The most successful band in history, The Beatles, included John Lennon as a co-founder and member. Despite having only been together for ten years and putting out thirteen studio albums, the band is thought to have sold over 600 million copies worldwide. Without them, music would never have been the same, and even after five decades of dissolution, their impact is still felt more than ever.
The band’s primary composers, Paul McCartney and John Lennon, wrote songs that were so popular that they were recorded by a great number of other musicians throughout the years. Though Lennon wrote some of the most significant songs in music history, he wished he had written some of the songs by other musicians. He once disclosed the two songs he wished he had composed in the 1970s.
Two 70s songs that John Lennon said he would like to have written
Shirley & Company “Shame, Shame, Shame”
Even while rock & roll was The Beatles’ and John Lennon’s solo career’s primary focus, their diverse musical tastes allowed them to include a variety of elements in their works. The two songs Lennon highlighted in an interview with Spin Magazine fit into that genre since they were fans of American music, particularly R&B and Soul.
When asked which generally came first when he was trying to compose anything, the words or the music, he named the two songs.
“Usually. It’s better. I like that. The music is sort of easy. I sometimes envy Elton John. Bernie Taupin sends him a big stack of words, and he writes all the songs in five days. I could do that. But I am too egocentric to use other people’s words. That’s the problem. So it’s my own fault. I still like black music, disco music.”
John said, “’Shame, Shame, Shame’ or ‘Rock Your Baby,’ I’d give my eyetooth to have written that. But I never could. I am too literal to write ‘Rock Your Baby.’ I wish I could. I’m too intellectual, even though I’m not really an intellectual. I feel as though I am a writer, really. And the music is easy. The music is just all over the place.”
“Shame, Shame, Shame,” penned by Sylvia Robinson, was initially recorded by Shirley & Company, an American disco group. The track was included on the group’s 1974 self-titled album.
It proved popular and peaked at number one on charts in several international nations.
George McCrae “Rock Your Baby”
Lennon also cited the song “Rock Your Baby,” which was written by Richard Finch and Harry Wayne Casey, two members of The Sunshine Band and The KC. George McCrae recorded the song for the first time, and it was included on the 1974 album of the same name.
It became a huge smash, peaking at number one on the United States Billboard Hot 100 and remaining there for two weeks. It likewise peaked at number one on the UK charts and remained there for three weeks.
It’s interesting to note that “Rock Your Baby” and Lennon’s #1 hit song “Whatever Gets You Thru the Night” have a chord pattern. The Beatles then acknowledged that the song served as inspiration for him.
Lennon’s song was likewise successful; it peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100. In that song, his pal Elton John provided the harmony vocals and performed the organ and piano. After that, Lennon agreed to feature on Elton’s version of “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.”