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==Release==
==Release==
"Instant Karma!, was released in the UK on 6 February 1970,{{#tag:ref|UK Apple APPLES 1003<ref name=Listen45/>|group="nb"}} and in the US on 20 February 1970.{{#tag:ref|US Apple APPLE 1818<ref name=Listen45/>|group="nb"}}<ref name=Listen45>{{cite book|last=Blaney|first=John|title=John Lennon: Listen to This Book|year=2005|publisher=Paper Jukebox|location=[S.l.]|isbn=978-0-9544528-1-0|edition=illustrated|accessdate=24 March 2013|page=45}}</ref> In the US the song was named "Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)". It is the third solo single issued by Lennon, and it peaked at number 3 on both the [[Billboard Hot 100]] chart in the US,<ref name=Bill/> number 2 on [[RPM (magazine)|Canada's Singles Chart]],<ref name=RPM/> and number 5 on the [[UK Singles Chart]].<ref name=OCC/> It peaked at number 4 in both Austria<ref name=AT/> and Belgium.<ref name=Ultra/>
"Instant Karma!, was released–under the title of the [[Plastic Ono Band]]–in the UK on 6 February 1970,{{#tag:ref|UK Apple APPLES 1003<ref name=Listen45/>|group="nb"}} and in the US on 20 February 1970.{{#tag:ref|US Apple APPLE 1818<ref name=Listen45/>|group="nb"}}<ref name=Listen45>{{cite book|last=Blaney|first=John|title=John Lennon: Listen to This Book|year=2005|publisher=Paper Jukebox|location=[S.l.]|isbn=978-0-9544528-1-0|edition=illustrated|accessdate=24 March 2013|page=45}}</ref> In the US the song was named "Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)". It is the third solo single issued by Lennon, and it peaked at number 3 on both the [[Billboard Hot 100]] chart in the US,<ref name=Bill/> number 2 on [[RPM (magazine)|Canada's Singles Chart]],<ref name=RPM/> and number 5 on the [[UK Singles Chart]].<ref name=OCC/> It peaked at number 4 in both Austria<ref name=AT/> and Belgium.<ref name=Ultra/>


The single was released several weeks before the [[break-up of the Beatles|break-up]] of the Beatles.<ref name=Listen45/> It was backed with [[Yoko Ono]]'s "Who Has Seen the Wind?", an acoustic ballad recorded at [[Trident Studios]], as the [[B-side]].<ref name=Listen52/> "Who Has Seen the Wind?" was later included on the [[Rykodisc]] reissue of the couple's ''[[Wedding Album]]''.<ref name=pobKarma/>
The single was released several weeks before the [[break-up of the Beatles|break-up]] of the Beatles.<ref name=Listen45/> It was backed with [[Yoko Ono]]'s "Who Has Seen the Wind?", an acoustic ballad recorded at [[Trident Studios]], as the [[B-side]].<ref name=Listen52/> "Who Has Seen the Wind?" was later included on the [[Rykodisc]] reissue of the couple's ''[[Wedding Album]]''.<ref name=pobKarma/>

Revision as of 12:59, 31 March 2013

This article is about the John Lennon song. For other uses, see Instant Karma (disambiguation).
"Instant Karma!"
Song
B-side"Who Has Seen the Wind?" (Yoko Ono)

"Instant Karma!" is a song written by John Lennon, released as a single under the name Plastic Ono Band, on Apple Records in February 1970. It reached the Top 5 in both the UK and US single charts.

