"Power to the People" is a song written 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 ...

, released as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

in 1971, credited to John Lennon/

Plastic Ono Band The Plastic Ono Band was a rock band formed by John Lennon and Yoko Ono in 1969 for their collaborative and solo projects based on their 1968 Fluxus conceptual art project of the same name. Lennon and Ono began a personal and artistic relati ...

. It was issued on

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 Mar ...

(catalogue number R5892 in the United Kingdom, 1830 in the United States) and in the US peaked at number 11 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number 10 on the '' Cashbox'' Top 100. It also charted at number 6 on the

British 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 ...

. The song's first appearance on album was the 1975 compilation ''

Shaved Fish ''Shaved Fish'' is a compilation album by English rock musician John Lennon with the Plastic Ono Band, issued in October 1975 on Apple Records. It contains all of the single (music), singles that he had issued up to that point in the United State ...

''. The song was used as a campaign theme song for the

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

and the

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

U.S. presidential campaigns of

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...

Writing and recording

"Power to the People" was recorded at

Ascot Sound Studios Tittenhurst Park is a Listed building#Categories of listed building, Grade II listed early Georgian architecture, Georgian English country house, country house set in off London Road at Beggar's Bush near Ascot, Berkshire, Ascot and over the ...

on 15 February 1971, during sessions that would produce songs for Lennon's ''

Imagine Imagine may refer to: * Imagination Music Albums * ''Imagine'' (Armin van Buuren album), 2008 * ''Imagine'' (Eva Cassidy album), 2002 * ''Imagine'' (Janice Vidal album), 2012 * ''Imagine'' (John Lennon album), 1971 ** ''Imagine: John Lennon' ...

'' album. The single was released on 12 March 1971 in the UK and 22 March 1971 in the US (although some sources give the British release as 8 March). The song was written by Lennon in response to an interview he gave to

Tariq Ali Tariq Ali (; born 21 October 1943) is a Pakistani-British political activist, writer, journalist, historian, filmmaker, and public intellectual. He is a member of the editorial committee of the ''New Left Review'' and ''Sin Permiso'', and con ...

and

Robin Blackburn Robin Blackburn (born 1940) is a British historian, a former editor of ''New Left Review'' (1981–1999), and emeritus professor in the department of sociology at Essex University. Background Blackburn was educated at Hurstpierpoint College, Ox ...

, published in '' Red Mole'' (8–22 March 1971). As Lennon explained: "I just felt inspired by what they said, although a lot of it is gobbledygook. So I wrote 'Power to the People' the same way I wrote '

Give Peace a Chance "Give Peace a Chance" is an anti-war song written by John Lennon (originally credited to Lennon–McCartney), and recorded with the participation of a small group of friends in a performance with Yoko Ono in a hotel room in Montreal, Quebec, Ca ...

,' as something for the people to sing. I make singles like

broadsheets A broadsheet is the largest newspaper format and is characterized by long vertical pages, typically of . Other common newspaper formats include the smaller Berliner and tabloid–compact formats. Description Many broadsheets measure roughly ...

. It was another quickie, done at Ascot." It entered the charts on 20 March 1971, and remained there for nine weeks. It was Lennon's fifth solo single, the Plastic Ono Band on this occasion comprising Lennon,

Bobby Keys Robert Henry Keys (December 18, 1943 – December 2, 2014) was an American saxophonist who performed with other musicians as a member of several horn sections of the 1970s. He appears on albums by the Rolling Stones, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Harry Ni ...

and

Billy Preston William Everett Preston (September 2, 1946 – June 6, 2006) was an American keyboardist, singer and songwriter whose work encompassed R&B, rock, soul, funk, and gospel. Preston was a top session keyboardist in the 1960s, during which he ba ...

in addition to regulars

Klaus Voormann Klaus Otto Wilhelm Voormann (born 29 April 1938) is a German artist, musician, and record producer. Voormann was the bassist for Manfred Mann from 1966 to 1969, and performed as a session musician on a host of recordings, including "You're So V ...

and Alan White. Backing vocals were supplied by

Rosetta Hightower Rosetta Jeanette Hightower (23 June 1944 – 2 August 2014) was an American singer and the lead singer of the 1960s girl group The Orlons. She was born in Philadelphia. As lead singer of The Orlons, the Orlons recorded several Top 10 U.S. hits ...

and "44 others". The singers also stomped their feet to make it sound more like a political rally.

Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (born Harvey Philip Spector; December 26, 1939January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by ...

, Lennon and

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 ...

were credited as producers. Lennon's regard for the song changed during the 1970s. In ''

Skywriting by Word of Mouth ''Skywriting by Word of Mouth, and Other Writings Including the Ballad of John and Yoko'', is the third, and last, book written by English musician John Lennon. It was published posthumously in 1986 and included an afterword by Lennon's widow, ...

'', he called the song "rather embarrassing" and supported

Hunter S. Thompson Hunter Stockton Thompson (July 18, 1937 – February 20, 2005) was an American journalist and author who founded the gonzo journalism movement. He rose to prominence with the publication of '' Hell's Angels'' (1967), a book for which he s ...

's claim that the anthem was "ten years too late". In 1980, he stated that the song "didn't really come off" as it had been "written in the state of being asleep and wanting to be loved by Tariq Ali and his ilk". ''Ultimate Classic Rock'' critic Nick DeRiso rated it as Lennon's 6th greatest solo political song, calling it "one of Lennon's funkiest and hardest-hitting musical achievements."

Cover versions and references

The Minus 5 The Minus 5 is an American pop rock band headed by musician Scott McCaughey of Young Fresh Fellows, often in partnership with R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck. Band history McCaughey formed the band in 1993 as a side project with Buck, Jon Auer and ...

recorded a version of "Power to the People" for the 1995 tribute album '' Working Class Hero: A Tribute to John Lennon''. In 2000,

Eric Burdon Eric Victor Burdon (born 11 May 1941) is an English singer. He was previously the lead vocalist of R&B and rock band the Animals and funk band War. He is regarded as one of the British Invasion's most distinctive singers with his deep, powe ...

and

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...

recorded the song for ''

Steal This Movie! ''Steal This Movie!'' is a 2000 American biographical film directed by Robert Greenwald and written by Bruce Graham, based on the 1976 book '' To America with Love: Letters From the Underground'' by Anita and Abbie Hoffman and 1992 book '' Abbie ...

'', a film about

Abbie Hoffman Abbot Howard "Abbie" Hoffman (November 30, 1936 – April 12, 1989) was an American political and social activist who co-founded the Youth International Party ("Yippies") and was a member of the Chicago Seven. He was also a leading proponen ...

. The song has been used as a theme song of the

and

US presidential campaigns of

Personnel

The musicians who performed on "Power to the People" were as follows:''Imagine: The Ultimate Edition'' *

- vocals, electric guitar, piano *

- bass guitar *

- piano, keyboards *

- saxophone * Jim Gordon - drums *

and others - backing vocals

Chart history

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{Authority control John Lennon songs Eric Burdon songs Apple Records singles Song recordings produced by Phil Spector 1971 singles Protest songs Songs written by John Lennon Song recordings produced by John Lennon Song recordings produced by Yoko Ono Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign Bernie Sanders 2020 presidential campaign Plastic Ono Band songs