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“Instant Karma” by John Lennon/John Ono Lennon/The Plastic Ono Band: It doesn’t matter what name is on the label, it most certainly is a “Great Song of the’70s! Listen here: “

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame includes it among its “500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll.” Many consider it to be one of John’s overall best works. Music critics went nuts! The song received glowing reviews from several magazines, including Melody Maker, Record World, Cashbox, and The Village Voice. “Instant Karma” was a Top 10 hit in 13 countries, including #2 in Canada, #3 in the US and #5 in the UK, and it became the first million-seller for a solo member of The Beatles. John was so impressed with the finished track, he hired Phil to work on the Beatles “Let It Be” album. Phil Spector produced it and added the echo effects. John was still officially a member of The Beatles at this point, but even though George Harrison and “Honorary Beatle” Billy Preston played on the track, the song was credited to John Ono Lennon in the US and The Plastic Ono Band in the UK and elsewhere. To boil it down to basics, “Instant Karma” is about the concept of “cause and effect,” in which “the effect of one’s actions is immediate rather than borne out over a lifetime.” Just the sort of thing John Lennon would write about. The song itself was composed in less than an hour! Let’s start with this: “Instant Karma” was conceived, written, recorded and released…all within 10 DAYS, one of the fastest turnarounds in music history. There are so many interesting factoids about this week’s “Great Song of 1970,” it’s hard to write a coherent narrative…but I’ll give it a try! Thomas, Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, Steve Tyrell, Duane Eddy, Darlene Love, Dave Sommerfield, and NOT The Beach Boys–a “Great Song of 1972!” įor a look back at more than 800 “Great Songs” from the ’70s, check out our Facebook page at

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“Chartwise, it went all the way to #1 on Billboard’s Easy listening Chart, and #5 in Brazil, where it was used as a love theme on a TV soap opera. The end result? For years, radio listeners and record buyers have been 100% convinced that The Beach Boys sang backup on “Rock & Roll Lullaby.” They were wrong. To tweak it just a little bit more, they brought in some background singers who had worked with Jan & Dean. They called in Dave Somerville, lead singer of the ’50s group, The Diamonds, (“Little Darlin’), as well as Darlene Love and her group “The Blossoms, who had sung on most of the Shirelles’ and Crystals’ hits.

Tyrell and Thomas, however, were not deterred. (Brian was in very tough shape, both mentally and physically at that point, so his participation was a dream that, unfortunately, had no real chance to coming true.) #2: Talks with Brian Wilson fell through. #1: They figured they had nothing to lose by actually ASKING Duane Eddy to play on the song–and he agreed! #1: Add a “twangy” guitar reminiscent of 1950s legend Duane Eddy. They wanted the song to have an “old time rock & roll feel” to it…and they came up with a couple of genius ideas: Thomas on a song called “Rock & Roll Lullaby,” written by the prolific songwriting team of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. In 1972, producer Steve Tyrell was working with B.J.

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