2 Songs John Lennon Regretted Not Writing, Including a Beatles Hit by Paul McCartney
via The Beatles / YouTube
Lennon’s Admiration for a Beatles Ballad
In one of his final interviews with David Sheff in 1980, just months before his death, John Lennon opened up about a few songs he admired—especially those written by Paul McCartney. Among them was the 1966 Beatles ballad “Here, There and Everywhere,” featured on the Revolver album. Lennon admitted it was a song he wished he had written himself.
Paul McCartney later remembered Lennon’s rare compliment in The Beatles Anthology. “I remember John saying, ‘You know, I probably like that better than any of my songs on the tape,'” McCartney said. “Coming from John, that was high praise indeed.”
Another song Lennon admired was “Hey Jude,” McCartney’s 1968 song written to comfort Julian Lennon during his parents’ divorce. Lennon praised the lyrics and emotional depth of the song during a 1972 interview with Hit Parader. “That’s his best song,” Lennon said. “‘Hey Jude’ is a damn good set of lyrics, and I made no contribution to that.”
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Though they had their creative differences, Lennon often spoke honestly about his respect for McCartney’s songwriting, especially when it came to songs that connected emotionally with people.
Paul McCartney also wrote and sang “Oh! Darling,” a track from Abbey Road. But Lennon believed it would have been better suited to his vocal style. He thought the song’s intensity needed a different approach.
“’Oh! Darling’ was a great one of Paul’s, that he didn’t sing too well,” Lennon commented. “I always thought that I could’ve done it better—it was more my style than his. He wrote it, so what the hell. He’s going to sing it. If he’d had any sense, he should have let me sing it.”
Appreciation for an Early Beatles Tune
“All My Loving,” released in 1963, was another McCartney song Lennon admired. Paul originally wrote it as a poem while shaving and later added the melody. “It was the first song [where] I’d ever written the words first,” McCartney recalled in Many Years from Now by Barry Miles.
He continued, “I had in my mind a little country and western song. We arrived at the gig and I remember being in one of these big backstage areas, and there was a piano there. I didn’t have a guitar. I remember working the tune out to it on the piano.”
Lennon’s Take on “All My Loving”
The song ended up on the band’s second album With the Beatles and became a fan favorite. Lennon reluctantly gave credit to McCartney in a 1980 interview with Playboy. “‘All My Loving’ is Paul, I regret to say,” Lennon admitted. “Because it’s a damn fine piece of work. But I play a pretty mean guitar in back.”
Even early on, Lennon could acknowledge when McCartney had written something impressive, even if it wasn’t a song he had contributed to directly.
A Surprising Disco Favorite – “Rock Your Baby,” George McCrae (1974)
Lennon also shared admiration for a 1970s hit outside of The Beatles catalog. George McCrae’s “Rock Your Baby,” a 1974 disco single, caught Lennon’s attention in a big way. The song was written and produced by Harry Wayne Casey and Richard Finch of KC and the Sunshine Band.
“Rock Your Baby” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, stayed there for two weeks, and also topped the R&B chart. In the UK, it held the No. 1 spot for three weeks, becoming one of the biggest hits of the year.
Lennon even said “Rock Your Baby” influenced his own music. The song helped inspire “Whatever Gets You Thru the Night” from his 1974 album Walls and Bridges. In a 1975 interview with Spin, Lennon said, “I’d give my eyetooth to have written that. 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.”
Even though he was known for his lyrics and deep thinking, Lennon could appreciate a well-crafted pop song—even one as different from his own work as a disco hit.
