Cold Turkey

Last updated

"Cold Turkey"
Jolct.jpg
Single by Plastic Ono Band
B-side "Don't Worry Kyoko (Mummy's Only Looking for a Hand in the Snow)" (Yoko Ono)
Released20 October 1969 (1969-10-20)
Recorded30 September 1969
Studio EMI, London
Genre
Length5:01
Label Apple
Songwriter(s) John Lennon
Producer(s)
  • John Lennon
  • Yoko Ono
Plastic Ono Band singles chronology
"Give Peace a Chance"
(1969)		"Cold Turkey"
(1969)		"Instant Karma!"
(1970)

"Cold Turkey" is a song written by English singer-songwriter John Lennon, released as a single in 1969 by the Plastic Ono Band on Apple Records, catalogue Apples 1001 in the United Kingdom, Apple 1813 in the United States. It is the second solo single issued by Lennon and it peaked at number 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 14 on the UK Singles Chart. The song's first appearance on an album was Live Peace in Toronto 1969 where the song had been performed live on 13 September 1969 with Lennon reading the lyrics off a clip-board. [4] [5] [6]

Contents

Writing and recording

According to Peter Brown in his book The Love You Make, the song was written in a "creative outburst" following Lennon and Yoko Ono going "cold turkey" from their brief heroin addictions. [7] [8] Brown states that Lennon presented the song to Paul McCartney as a potential single by The Beatles, as they were finishing recording for their Abbey Road album, [9] but it was refused and eventually released as a Plastic Ono Band single with sole writing credits to him. [7]

"Cold Turkey" was the first song Lennon wrote for which he took sole credit; his previous compositions, including his first single release, "Give Peace a Chance", [10] were attributed to the Lennon–McCartney partnership, although the credit for "Give Peace a Chance" was later changed to Lennon alone. [11] "Cold Turkey" was recorded in Abbey Road Studio 2, and features Eric Clapton. [9] There are other versions besides the single, several of which are acoustic, and a live version included on Live in New York City that features Ono adding vocalizations. [12]

Release and reception

The single was released with a standard green Apple label, with the words "Play Loud" printed on the spindle plug of the UK pressing [13] and above and beneath the spindle hole of the US pressing. [14] This instruction would also appear on the labels of Lennon's next solo single, "Instant Karma!" [15] [16]

Cash Box described the song as "brilliant, controversial and an absolute smash." [17] Record World called it "a chilling musical rendition of withdrawal." [18]

"Cold Turkey" rose to number 14 on the UK Singles Chart on 15 November 1969. On 22 November, "Cold Turkey" dropped to number 15, and on 25 November Lennon returned his MBE to Buckingham Palace saying "I am returning this MBE in protest against Britain's involvement in the Nigeria-Biafra thing, against our support of America in Vietnam, and against 'Cold Turkey' slipping down the charts. With love, John Lennon of Bag." [19] [20] In March 2005, Q magazine placed "Cold Turkey" at number 74 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks. Stereogum contributors Timothy and Elizabeth Bracy rated "Cold Turkey" as Lennon's 10th best solo song, calling it a "tough but rewarding listen" that "stressfully gallops out the gate with a jittery ferociousness that is simultaneously cathartic and claustrophobic." [21]

Cover art

The original cover art for the single was made by American painter John Koch. It features John Lennon's head with glasses on an X-ray image. David Nutter, a regular photographer of John and Yoko Ono at the time, superimposed a fictional round glasses with a negative on the real image.

An alternative sleeve with the X-ray photographs of John and Yoko side by side, rather than on either side of the cover, was issued in several European countries. The Japanese version includes a colour photo of both in a smaller size.

Live performance

Its first public performance on 13 September 1969, was recorded and released on the Live Peace in Toronto 1969 album by Plastic Ono Band which included Lennon, Yoko Ono, Eric Clapton, Klaus Voormann, and Alan White. [12] Yoko introduced it as the newest song written by John; John added that the band had never played the song together as a group before. He also performed this song on 15 December 1969, along with "Don't Worry Kyoko (Mummy's Only Looking for Her Hand in the Snow)", at the Lyceum Ballroom with more members of the Plastic Ono Band. [22] This version would be available on his Some Time in New York City album. [22] Lennon performed the song again, at two Madison Square Garden shows, on 30 August 1972. [22]

Personnel

According to author John C. Winn: [23]

Chart performance

Chart (1969)Peak
position
Canadian RPM Singles Chart [24] 30
Dutch Top 40 [25] 39
UK Singles Chart [26] 14
Chart (1970)Peak
position
US Billboard Pop Singles [27] 30
US Cashbox Top 100 [28] 32

Cover versions

Related Research Articles

<i>John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band</i> 1970 studio album by John Lennon

John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band is the debut solo studio album by English musician John Lennon. Backed by the Plastic Ono Band, it was released by Apple Records on 11 December 1970 in tandem with the similarly titled album by his wife, Yoko Ono. At the time of its issue, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band received mixed reviews overall, but later came to be widely regarded as Lennon's best solo album.