Writing and recording

"Instant Karma!" was written with a similar chord structure to "Three Blind Mice",[2] and using the same chord progression as the Beatles' "All You Need Is Love".[3] It ranks as one of the fastest-released songs in pop music history, recorded at London's Abbey Road Studios the same day it was written, and arriving in stores only ten days later.[4] Lennon remarked to the press that he "wrote it for breakfast, recorded it for lunch, and we're putting it out for dinner."[5] The record was produced by Phil Spector, after George Harrison brought him to the recording session while Harrison and Spector were working on Harrrison's All Things Must Pass.[6] "Instant Karma!" was first of many Beatles-related recordings that Spector would work on that year.[7]

Lennon said about the recording: "we booked the studio and Phil (Spector) came in and said, 'How do you want it?' And I said, '1950s' and he said 'Right' and BOOM!. I did it about three goes, he played it back and there it was."[8] Despite Spector's "wall of sound" technique being used on the Beatles' Get Back/Let It Be tapes–against Paul McCartney's original idea–the technique was what Lennon wanted for "Instant Karma!".[6] The song uses an amount of echo smilar to 1950s Sun Records recordings.[9] Lennon and Spector disagreed about the bass sound.[6] Organist Billy Preston brought in a group of people from a nightclub to sing backing vocals.[10] Lennon worked with Spector for the next couple of years, after being impressed with his work on "Instant Karma!".[3]

Release

"Instant Karma!, was released–under the title of the Plastic Ono Band–in the UK on 6 February 1970,[nb 1] and in the US on 20 February 1970.[nb 2][11] In the US the song was named "Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)". It is the third solo single issued by Lennon, and it peaked at number 3 on both the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the US,[12] number 2 on Canada's Singles Chart,[13] and number 5 on the UK Singles Chart.[14] It peaked at number 4 in both Austria[15] and Belgium.[16]

The single was released several weeks before the break-up of the Beatles.[11] It was backed with Yoko Ono's "Who Has Seen the Wind?", an acoustic ballad recorded at Trident Studios, as the B-side.[10] "Who Has Seen the Wind?" was later included on the Rykodisc reissue of the couple's Wedding Album.[17]

Lennon and Ono appeared on the British television program Top of the Pops to perform the song live,[4] along with Alan White, Klaus Voormann, B. P. Fallon and Mal Evans miming vocals.[2] Lennon sung a live vocal over the single's original backing track.[2] This was also the first appearance of any member of the Beatles since their performance on the show in 1966.[2] Two versions, known as "cue card" and "knitting", were recorded for Top of the Pops, on 11 February 1970, aired on the 12th and 19th respectively.[2] The "cue card" performance was included on The John Lennon Video Collection,[nb 3] while the "knitting" performance was remixed and extended for release on the Lennon Legend: The Very Best of John Lennon DVD.[nb 4][nb 5][2] The "knitting" version also appeared on the UK single, "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)", released on 8 December 2003.[nb 6][2]

Like the previous Lennon solo single, "Cold Turkey", the single was released with a standard green Apple label, with the words "PLAY LOUD" printed on A-side of the UK pressing,[11][17] and above and beneath the spindle hole of the US single pressing.[21] The B-side label, by contrast, carried the words "PLAY QUIET"[11] ("PLAY SOFT" in the US).[17] The single later became the first by a former-Beatle to reach sales of 1 million in the US.[11] The song's first appearance on album, albeit slightly edited in length, was the 1975 compilation Shaved Fish.[17] In July 1992, "Instant Karma!" was re-released as a single, this time backed with "Oh My Love", in Holland.[nb 7][2] Originally, copies of it were given away with first editions of The John Lennon Video Colllection.[2] Released in the rest of Europe, barring the UK, "Instant Karma!" gained, in addition to "Oh My Love", two more B-sides: "Mother" and "Bless You".[nb 8][2]

Personnel

The following musicians contributed to the recording of "Instant Karma!":[23][24]

