"Too Late for Goodbyes" is the first single (second in the U.S.) from

Julian Lennon Julian Charles John Lennon (born John Charles Julian Lennon; 8 April 1963) is an English musician. He is the son of Beatles member John Lennon and his first wife, Cynthia, and he is named after his paternal grandmother, Julia Lennon. Julian in ...

's 1984 album ''

Valotte ''Valotte'' is the debut studio album by singer-songwriter Julian Lennon. The album was produced by Phil Ramone and recorded at several studios from February to August 1984. It was released in October 1984 on Charisma and Atlantic. The album was f ...

''. It featured the

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

of Jean "Toots" Thielemans, and it was a top-10 hit, reaching No. 6 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in November 1984,Julian Lennon's UK chart positions
''Chart Stats.'' Retrieved 9 July 2010. and No. 5 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart in late March 1985." Billboard chart history for Too Late for Goodbyes ''Billboard.com.'' Retrieved 9 July 2010. B-side "Big Mama" has been described by Lennon as "semi-

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

". ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' said that "a galloping

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

backbeat In music and music theory, the beat is the basic unit of time, the pulse (regularly repeating event), of the ''mensural level'' (or ''beat level''). The beat is often defined as the rhythm listeners would tap their toes to when listening to a p ...

and some exquisite

Muscle Shoals Muscle Shoals is the largest city in Colbert County, Alabama, Colbert County, Alabama, United States. It is located along the Tennessee River in the northern part of the state and, as of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the populati ...

guitar work back up Lennon’s spare lyric phrasing and lend the song a strong ride." "Too Late for Goodbyes" peaked at #1 on 16 March 1985 at the U.S.

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

chart, spending two weeks at the top of this chart. The music video for the song was directed by

Sam Peckinpah David Samuel Peckinpah (; February 21, 1925 – December 28, 1984) was an American film director and screenwriter. His 1969 Western epic ''The Wild Bunch'' received an Academy Award nomination and was ranked No. 80 on the American Film Institute ...

, and produced by Martin Lewis. To date, it is the most successful song of Lennon's career. This song was dedicated to Julian's late father

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 ...

, who was killed in 1980, though Julian Lennon has stated that the song was not about his relationship with his father, but was instead about a woman.

Track listing

;UK 7" single (

Charisma Charisma () is a personal quality of presence or charm that compels its subjects. Scholars in sociology, political science, psychology, and management reserve the term for a type of leadership seen as extraordinary; in these fields, the term "ch ...

JL1) #"Too Late for Goodbyes" – 3:30 #"Well I Don't Know" – 4:35 ;US 7" single (

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

7-89589) #"Too Late for Goodbyes" – 3:30 #"Let Me Be" – 2:12 ;UK 12" single (Charisma JL112) #"Too Late for Goodbyes" – 3:30 #"Big Mama" – 3:16 #"Well I Don't Know" – 4:35 ;US 12" single (

0-86899) #"Too Late for Goodbyes (Extended Special Mix)" – 5:55 #"Too Late for Goodbyes" – 3:30 #"Let Me Be" – 2:12

Musicians

– lead vocals and backing vocals, synthesizers, electronic drums and drum machine *

Barry Beckett Barry Edward Beckett (February 4, 1943 – June 10, 2009) was an American keyboardist, session musician, record producer, and studio founder. He is best known for his work with David Hood, Jimmy Johnson, and Roger Hawkins, his bandmates in th ...

– synthesizer *

Justin Clayton Justin Clayton is an English guitarist and singer. He is the lead guitarist for his friend Julian Lennon's band on most of Lennon's albums. In 1999 Justin Clayton released his own solo album ''Limb'' produced by Marty Willson-Piper Marty Wil ...

– rhythm guitar *

Martin Briley Martin Steven Briley (born 1950) is an English singer-songwriter, guitarist and keyboardist. He was born in London and has recorded with and written for a variety of well-known musicians, as well as releasing several solo albums. Music career B ...

– rhythm guitar *

Marcus Miller William Henry Marcus Miller Jr. (born June 14, 1959) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his work as a bassist. He has worked with trumpeter Miles Davis, pianist Herbie Hancock, singer Luther Vandros ...

– bass *

Toots Thielemans Jean-Baptiste Frédéric Isidor, Baron Thielemans (29 April 1922 – 22 August 2016), known professionally as Toots Thielemans, was a Belgian jazz musician. He was mostly known for his chromatic harmonica playing, as well as his guitar and whistl ...

– harmonica

In popular culture

* The song is featured in the video game ''

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'' on the in-game radio station,

Los Santos Rock Radio The music for the 2013 Action-adventure game, action-adventure video game ''Grand Theft Auto V'', developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games, was composed by The Alchemist (record producer), The Alchemist, Oh No (musician), Oh No ...

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

* {{Authority control Julian Lennon songs 1984 debut singles 1985 singles Song recordings produced by Phil Ramone Songs written by Julian Lennon 1984 songs Chrysalis Records singles Atlantic Records singles Charisma Records singles