Cold Turkey
Encyclopedia
Cold Turkey is a song written by 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 #30 on the Billboard Hot 100
and #14 on the British singles chart
. The song's first appearance on album was the 1975 compilation Shaved Fish
.
in his book The Love You Make, the song was written in a "creative outburst" following Lennon and Ono going "cold turkey
" from their brief heroin addictions. Brown also states that Lennon presented the song to Paul McCartney
as a potential single by The Beatles
, but was refused and released it as a Plastic Ono Band single with sole writing credits to him.
"Cold Turkey" was the first song John Lennon wrote for which he took sole credit; his previous compositions, including his first single release, "Give Peace a Chance
", were attributed to the Lennon/McCartney
partnership, although the credit for "Give Peace a Chance" was later changed to Lennon alone. It was recorded in Abbey Road
Studio 2. There are other versions, a couple acoustic, and one that features Yoko Ono
adding her unique vocalisations (as they did the song live), but none of these served as the single.
The single was released with a standard green Apple label, with the words "Play Loud" printed on the spindle plug of the UK pressing and above and beneath the spindle hole of the US pressing. This instruction would also appear on the labels of Lennon's next solo single, "Instant Karma!
"
"Cold Turkey" rose to #14 on the British Singles Chart on the chart announced on 11 November 1969. On 18 November, "Cold Turkey" dropped to #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
." In March 2005, Q magazine placed "Cold Turkey" at number 74 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks.
album by Plastic Ono Band which included Lennon, Yoko Ono
, Eric Clapton
, Klaus Voormann
, and Alan White
. 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, along with "Don't Worry Kyoko", at the Lyceum Ballroom with George Harrison
, Keith Moon
, Eric Clapton, and others. This would be Lennon's last live performance with any of the other Beatles, and this version would be available on his Some Time in New York City
album.
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
, released as a single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
in 1969 by the Plastic Ono Band on Apple Records
Apple Records
Apple Records is a record label founded by The Beatles in 1968, as a division of Apple Corps Ltd. It was initially intended as a creative outlet for the Beatles, both as a group and individually, plus a selection of other artists including Mary Hopkin, James Taylor, Badfinger, and Billy Preston...
, 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 #30 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
and #14 on the British singles chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. The song's first appearance on album was the 1975 compilation Shaved Fish
Shaved Fish
The year the album was released, a Creem magazine reader's poll included it among the top five "Best Reissues" of 1975, placing fourth, behind two Rolling Stones compilations, Made in the Shade and Metamorphosis, and The Basement Tapes....
.
Writing and recording
According to Peter BrownPeter Brown (music industry)
Peter Brown is an American-based English businessman. He currently resides in New York City.-The Beatles:Brown was a personal assistant to Brian Epstein and The Beatles during the 1960s. He was a confidant to the Epstein family, and bore some resemblance to Brian in his looks and manner...
in his book The Love You Make, the song was written in a "creative outburst" following Lennon and Ono going "cold turkey
Cold turkey
"Cold turkey" describes the actions of a person who abruptly gives up a habit or addiction rather than gradually easing the process through gradual reduction or by using replacement medication....
" from their brief heroin addictions. Brown also states that Lennon presented the song to Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
as a potential single by The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, but was refused and released it as a Plastic Ono Band single with sole writing credits to him.
"Cold Turkey" was the first song John Lennon wrote for which he took sole credit; his previous compositions, including his first single release, "Give Peace a Chance
Give Peace a Chance
"Give Peace a Chance" is a song written by John Lennon, originally under the moniker Lennon–McCartney, released as a single in 1969 by the Plastic Ono Band on Apple Records, catalogue Apple 13 in the United Kingdom, Apple 1809 in the United States. It is the first solo single issued by Lennon, and...
", were attributed to the Lennon/McCartney
Lennon/McCartney
The Lennon–McCartney songwriting partnership is one of the best-known and most successful musical collaborations in history...
partnership, although the credit for "Give Peace a Chance" was later changed to Lennon alone. It was recorded in Abbey Road
Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios is a recording studio located at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music company EMI, its present owner...
Studio 2. There are other versions, a couple acoustic, and one that features Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono
is a Japanese artist, musician, author and peace activist, known for her work in avant-garde art, music and filmmaking as well as her marriage to John Lennon...
adding her unique vocalisations (as they did the song live), but none of these served as the single.
