John Lennon Was “Self-Conscious” of Imitating This Blues Legend’s Vocal Style

Despite the bravado they might adopt on stage or in the studio, many artists are often deeply insecure or self-conscious about some elements of their creative work, and John Lennon’s fear of imitating this blues legend’s vocal style is certainly no exception. Even in a song that Lennon wrote as a satirical parody, the musician was still worried about parroting those who came before him.

But in typical John Lennon fashion, you would have never guessed it listening to the record.

John Lennon Was Self-Conscious About Imitating This Blues Legend Too Closely

History often repeats itself, and so does music. From Elvis Presley to Led Zeppelin to the Beatles, many of the most notable rock ‘n’ roll acts of the mid-20th century were taking strong, sometimes verbatim, musical cues from blues and R&B artists that came before them. John Lennon’s “Yer Blues,” which the Beatles featured on their 1968 eponymous “White Album,” was meant to directly parody the blues’ surge in popularity in England around that time.

“We all were a bit self-conscious,” Lennon revealed in a 1971 interview with Rolling Stone. “The Beatles were super self-conscious people about parody of Americans, which we do and have done. I know we developed our own style, but we still, in a way, parodied American music. There was a self-consciousness about singing blues. We were all listening to Sleepy John Estes and all that in art school, like everybody else. But to sing it was something else. I’m self-conscious about doing it.”

“I think [Bob] Dylan does it well, you know,” Lennon continued. “In case he’s not sure of himself, he makes it double entendre. So, therefore, he is secure in his Hipness. Paul was saying, ‘Don’t call it “Yer Blues,” just say it straight. But I was self-conscious, and I went for “Yer Blues.” I think all that has passed now, because all the musicians…we’ve all gotten over it. That’s self-consciousness.”

The Beatle Wasn’t Just Insecure About Being Caught Parroting Others

From the song’s title to his vocal delivery to the track’s stereotypical blues progression and arrangement, John Lennon’s decision to lean into the generalizations presented in “Yer Blues” was, ironically, a way to protect himself from critique. If he made his blues track as stereotypically “bluesy” as possible, then it was satire. It was above reproach of imitation or mimicry because such is the essence of parody.

However, Lennon’s insecurities about imitating blues legend Sleepy John Estes went deeper than his artistic dedication to individuality. On a much broader level, Lennon was always a little insecure about his vocal abilities. During a 2020 BBC2 interview, Paul McCartney and Lennon’s son, Sean Ono Lennon, discussed the late musician’s self-conscious tendencies. Sean pressed McCartney on stories of his father purposefully burying his vocals in the mix, and so on.

“It’s just funny that he had these sort of insecurities, although he also came across as very confident, didn’t he?” Sean asked. “Yeah, exactly. Confidence was the shield,” McCartney replied. “I’d learned that early on was that if you have difficulties in your life, it can kind of go two ways. You can just lie down and give up, or you can put a shield up, and you can guard yourself from the world in that way. So, the minute I met John, I knew that was what was going on, that he had this wit that would guard him from that.”

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