<i>Some Time in New York City</i> 1972 album by John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band with Elephants Memory and the Invisible Strings

Some Time in New York City is the third collaborative studio album, and first live album by John Lennon and Yoko Ono as Plastic Ono Band, a double album, it includes backing by the American rock band Elephant's Memory. Released in June 1972 in the US and in September 1972 in the UK on Apple Records, it is Lennon's sixth album to be released under his own name, and his fourth collaboration with Ono. Like Lennon's previous solo albums, it was co-produced by Lennon, Ono and Phil Spector. The album's agitprop lyrics are politically charged compared to its predecessors, addressing political and social issues and topics such as sexism, incarceration, colonialism, and racism.

<i>Shaved Fish</i> 1975 compilation album by John Lennon with Plastic Ono Band

Shaved Fish is a compilation album by English rock musician John Lennon with the Plastic Ono Band, issued in October 1975 on Apple Records. It contains all of the singles that he had issued up to that point in the United States as a solo artist, with the exception of "Stand by Me", which had been released earlier that year. The only compilation of Lennon's non-Beatles recordings released during his lifetime, the album peaked at number 8 in the UK and number 12 in the US. It was also Lennon's final album released on Apple Records before it was shut down in 1975, to be revived in the 1990s.

<i>Live Peace in Toronto 1969</i> 1969 live album by Plastic Ono Band

Live Peace in Toronto 1969 is a live album by the Plastic Ono Band, released in December 1969 on Apple Records. Recorded at the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival festival, it was the first live album released by any member of the Beatles separately or together. John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono received a phone call from the festival's promoters John Brower and Kenny Walker, and then assembled a band on very short notice for the festival, which was due to start the following day. The band included Eric Clapton, Klaus Voormann, and drummer Alan White. The group flew from London and had brief unamplified rehearsals on the plane before appearing on the stage to perform several songs; one of which, "Cold Turkey", was first performed live at the festival. After returning home, Lennon mixed the album in a day.

<i>Unfinished Music No. 2: Life with the Lions</i> 1969 studio album by John Lennon and Yoko Ono

Unfinished Music No. 2: Life with the Lions is the second of three collaborative experimental albums of avant-garde music by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, released in May 1969 on Zapple, a sub label of Apple. It was a successor to 1968's highly controversial Unfinished Music No. 1: Two Virgins, and was followed by the Wedding Album. The album peaked in the United States at number 174, 50 places lower than the previous album. The album, whose title is a play on words of the BBC Radio show Life with The Lyons, was recorded at Queen Charlotte's Hospital in London and live at Cambridge University, in November 1968 and March 1969, respectively. The Cambridge performance, to which Ono had been invited and to which she brought Lennon, was Lennon and Ono's second as a couple. A few of the album's tracks were previewed by the public, thanks to Aspen magazine. The album was remastered in 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Give Peace a Chance</span> 1969 anti-war song written by John Lennon

"Give Peace a Chance" is an anti-war song written by John Lennon, and recorded with the participation of a small group of friends in a performance with Yoko Ono in a hotel room in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Released as a single in July 1969 by the Plastic Ono Band on Apple Records, it is the first solo single issued by Lennon, released while 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plastic Ono Band</span> Rock band

The Plastic Ono Band was a rock band and Fluxus-based artist collective formed by John Lennon and Yoko Ono in 1968-9 for their collaborative musical and sound art projects, films, conceptual art projects and eventual solo LPs. The creation of The Plastic Ono Band, which began in 1967 with Ono's idea for an art exhibition in Berlin, allowed Lennon to separate his artistic output from that of The Beatles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Instant Karma!</span> 1970 single by Lennon/Ono with the Plastic Ono Band

"Instant Karma!" is a song by English rock musician John Lennon, released as a single on Apple Records in February 1970. The lyrics focus on a concept in which the consequences of one's actions are immediate rather than borne out over a lifetime. The single was credited to "Lennon/Ono with the Plastic Ono Band", apart from in the US, where the credit was "John Ono Lennon". The song reached the top five in the British and American charts, competing with the Beatles' "Let It Be" in the US, where it became the first solo single by a member of the band to sell a million copies.

