The Beatles boast an official catalogue of 213 songs released between 1962 until their split in 1970, including 188 originals and 25 covers, making them the most successful band in music history.
The iconic Liverpool quartet, consisting of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, were all the rage during their eight-year stint thanks to a series of songs written by Lennon and McCartney, though of course Harrison and Starr also contributed classics including ‘Here Comes The Sun’ and ‘Octopus’s Garden’ respectively.
Even today, The Beatles’ songs resonate as strongly as they did during the height of 60s Beatlemania. Devoted followers of the Fab Four have recently taken to Reddit to discuss tracks that featured no involvement from Lennon, who was tragically shot and killed at the age of 40 by Mark David Chapman in New York City in 1980.
A curious fan of the Fab Four on TheBeatles subreddit sparked the conversation by asking: “Which Beatles songs did John Lennon NOT perform on?” In the ensuing discussion, several users pointed out that two of McCartney’s legendary singles, ‘Blackbird’ and ‘Yesterday’, were created without any contribution from Lennon.
One enthusiast remarked, “Yesterday was the song Lennon always wished he had written,” adding an anecdote about Lennon’s reaction to his own hit ‘Imagine’: “Apparently, right after he [Lennon] came up with ‘Imagine’, he asked someone if it was as good as ‘Yesterday’. The response was that the two were impossible to compare. Lennon responded ‘you’ll see, it’s just as good as Yesterday’.”
Several fans pointed to ‘Mother Nature’s Son’, from The White Album in 1968, as another song McCartney penned and recorded solo, despite Lennon being co-credited. Meanwhile, a handful of other tracks from The White Album also lacked Lennon’s musical touch – ‘Good Night’, ‘Wild Honey Pie’, ‘Martha My Dear’ and ‘I Will’.
Interestingly, ‘Good Night’ – sung by Starr – was actually written by Lennon as a lullaby, but he didn’t participate in its studio recording at the time. Outside of The White Album, Abbey Road’s ‘Her Majesty’ is a McCartney interlude, with no contribution from his regular songwriting partner.
Meanwhile, another Reddit user highlighted Lennon’s absence on Harrison’s compositions. In addition to the aforementioned ‘Here Comes The Sun’, they listed: “Long Long Long, Savoy Truffle, The Inner Light, Within You Without You, I Me Mine, Love You To and Old Brown Shoe.”
They also noted the McCartney-penned, ‘Maxwell’s Silver Hammer’, ‘For No One’ and ‘Golden Slumbers’, as well as Starr’s ‘Don’t Pass Me By’ as other alternatives.
Beatles songs that don’t feature John Lennon
- Yesterday
- Blackbird
- Mother Nature’s Son
- Good Night
- Wild Honey Pie
- Martha My Dear
- I Will
- Good Night
- Here Comes The Sun
- Long Long Long
- Savoy Truffle
- The Inner Light
- Within You Without You
- I Me Mine
- Love You To
- Old Brown Shoe
- Maxwell’s Silver Hammer
- For No One
- Golden Slumbers
- Don’t Pass Me By
Despite continuing to release music until 1970, The Beatles’ last live concert took place at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park on August 29, 1966. However, the band did perform together on January 30, 1969, on the rooftop of their Apple Corps headquarters at 3 Savile Row in central London.
They played a 42-minute set until Metropolitan Police officers arrived, insisting they lower the volume as a crowd gathered at the base of the building.