The single was released with a standard green Apple label, with the words "Play Loud" printed on the spindle plug of the UK pressing and above and beneath the spindle hole of the US pressing. This instruction would also appear on the labels of Lennon's next solo single, "Instant Karma!
Instant Karma!
"Instant Karma!" is a song written by John Lennon, released as a single in 1970 on Apple Records, catalogue Apple 1003 in the United Kingdom, Apple 1818 in the United States. It is the third solo single issued by Lennon, and it peaked at #3 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100 singles...
"
"Cold Turkey" rose to #14 on the British Singles Chart on the chart announced on 11 November 1969. On 18 November, "Cold Turkey" dropped to #15, and on 25 November Lennon returned his MBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
to Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace, in London, is the principal residence and office of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality...
saying "I am returning this MBE in protest against Britain’s involvement in the Nigeria-Biafra thing
Nigerian Civil War
The Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Nigerian-Biafran War, 6 July 1967–15 January 1970, was a political conflict caused by the attempted secession of the southeastern provinces of Nigeria as the self-proclaimed Republic of Biafra...
, against our support of America in Vietnam
Role of United States in the Vietnam War
The role of the United States in the Vietnam War began soon after the Second World War and escalated into full commitment during what is termed the Vietnam War from 1955 to 1975.-Woodrow Wilson :Milestones of U.S...
, and against Cold Turkey slipping down the charts. With love, John Lennon of Bag
Bagism
Bagism is a term which was created by John Lennon and Yoko Ono as part of their extensive peace campaign in the late 1960s. The intent of bagism was to satirize prejudice and stereotyping. Bagism involved literally wearing a bag over one's entire body...
." In March 2005, Q magazine placed "Cold Turkey" at number 74 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks.
Live performance
Its first public performance was recorded and released on the Live Peace In Toronto 1969Live Peace in Toronto 1969
-Side two:-Personnel:* John Lennon — lead vocals, rhythm guitar* Yoko Ono — vocals* Eric Clapton — lead guitar, backing vocals* Klaus Voormann — bass* Alan White — drums* Kim Fowley — spoken introduction-External links:*...
album by Plastic Ono Band which included Lennon, Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono
is a Japanese artist, musician, author and peace activist, known for her work in avant-garde art, music and filmmaking as well as her marriage to John Lennon...
, Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
, Klaus Voormann
Klaus Voormann
Klaus Voormann is a German Grammy Award-winning artist, noted musician, and record producer. He designed artwork for many bands including The Beatles, The Bee Gees, Wet Wet Wet and Turbonegro. His most notable work as a producer was his work with the band Trio, including their worldwide hit "Da Da...
, and Alan White
Alan White (Yes drummer)
Alan White is an English rock drummer known for his work with the progressive rock band Yes. White was also a member of the Plastic Ono Band, playing live in 1969 at the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival, which was recorded and released three months later as Live Peace in Toronto 1969...
. 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, along with "Don't Worry Kyoko", at the Lyceum Ballroom with George Harrison
George Harrison
George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
, Keith Moon
Keith Moon
Keith John Moon was an English musician, best known for being the drummer of the English rock group The Who. He gained acclaim for his exuberant and innovative drumming style, and notoriety for his eccentric and often self-destructive behaviour, earning him the nickname "Moon the Loon". Moon...
, Eric Clapton, and others. This would be Lennon's last live performance with any of the other Beatles, and this version would be available on his Some Time in New York City
Some Time in New York City
Some Time in New York City was released in 1972 and is John Lennon's third post-Beatles album, fifth with Yoko Ono, and third with producer Phil Spector...
album.
Personnel
- John LennonJohn LennonJohn Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
: lead and harmony vocals, rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together... - Eric ClaptonEric ClaptonEric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
: lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure... - Klaus VoormannKlaus VoormannKlaus Voormann is a German Grammy Award-winning artist, noted musician, and record producer. He designed artwork for many bands including The Beatles, The Bee Gees, Wet Wet Wet and Turbonegro. His most notable work as a producer was his work with the band Trio, including their worldwide hit "Da Da...
: bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Ringo StarrRingo StarrRichard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
: drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Chart performance
| Chart (1969) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian RPM RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... Singles Chart Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays.... |
30 |
| Dutch Top 40 Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... |
39 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
14 |
| Chart (1970) | Peak position |
| US Billboard Pop Singles Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
30 |
Cover versions
- Freddie HubbardFreddie HubbardFrederick Dewayne "Freddie" Hubbard was an American jazz trumpeter. He was known primarily for playing in the bebop, hard bop and post bop styles from the early 1960s and on...
recorded an instrumental version in 1970, as an outtake from his CTI RecordsCTI RecordsCTI Records was a jazz record label founded in 1967 by producer/A&R manager Creed Taylor. Initially, CTI was a subsidiary of A&M Records, but the label went independent in 1970...
album, Red ClayRed Clay (Freddie Hubbard album)Red Clay is a soul/funk-influenced hard bop album recorded in 1970 by jazz trumpeter Freddie Hubbard. It was his first album released on Creed Taylor's CTI label and marked a shift away from Hubbard's long time recording affair with Blue Note Records and another shift toward the soul-jazz fusion...
. Hubbard's version, featuring Herbie HancockHerbie HancockHerbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
, Joe HendersonJoe HendersonJoe Henderson was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. In a career spanning more than forty years Henderson played with many of the leading American players of his day and recorded for several prominent labels, including Blue Note.-Early life:From a very large family with five sisters and nine...
, Ron CarterRon CarterRon Carter is an American jazz double-bassist. His appearances on over 2,500 albums make him one of the most-recorded bassists in jazz history, along with Milt Hinton, Ray Brown and Leroy Vinnegar. Carter is also an acclaimed cellist who has recorded numerous times on that...
and Lenny WhiteLenny WhiteLeonard White III, better known as Lenny White is an American jazz fusion drummer, who is best known for playing in Chick Corea's Return to Forever.-Biography:...
, is influenced by funkFunkFunk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
and free jazzFree jazzFree jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...
. - A live recording of the song appears on the 1979 LP A Can of Bees by the Soft Boys.
- The GodfathersThe GodfathersThe Godfathers are an alternative rock band from London, England.-Career:The Godfathers were formed by Peter and Chris Coyne from the ashes of The Sid Presley Experience in 1985. After independent single releases produced by Vic Maile, and collected on their debut album, Hit By Hit, they signed to...
recorded a version of the song in 1986 with producer Vic MaileVic MaileVic Maile was a British record producer. After starting his career as sound engineer with Pye mobile studios for The Animals on their song, "We Gotta Get out of This Place", Maile worked with some of the biggest names in the music industry, such as Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, The...
; the song was first released on a 1986 compilation albumCompilation albumA compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
called Hit by Hit that included their three early 12" singles. - Cheap TrickCheap TrickCheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973. The band consists of members Robin Zander , Rick Nielsen , Tom Petersson , and Bun E...
recorded two versions of the song in 1994. One went on the album Working Class Hero: A Tribute to John LennonWorking Class Hero: A Tribute to John LennonWorking Class Hero is a 1995 tribute album to Beatles singer/songwriter John Lennon. It gets its name from a Lennon song of the same name. The album was produced by Lindy Goetz through Hollywood Records in support of the Humane Society of the United States...
, and the other was released on one of the Bun E.'s Basement Bootleg albums. - Lenny KravitzLenny KravitzLeonard Albert "Lenny" Kravitz is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and arranger, whose "retro" style incorporates elements of rock, soul, R&B, funk, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, folk and ballads...
recorded a version for the benefit album Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save DarfurInstant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save DarfurInstant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur is a compilation album of various artists covering songs of John Lennon to benefit Amnesty International's campaign to alleviate the crisis in Darfur...
. - The track was also covered by PiL originator/guitarist Keith LeveneKeith LeveneKeith Levene is an English songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He was an early member of The Clash, but is best known as being a founding member of Public Image Limited, along with John Lydon....
. - Billy TalentBilly TalentBilly Talent is a Canadian post-hardcore band from Streetsville, Ontario. They formed in 1993 with Ben Kowalewicz as the lead vocalist, Ian D'Sa on lead guitar, bassist Jon Gallant and drummer Aaron Solowoniuk ....
did a cover for it on the B-side for their single "Rusted From the Rain". - Uncle Joe's Big Ol' Driver released a cover as the B-side to their single "Don't Go" in 1994.
External links
- John Lennon - Cold Turkey at Graham Calkin's Beatles Pages