<i>Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band</i> 1970 studio album by Yoko Ono with Plastic Ono Band

Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band is the debut solo studio album by Japanese artist and musician Yoko Ono, released on Apple Records in December 1970 alongside her husband's album John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band. The album features Ono's vocal improvisations accompanied by the Plastic Ono Band, with the exception of "AOS", on which she is backed by the Ornette Coleman Quartet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whatever Gets You thru the Night</span> 1974 single by John Lennon

"Whatever Gets You thru the Night" is a song written by John Lennon, released as a single in 1974 on Apple Records, catalogue number Apple 1874 in the United States and Apple R5998 in the United Kingdom. In the U.S. it peaked at No. 1 on all three record charts: Billboard Hot 100, Cashbox, and Record World, and at No. 36 in the UK. It was the lead single for Lennon's album Walls and Bridges; in the UK the single was released on the same day as the album. "Whatever Gets You thru the Night" was Lennon's only solo No. 1 single in the United States during his lifetime, making him the last member of the Beatles to finally reach the top of the charts. In Canada, the single spent two weeks at No. 2, and became the 30th biggest hit of 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mother (John Lennon song)</span> 1970 single by John Lennon

"Mother" is a song by English musician John Lennon, first released on his 1970 album John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band. An edited version of the song was issued as a single in the United States on Apple Records, on 28 December 1970. The single edit runs 1:41 shorter than the album due to removing the tolling bells that start the song and a quicker fade-out. The B-side features "Why" by Yoko Ono. The song peaked in the United States at number 19 on the Cashbox Top 100 and number 43 on the Billboard Hot 100. In Canada the song reached number 12.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isolation (John Lennon song)</span> 1970 song by John Lennon

"Isolation" is a 1970 song appearing on John Lennon's first official solo album release, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band. It ends side one of the album, and is the fifth track. In the Philippines, Apple Records released "Isolation" as the B-side to "Mother", the single off John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, in contrast to most countries where the B-side was Yoko Ono's "Why". It was also released on an EP in Mexico along with "Mother", "Look at Me" and "My Mummy's Dead".

"Well Well Well" is a song by English musician John Lennon from his 1970 album John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band. The eighth and longest track on the album, "Well Well Well" features an aggressive guitar sound, screaming vocals and a pounding backing track.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">My Mummy's Dead</span> 1970 song by John Lennon

"My Mummy's Dead" is the closing song on the album John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band by John Lennon. The song was also released on a Mexican EP that also contained "Mother", "Isolation" and "Look at Me".

"Old Dirt Road" is a song written by John Lennon and Harry Nilsson, first released on Lennon's 1974 album Walls and Bridges. Nilsson later recorded the song on his 1980 album Flash Harry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I'm Losing You (John Lennon song)</span> 1980 song by John Lennon

"I'm Losing You" is a song written by John Lennon and released on his 1980 album Double Fantasy. It was written in Bermuda in June 1980, after several attempts by Lennon to call his wife, Yoko Ono, who remained in New York. The song is also available on the 1982 compilation The John Lennon Collection, the 1998 boxset John Lennon Anthology, the one disc compilation Wonsaponatime, the 2005 two disc compilation Working Class Hero: The Definitive Lennon and in 2010 for the Gimme Some Truth album. The song was also featured in the 2005 musical Lennon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don't Worry Kyoko (Mummy's Only Looking for Her Hand in the Snow)</span> 1969 single by Yoko Ono and Plastic Ono Band

"Don't Worry Kyoko (Mummy's Only Looking for Her Hand in the Snow)" is a song by Yoko Ono that was originally released by Plastic Ono Band in October 1969 as the B-side of the "Cold Turkey" single, and was later released on Ono's 1971 album Fly. Several live versions have been released, including on Plastic Ono Band's Live Peace in Toronto 1969 and the John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band With Elephant's Memory album Some Time in New York City in 1972. An early version was titled "Mum's Only Looking for Her Hand in the Snow". It has been covered by several other artists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Who Has Seen the Wind? (song)</span> Song by Yoko Ono

"Who Has Seen the Wind?" is a song written by Yoko Ono that first appeared as the B-side of John Lennon's single "Instant Karma!" It was later issued as a bonus track on a compact disc version of the Wedding Album.