Chart performance

Cover versions and cultural references

References

Footnotes
  1. ^ UK Apple APPLES 1003[11]
  2. ^ US Apple APPLE 1818[11]
  3. ^ UK Picture Music International MVN 4910343[18]
  4. ^ UK Parlophone 7243 4 90945 9 8[19]
  5. ^ US Capitol C9 7243 5 99002 9 2[20]
  6. ^ UK Parlophone CDR 6627[2]
  7. ^ Holland Parlophone 8800492[2]
  8. ^ Europe EMI 88 0084 2/CDSI 8800842[22]
Citations
  1. ^ "RIAA Gold and Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Blaney, John (2005). John Lennon: Listen to This Book (illustrated ed.). [S.l.]: Paper Jukebox. p. 50. ISBN 978-0-9544528-1-0. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  3. ^ a b Edmondson, Jacqueline (2010). John Lennon: A Biography (illustrated ed.). ABC-CLIO. p. 133. ISBN 978-0-313-37938-3. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  4. ^ a b c 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. 31. ISBN 978-1-84732-665-2. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  5. ^ "John Lennon writes and records "Instant Karma" in a single day". History.com. 27 January 2010. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
  6. ^ a b c Blaney, John (2005). John Lennon: Listen to This Book (illustrated ed.). [S.l.]: Paper Jukebox. p. 51. ISBN 978-0-9544528-1-0. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  7. ^ 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. 30. ISBN 978-1-84732-665-2. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  8. ^ Blaney, John (2005). John Lennon: Listen to This Book (illustrated ed.). [S.l.]: Paper Jukebox. pp. 50–51. ISBN 978-0-9544528-1-0. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  9. ^ Urish, Ben; Bielen, Kenneth G. (2007). The Words and Music of John Lennon. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 16. ISBN 978-0-275-99180-7. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  10. ^ a b Blaney, John (2005). John Lennon: Listen to This Book (illustrated ed.). [S.l.]: Paper Jukebox. p. 52. ISBN 978-0-9544528-1-0. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  11. ^ a b c d e f g Blaney, John (2005). John Lennon: Listen to This Book (illustrated ed.). [S.l.]: Paper Jukebox. p. 45. ISBN 978-0-9544528-1-0. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  12. ^ a b John Lennon. "John Lennon - Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  13. ^ a b "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  14. ^ a b "JOHN LENNON | Artist". Official Charts. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  15. ^ a b Hung, Steffen. "Lennon - Instant Karma!". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  16. ^ a b "Lennon - Instant Karma!". ultratop.be. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  17. ^ a b c d "John Lennon Discography". Homepage.ntlworld.com. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  18. ^ "John Lennon on Video and DVD". Homepage.ntlworld.com. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  19. ^ "John Lennon - Lennon Legend - The Very Best Of John Lennon (DVD) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  20. ^ "John Lennon - Lennon Legend - The Very Best Of John Lennon (DVD) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  21. ^ "Images for John Ono Lennon* - Instant Karma (We All Shine On)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  22. ^ "John Lennon - Instant Karma! (CD) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  23. ^ Harry Castleman & Walter J. Podrazik, All Together Now: The first complete Beatles discography 1961--1975, Ballantine Books (New York, 1976), p. 171.
  24. ^ Roy Carr & Tony Tyler, The Beatles: An Illustrated Record, Trewin Copplestone Publishing (London, 1978), p. 86.
  25. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  26. ^ "charts.de". charts.de. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  27. ^ "ジョン・シングル1". Homepage1.nifty.com. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  28. ^ Hung, Steffen. "Lennon - Instant Karma!". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  29. ^ Hung, Steffen. "Lennon - Instant Karma!". norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  30. ^ Steffen Hung. "Lennon - Instant Karma!". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  31. ^ Thomas, Stephen. "Working Class Hero: A Tribute to John Lennon - Various Artists : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  32. ^ Calkin, Graham. "A Tribute To John Lennon". Jpgr.co.uk. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  33. ^ Thomas, Stephen. "Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur [Expanded] - : Release Information, Reviews and Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  34. ^ Woods, Robert H. (2013). Evangelical Christians and Popular Culture: Pop Goes the Gospel (illustrated ed.). ABC-CLIO. p. 115. ISBN 978-0-313-38654-1. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  35. ^ King, Stephen; Underwood, Tim; Miller, Chuck. Bare bones: conversations on terror with Stephen King. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1988. Web. 18 Nov. 2011. Pages 125 & 190.
  36. ^ Klein, Bethany (2009). As Heard on TV: Popular Music in Advertising (reprint ed.). [S.l.]: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. p. 28. ISBN 978-0-7546-9334-5. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)

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