The 40 Best John Lennon Covers Ever

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40. Paul Weller — Instant Karma

Written in an hour and recorded and released in ten days in early 1970, while Lennon was still technically a member of the Beatles, “Instant Karma!” is a rocker with a ’60s pop feel, abetted by the Wall of Sound style of its producer, Phil Spector. One distinguishing feature of the original are the sixteenth-note drum fills by 20-year-old Alan White (soon to join Yes). The song’s message that “karma” might have an immediate effect, rather than the more traditional belief that it would eventually catch up to you, seemed perfect for the era, and it was a hit, becoming the first single by a solo Beatle to achieve U.S. sales of 1 million.

Paul Weller, who certainly includes Lennon and the Beatles in his massive catalogue of influences, released a pretty faithful version of “Instant Karma!” as part of an Uncut magazine tribute in 2002 (also included in a 2003 compilation album), and it is as dense as the original, leaning a little more towards new wave than pop, though sadly missing White’s distinctive drumming. — Jordan Becker

39. The Polyphonic Spree — Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

So this is Christmas. And what have the Polyphonic Spree done? They’ve made an absolute, well, polyphonic spree! It’s a not-so-slow build from the opening mandolin and harp flowing to the jubilant fanfare of horns and militaristic, marching drums that lead the choir out at the end of this anthemic carol. Lead singer Tim DeLaughter’s quavering voice is quickly dwarfed by the celebratory atmosphere. Send down the ticker tape along with the snow and join the gaggle in a Yuletide party! — Mike Tobyn

38. Louise Gold — Oh My Love

The strange noises in the background of this cover sound like they come from outer space. As it turns out, they do! On this 2015 recording, experimental musician Louise Gold uses the sound of the orbit of Venus and Neil Armstrong’s lunar heartbeat for orchestration. Which has what to do with John Lennon? She explained:

“My original plan was to use these sounds to put together an instrumental, that would try and resonate the experience of Neil Armstrong in being in a place, where no one ever was before. I imagined he must have felt peaceful and exhilarated at the same time, a bit like being in love with someone and finding out that this person loves you back.

“While I was working on this I went to lunch and ‘Oh my love’ was on the radio. While I had heard the song very often before, this time the line ‘everything is clear in my heart’ struck a note and I realized, that this song expressed exactly, what I thought Neil Armstrong must have felt, while he had the moon all for himself for a moment.” — Ray Padgett

37. Chatham County Line — Watching the Wheels

Included on Lennon’s last solo album, Double Fantasy, “Watching the Wheels” was designed to be a sort-of explanation of Lennon’s retirement from music from 1975-1980, to raise Sean and to be a “househusband.” It’s both ruminative and defiant, and it’s a beautiful song. Released as a posthumous single a few months after his assassination (which I announced on the air at WPRB), it was a top 10 hit in the U.S. Chatham County Line, a long-running bluegrass outfit from North Carolina, released their cover of “Watching the Wheels” on their 2019 covers collection Sharing The Covers. They slow it down, add banjo and mandolin accents, and twanging vocals, and it works surprisingly well. — Jordan Becker

36. Gavin Castleton — Imagine

The syncopated beat and music-box tinkle of this cover lend a more upbeat background sound. However, the vocals still bring that dreamy, yearning quality that have the listener speculating about what the world could look like. As the cover continues, added outer space sounding effects chime in, and in the last minute or so, the background music swells. At the very end, everything drops out except a literal music-box sound that almost could be the fitting “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes.” — Sara Stoudt

35. Uzimon — New York City

Double Fantasy was recorded, in part, in Bermuda. For the Lennon Bermuda project, local artists and people with a tie to or love for Bermuda contributed to a double album and book on the bond that Lennon had with the island. Dancehall artist Uzimon’s contribution captures the essence of the place. He might not have spent time in New York City with Yoko Ono himself, but he can imagine what it was like. He wraps it in a reggae theme, of a type you can hear all over the place, making you feel at home, even when you have just arrived from a small island in the Atlantic. — Mike Tobyn

34. The Ghost In You — Oh Yoko

I spoke about The Ghost in You’s cover of “Oh Yoko” in my I Saved Latin! review more than a decade ago, saying:

Where the original has a jaunty piano right from the opening note, the cover has no piano until the second chorus, and then a very tentative one, playing notes that seem to want to be alone. As the song progresses, the piano gradually quickens to the pace of the original, thus giving the impression of the song opening up like a flower as it goes along. It’s a lovely touch, all the more so for not being showy.

I still say it’s a lovely touch, and this “Oh Yoko” is filled with them. Considering that Yoko has been dealing with the explicit rancor of professed Beatles fans for well over half a century, it has to gladden her heart to know the love she and John felt for each other still echoes beautifully today, both in John’s voice in songs and interviews and from the voices of others speaking his words and singing his songs. — Patrick Robbins

33. GEMS — It’s So Hard

In 2018, dreamy hazy Washington DC duo GEMS took part in Turntable Kitchen’s ridiculously fun Sounds Delicious subscription series, where artists cover entire albums which are then issued on vinyl. The LP they chose was Imagine. The band said they were “honored that we had the chance to record our own interpretations of these courageous, albeit conflicted songs. In some ways Lennon’s vision seems impossibly naive today. But don’t we need something to strive for? We need connection, we need communication, forgiveness and healing.” Their version of “It’s So Hard” eschews the gritty, spare ’50s-flavored rock of the original and transforms the tune into an ethereal, cool and handsome, electronic snake. Deep, dark and dreamy. — Hope Silverman

32. David Bowie — Mother

Valuable artifacts continue to emerge from dusty Beatles-related vaults even into the 2020s. Like Bowie’s cover of “Mother,” released in 2021. The track was recorded in 1998 for a Lennon tribute album that never materialized.

Yoko Ono put Bowie up to this, and he was an inspired choice for “Mother,” one of the most intimate and vulnerable musical statements Lennon ever made. Bowie was a true friend of John’s, after all, and even a songwriting partner. (Only two other artists not born in Liverpool share a songwriting credit with Lennon.) Producer Tony Visconti, reunited here with Bowie after a break of several years, leaves his sonic mark on the song’s climax, where a church choir very bravely endures a howling maelstrom of feedback and other echoes of Lennon’s attempt to let go of pain from his scarring childhood. — Tom McDonald

31. Maxine Nightingale — Bless You

British soul angel Maxine Nightingale is best known for her two ’70s mega hits, “Right Back to Where We Started From” (relentlessly effervescent pop-soul anthem) and “Lead Me On” (wondrously angsty ballad). Her cover of John’s tribute to Yoko, which appeared on her 1976 debut album, is a different animal altogether. Eerie, sensuous and spaced out, it sounds like it should be soundtracking a scene from a trippy, scary and loved-up cult classic film from the ’70s. It doesn’t come over as sentimental or romantic at all, it’s way more interesting than that: it’s freakin’ creepy (blessedly). — Hope Silverman

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