{"id":1194772,"date":"2026-09-09T08:48:28","date_gmt":"2026-09-09T08:48:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1194772\/"},"modified":"2026-09-09T08:48:28","modified_gmt":"2026-09-09T08:48:28","slug":"the-song-john-lennon-was-afraid-to-record-as-his-own","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1194772\/","title":{"rendered":"The song John Lennon was afraid to record as his own"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"John<\/p>\n

Credit: Far Out \/ Tony Barnard \/ Los Angeles Times \/ UCLA Library<\/p>\n

Tue 8 September 2026 15:41, UK <\/p>\n

A prolific songwriter, John Lennon<\/a> seemed too big to fail by 1973. Having left The Beatles firmly established as one of his generation\u2019s best pop music craftsmen, he then provided a more avant-garde outlook through his solo work. <\/p>\n

Alongside the Plastic Ono band, Lennon would create brand new and inspiring soundscapes for a post-pop generation no longer willing to listen to songs about long-lost loves and dancehall dalliances.<\/p>\n

Whether he was exploring the myths of Oedipus and his own issues with his parentage in \u2018Mother\u2019<\/a> or simply demanding a better world with \u2018Imagine\u2019, it appeared as if nothing frightened Lennon when it came to songwriting. However, there was always one part of Lennon that would hold him back from fully exposing himself.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s true that, by 1973, Lennon had been placed under FBI investigation<\/a> and, having endured the notable scares of Beatlemania, seemed to be more battle-hardened by fame than most. However, the one area that Lennon never felt strong enough to take on was his own reputation. It led to him writing a classic hit for Ringo Starr.<\/p>\n

It might feel strange to think about Lennon, a self-professed working class hero as being in any way shy or retiring. The busy mind of Lennon had, from a very young age, sought to rebel against any notion of labelling him anything other than the genius he saw himself as<\/a>, so to be stricken with inaction when accosted by his own reputation is a curious thing. But, for the most part, Lennon was scared of losing the pedestal he had created. <\/p>\n

\"Ringo<\/a>Credit: Alamy<\/p>\n

Even during The Beatles fame, Lennon\u2019s self-image was that of a rocker and so shied away from the more personal lullabies that the band were capable of delivering, instead handing them along to other members of the band. And that didn\u2019t stop when his work with group did. <\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019m The Greatest\u2019 was a track inspired by the wondrous boxer and cultural icon Muhammad Ali. Famed for his notable hubris, Ali devastated his opponents with a series of lightning-quick jabs and powerful hooks, a collection of hits only matched by his impeccable wit and willingness to proclaim himself the victor before the bell had rung. Such a showman was obviously rich pickings for Lennon, who, with The Beatles, had previously met the celebrated sportsman.<\/a><\/p>\n

Further reading: From The Vault<\/strong><\/p>\n

With the boxer\u2019s unique attitude as the basis for the song, Lennon set about writing a track that was deliberately meant to replicate his braggadocio attitude. However, upon finishing the tune, Lennon became worried that if he had taken it to the studio and released it onto the airwaves, the distinctive tongue-in-cheek tone he had added would not be recognised by an audience desperate to bring him down a peg or two.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the Muhammad Ali line, you know,\u201d Lennon explained to David Sheff in his legendary interview from 1980. \u201cI couldn\u2019t sing it, but it was perfect for Ringo. He could say \u2018I\u2019m the greatest\u2019 and people wouldn\u2019t get upset. Whereas if I said \u2018I\u2019m the greatest,\u2019 they\u2019d all take it so seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n

Originally written by Lennon in 1970, the song would eventually end up on Ringo Starr\u2019s 1973 album Ringo and feature three of The Beatles on the recording. Lennon would write some lyrics and contribute to the arrangement of the song, while George Harrison, who was in LA at the time, would also provide some guitar for the tune.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not the only time Lennon has passed on a song to Ringo Starr. \u2018Good Night\u2019 from the 1968 self-titled album<\/a> was another moment of Lennon passing his song to Starr. Lennon told David Sheff in 1980: \u201c\u2018Good Night\u2019 was written for Julian, the way \u2018Beautiful Boy\u2019 was written for Sean\u2026 but given to Ringo and possibly overlush.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody thinks Paul wrote \u2018Good Night\u2019 for me to sing, but it was John who wrote it for me. He\u2019s got a lot of soul, John has,\u201d commented Starr. McCartney believed that the track may have tarnished Lennon\u2019s rock and roll reputation: \u201cI think John felt it might not be good for his image for him to sing it, but it was fabulous to hear him do it; he sang it great,\u201d said Macca remembering one of the early sessions of the track back in 1964.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe heard him sing it in order to teach it to Ringo, and he sang it very tenderly,\u201d he added. \u201cJohn rarely showed his tender side, but my key memories of John are when he was tender; that\u2019s what has remained with me\u2014 those moments where he showed himself to be a very generous, loving person.\u201d<\/p>\n

Listen below to Ringo Starr singing the song John Lennon was to afraid to record for himself, \u2018I\u2019m The Greatest\u2019.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

ADD AS A PREFERRED SOURCE ON GOOGLE \"\"\/ <\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Credit: Far Out \/ Tony Barnard \/ Los Angeles Times \/ UCLA Library Tue 8 September 2026 15:41,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":660741,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3936],"tags":[91533,259729,77,8345,269,20686,16,15],"class_list":["post-1194772","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-1970s","tag-259729","tag-entertainment","tag-john-lennon","tag-music","tag-ringo-starr","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1194772","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1194772"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1194772\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/660741"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1194772"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1194772"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1194772"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}