (2006), Daniel Ortega (FSLN) used its melody, modifying the lyrics; it has been sung by almost every Nicaraguan who has heard it, regardless of his or her political preferences.