References

  1. ↑ David Luhrssen; Michael Larson (24 February 2017). Encyclopedia of Classic Rock. ABC-CLIO. p. 209. ISBN   978-1-4408-3514-8.
  2. ↑ Richie Unterberger (25 October 2014). The Unreleased Beatles: Music and Film (Revised & Expanded Ebook ed.). BookBaby. p. 919. ISBN   978-0-9915892-6-5.[ permanent dead link ]
  3. ↑ Doyle Greene (2 March 2016). Rock, Counterculture and the Avant-Garde, 1966–1970: How the Beatles, Frank Zappa and the Velvet Underground Defined an Era. McFarland. p. 63. ISBN   978-1-4766-2403-7.
  4. ↑ Ben Urish; Kenneth G. Bielen (2007). The Words and Music of John Lennon. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 14–15. ISBN   978-0-275-99180-7.
  5. ↑ John Blaney (2005). John Lennon: Listen to This Book. Paper Jukebox. p. 41. ISBN   978-0-9544528-1-0.
  6. ↑ "John Lennon Discography". Homepage.ntlworld.com. Retrieved 31 March 2013.
  7. 1 2 Brown, Peter. The Love You Make: An Insider's Story of The Beatles. McGraw-Hill, 1983. New American Library, 2002. 331.
  8. ↑ Noyer, Paul Du (2010). "John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band". John Lennon: The Stories Behind Every Song 1970–1980 (Rev. ed.). London: Carlton Books Ltd. pp. 25–26. ISBN   978-1-84732-665-2.
  9. 1 2 Noyer, Paul Du (2010). "John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band". John Lennon: The Stories Behind Every Song 1970–1980 (Rev. ed.). London: Carlton Books Ltd. p. 27. ISBN   978-1-84732-665-2.
  10. ↑ "John Lennon - Give peace A Chance". Jpgr.co.uk.
  11. ↑ "Give Peace a Chance (Legal Title) BMI Work #476096". BMI.com. Archived from the original on 22 March 2004. Retrieved 24 October 2009.
  12. 1 2 Noyer, Paul Du (2010). "Shining On". John Lennon: The Stories Behind Every Song 1970–1980 (Rev. ed.). London: Carlton Books Ltd. p. 14. ISBN   978-1-84732-665-2.
  13. ↑ "Images for Plastic Ono Band, The - Cold Turkey / Don't Worry Kyoko (Mummy's Only Looking for a Hand in the Snow)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  14. ↑ "Images for Plastic Ono Band* - Cold Turkey / Don't Worry Kyoko (Mummy's Only Looking for a Hand in the Snow)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  15. ↑ "Images for Lennon* With Plastic Ono Band, The - Instant Karma". Discogs.com. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  16. ↑ "Images for John Ono Lennon* - Instant Karma (We All Shine On)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  17. ↑ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. 8 November 1969. p. 36. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  18. ↑ "Single Reviews" (PDF). Record World. 8 November 1969. p. 8. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  19. ↑ "MBE that John Lennon returned in protest is found - Times Online". Archived from the original on 25 October 2010. Retrieved 14 January 2010.
  20. ↑ Noyer, Paul Du (2010). "John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band". John Lennon: The Stories Behind Every Song 1970–1980 (Rev. ed.). London: Carlton Books Ltd. p. 28. ISBN   978-1-84732-665-2.
  21. ↑ Bracy, Timothy; Bracy, Elizabeth (13 May 2014). "The 10 Best John Lennon Songs". Stereogum. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  22. 1 2 3 Blaney, John (2005). John Lennon: Listen to This Book (illustrated ed.). [S.l.]: Paper Jukebox. p. 41. ISBN   978-0-9544528-1-0.
  23. ↑ Winn 2009, pp. 327, 330.
  24. ↑ "Top Singles - Volume 12, No. 19, December 27, 1969". RPM . Archived from the original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
  25. ↑ "De Nederlandse Top 40, week 50, 1969". Archived from the original on 8 May 2008. Retrieved 5 December 2008.
  26. ↑ "John Lennon | Artist". Official Charts. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  27. ↑ "Allmusic - John Lennon - Billboard Singles" . Retrieved 5 December 2008.
  28. ↑ Blaney, John (2005). John Lennon: Listen to This Book (illustrated ed.). [S.l.]: Paper Jukebox. p. 326. ISBN   978-0-9544528-1-0.
  29. ↑ Liner notes for original 1986 release of Hit by Hit (Link Records #009). Retrieved 17 February 2011.
  30. ↑ Murphy, Kevin: "The vampire diaries"; Classic Rock #216, November 2015, p33

Sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.