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Alongside his songwriting partner Paul McCartney, John Lennon revolutionised rock ‘n’ roll in the 1960s. Following their first few albums, which leant on the crutch of R&B covers and instrumentally derivative tracks usually accompanied by lovelorn lyrics, The Beatles brought colour to a grey post-war climate as one of the leading figures in the psychedelic rock movement.

Before this groundbreaking fusion of avant-garde experimentalism and accessibility, Lennon and McCartney had been inspired by early rock progenitors from America, including Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly, the last of whom partly inspired the name of Lennon’s first band, The Quarrymen.

In the book The Life and Times of Little Richard: The Authorised Biography, Lennon is quoted reflecting on the essential influence of Presley and Little Richard. “Elvis was bigger than religion in my life,” Lennon explained. “Then this boy at school said he’d got this record by somebody called Little Richard who was better than Elvis — we used to go to this boy’s house after school and listen to Elvis on 78s: we’d buy five ciggies loose and some chips and go along.”

Lennon recalled being blown away when he first listened to Richard’s energetic verse. The 1956 single ‘Long Tall Sally’ was his first experience with the American star. “The new record was Little Richard’s ‘Long Tall Sally’,” he recalled. “When I heard it, it was so great I couldn’t speak.”

The Beatle was so gobsmacked by Richard’s energetic piano-driven style that he questioned his allegiance to Presley. “You know how you are torn,” he said. “I didn’t want to leave Elvis, but this was so much better. We all looked at each other, but I didn’t want to say anything against Elvis, even in my mind. How could they both be happening in my life?”

The songs John Lennon aspired to with The Beatles:
In 1968, Lennon confessed that he still hadn’t created a song as good as some of his favourites by his early rock heroes. “I’d like to make a record like [Richie Barrett’s] ‘Some Other Guy,’” Lennon told Rolling Stone reporter Jonathan Cott. “I haven’t done one that satisfies me as much as that satisfied me. Or [Gene Vincent’s] ‘Be-Bop-A-Lula’ or [Elvis’] ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ or [Little Richard’s] ‘Good Golly, Miss Molly’ or [Jerry Lee Lewis’] ‘Whole Lot of Shakin’.’ I’m not being modest. I mean, we’re still trying it.”

*‘Whole Lot of Shakin’ Going On’ – Jerry Lee Lewis
*‘Good Golly, Miss Molly’ – Little Richard
*‘Heartbreak Hotel’ – Elvis Presley
*‘Some Other Guy’ – Richie Barrett
*‘Be-Bop-A-Lula’ – Gene Vincent

John Lennon on Paul McCartney’s best song:

Although Lennon and McCartney worked together to finalise most of their Beatles compositions, most songs were predominantly conceived by one or the other. On several occasions after The Betales’ acrimonious breakup, Lennon spoke fondly of McCartney’s songwriting talent.

Speaking to Hit Parader in 1972, Lennon picked out ‘Hey Jude’ as his favourite McCartney song. “That’s his best song,” he asserted. “It started off as a song about my son Julian because Paul was going to see him. Then he turned it into ‘Hey Jude.’ I always thought it was about me and Yoko, but he said it was about him and his.”

On another occasion, Lennon wore his jealousy on his sleeve when discussing McCartney’s best Abbey Road contribution, ‘Oh! Darling’. “I should have written that song,” Lennon said, “it sounds like a song I’d write.”

*‘Hey Jude’ – The Beatles (Paul McCartney)
*‘Oh! Darling’ – The Beatles (Paul McCartney)

John Lennon throughout the 1970s…

Throughout the 1970s, Lennon remained loyal to classic rock but managed to enjoy some of the fruits of the punk wave. “I love all this punky stuff. It’s pure. I’m not, however, crazy about the people who destroy themselves,” he told Playboy in 1980. Lennon was particularly fond of the refinement accomplished in the immediate post-punk era by groups such as The B-52s and Blondie.

“My father had an old Wurlitzer in the game room of our house on Long Island. It was filled with 45s, mostly Elvis and The Everly Brothers,” Sean Ono Lennon recalled while speaking to Rolling Stone in 2006. “The one modern song I remember him listening to was ‘The Tide Is High’ by Blondie, which he played constantly. When I hear that song, I see my father, unshaven, his hair pulled back into a ponytail, dancing to and fro in a worn-out pair of denim shorts, with me at his feet, trying my best to coordinate tiny limbs.”

Lennon was also a big fan of Blondie’s 1979 single ‘Heart of Glass’. After hearing the song for the first time, he sent a postcard to Ringo Starr, in which he wrote, “Blondie’s ‘Heart Of Glass’ is the type of stuff y’all should do – Great + Simple.”

Before his tragic death in December 1980, the former Beatle also sang the praises of Georgia’s new wave heroes, The B-52s. He particularly enjoyed the band’s eponymous debut album of 1978, singling out the zany lead single ‘Rock Lobster’ as a favourite.

Lennon heard The B-52s for the first time in Bermuda, where he was working on the songs for his final album, Double Fantasy. “I was at a dance club one night in Bermuda,” Lennon said in an interview with Rolling Stone recorded on December 5th, 1980, just three days before his death. “Upstairs, they were playing disco, and downstairs, I suddenly heard ‘Rock Lobster’ by The B-52s for the first time. Do you know it? It sounds just like Yoko’s music.”

“I said to myself, ‘It’s time to get out the old axe and wake the wife up,” Lennon added, citing ‘Rock Lobster’ as one of the main inspirations behind his return to the studio in the late 1980s.

*‘Rock Lobster’ – The B-52s
*‘Heart Of Glass’ – Blondie
*‘The Tide Is High’ – Blondie

Below, we list a few more songs John Lennon named as favourites across his various interviews. If you like what you see, you can follow our Spotify playlist, too.

John Lennon’s favourite songs: