"(Just Like) Starting Over" is a song written and performed by

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

from the 1980 album, ''

Double Fantasy ''Double Fantasy'' is the fifth album by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, released in November 1980 on Geffen Records. Produced by Lennon, Ono and Jack Douglas, it was the seventh and final studio album released by Lennon during his lifetime. The album ...

''. It was released as a single on 24 October 1980 in the United Kingdom, with

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up i ...

's " Kiss Kiss Kiss" as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

. It reached number one in both the US and UK after Lennon was

murdered Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the c ...

on 8 December 1980. It was Lennon's final single released in his lifetime.

Background

"(Just Like) Starting Over" was the first single released from ''

'' and the first new recording Lennon had released since he left the music industry in 1975. It was chosen by Lennon not because he felt it was the best track on the album, but because it was the most appropriate following his five-year absence from the recording industry. He referred to it during production as the "

Elvis Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

/ Orbison" track, as he "tongue in cheek" impersonated their vocal styles; at the start of the 2010 "Stripped Down" version of the song, Lennon says "this one's for

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, and

Eddie Eddie or Eddy may refer to: Science and technology *Eddy (fluid dynamics), the swirling of a fluid and the reverse current created when the fluid flows past an obstacle * Eddie (text editor), a text editor originally for BeOS and now ported to Lin ...

, and

... and

Buddy Buddy may refer to: People *Buddy (nickname) *Buddy (rapper), real name Simmie Sims III (1993–Present) *Buddy Rogers (wrestler), ring name of American professional wrestler Herman Gustav Rohde, Jr. (1921–1992) *Buddy Boeheim (born 1999), Amer ...

Composition

Although its origins were in unfinished demo compositions like "Don't Be Crazy" and "My Life", it was one of the last songs to be completed in time for the ''Double Fantasy'' sessions. "We didn't hear it until the last day of rehearsal," producer Jack Douglas said in 2005. Lennon finished the song while on holiday in

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, and recorded it at

The Hit Factory The Hit Factory is a recording studio in New York City owned and operated by Troy Germano. History On March 6, 1975, Edward Germano, a singer, record producer, and one of the principal owners of the Record Plant Studios New York, purchased the ...

in New York City just weeks later. The song was originally titled "Starting Over"; however, "(Just Like)" was added prior to its release because of its similarity to

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

's "Starting Over Again" which had topped the US Country Charts earlier in the year. While commercial releases of the song (original 45rpm singles, LPs and Compact Discs) run a length of three minutes and 54 seconds, a promotional 12" vinyl single originally issued to radio stations features a longer fadeout, officially running at four minutes 17 seconds. Musicologist Walter Everett noted melodic similarities between a portion of the song and

the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...

' 1964 single "

Don't Worry Baby "Don't Worry Baby" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their March 1964 album ''Shut Down Volume 2''. Written by Brian Wilson and Roger Christian, Wilson's lead vocal on the track is considered one of his defining performances, ...

Recording

Lennon recorded "(Just Like) Starting Over" on 9 August 1980 at

. The track was mixed at the

Record Plant The Record Plant is a recording studio established in New York City in 1968 and currently operating in Los Angeles, California. Known for innovations in the recording artists' workspace, it has produced highly influential albums, including Blon ...

on 25–26 September 1980.

Release and reception

The song is Lennon's biggest solo hit in the United States, staying at number 1 for five weeks. Before Lennon was shot in New York City on 8 December 1980, the single had reached number 6 on the US charts. It reached number 1 for the week ending 27 December. ''Billboard'' ranked it at the No. 4 song for 1981. The song also reached number 1 on the '' Cashbox'' Top 100. In the UK, it had peaked at number 8 in the charts and had fallen to position number 21 before Lennon's death propelled it to number 1. It was overtaken to the

Christmas Number One Single In the United Kingdom, Christmas number ones are singles that top the UK Singles Chart in the week in which Christmas Day falls. The singles have often been novelty songs, charity songs or songs with a Christmas theme. Historically, the volume ...

rank by the

St Winifred's School Choir St Winifred's School Choir, from St Winifred's Roman Catholic Primary School in Stockport, England, was a choir of children whose single entitled "There's No One Quite Like Grandma" in 1980 became that year's British Christmas number one singl ...

's "

There's No One Quite Like Grandma "There's No One Quite Like Grandma" was a number-one hit in the UK Singles Chart, by the Stockport-based primary school choir St Winifred's School Choir from 21 December 1980 to 3 January 1981. It was written by Gordon Lorenz. The song was a Chr ...

," finishing at

number 2 2 (two) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. It is the smallest and only even prime number. Because it forms the basis of a duality, it has religious and spiritual significance in many cultur ...

on that list. By 6 January 1981, there were three Lennon songs in the UK top 5, a feat that remained unequalled for 35 years when Justin Bieber managed to accomplish this in January 2016. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' magazine considered "(Just Like) Starting Over" to be an "uptempo, fresh sounding rocker," praising the "irresistible melody and lyric line," the "exceptional rhythm unit" as well as Lennon's vocal performance. In 2013, ''Billboard'' ranked it as the 62nd biggest hit of all time on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. On 8 October 2010, in honor of what would have been his 70th birthday the following day,

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

released remastered albums, iTunes LPs, and a free track, the 2010 remix of "(Just Like) Starting Over".

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

Covers

The Flaming Lips The Flaming Lips are an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1983 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The band currently consists of Wayne Coyne (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Steven Drozd (guitars, keyboards, bass, drums, vocals), Derek Brown (keyb ...

recorded a version for the benefit album '' Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur''.

Personnel

– vocals, rhythm guitar *

Earl Slick Earl Slick (born Frank Madeloni in Brooklyn, New York, October 1, 1952) is a guitarist best known for his collaborations with David Bowie, John Lennon, Yoko Ono and Robert Smith. He has also worked with other artists including John Waite, Tim ...

Hugh McCracken Hugh Carmine McCracken (March 31, 1942 – March 28, 2013) was an American rock guitarist and session musician based in New York City, primarily known for his performance on guitar and also as a harmonica player. McCracken was additionally ...

– lead guitar *

Tony Levin Anthony Frederick Levin (born June 6, 1946) is an American musician and composer, specializing in electric bass, Chapman Stick and upright bass. He also sings and plays synthesizer. Levin is best known for his work with King Crimson (since 198 ...

– bass guitar * George Small – keyboards *

Andy Newmark Andrew Newmark (born July 14, 1950)

– drums * Arthur Jenkins – percussion * Michelle Simpson, Cassandra Wooten, Cheryl Manson Jacks, Eric Troyer – backing vocals

References

External links

Just Like Starting Over
The Recording Of ''Double Fantasy'' by

Chris Hunt Chris Hunt is a British journalist, magazine editor, and author.Chris Hunt intervi ...

, published in ''

Uncut Uncut may refer to: * ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship * ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997 * '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...

John Lennon Special'', 2005 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Just Like) Starting Over 1980 singles John Lennon songs UK Singles Chart number-one singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Number-one singles in Australia European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles RPM Top Singles number-one singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Number-one singles in Spain Number-one singles in Switzerland Songs written by John Lennon Song recordings produced by Jack Douglas (record producer) Song recordings produced by John Lennon Song recordings produced by Yoko Ono Geffen Records singles Musical tributes to Elvis Presley 1980 songs