On This Day in 1969, John Lennon Recorded a Peace Anthem He Later Regretted Giving Paul McCartney Writing Credit On

On June 1, 1969, John Lennon and Yoko Ono recorded the anti-war tune “Give Peace A Chance”. The song would be officially released a few days later, but the scenario surrounding the recording of the song is quite interesting. And if you’re a diehard Lennon fan, you probably know the story quite well. 

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Though the song itself is an uplifting tune against violence, some listeners found the song (as well as its recording process) to be in poor taste.

The Story Behind the Recording of “Give Peace a Chance”

“Give Peace A Chance” was originally written by John Lennon alone, though it was credited to Lennon–McCartney. The tune was written while Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, staged their famous “bed-in” honeymoon in Montreal, Canada. This, specifically, is where the controversy comes in.

The title of the song came from a phrase that Lennon would say when asked by reporters what the purpose of the bed-in was: “Just give peace a chance.” Fans of Lennon thought that the stunt, which involved the pair simply sitting in bed on two separate occasions for about a week at a time, was a solid nonviolent protest against the Vietnam War. Many critics at the time called the song that came from the stunt “clever.”

Others, however, thought that stunt was in poor taste. That’s understandable to a degree. The newlywed celebrities were famous, rich, and more or less above the negative effects of war. It was a tone-deaf show of privilege to some, as the pair had the luxury of simply sitting in bed in a hotel room as a form of protest. Regardless, the song was quite well-received upon its release. 

“Give Peace A Chance” was recorded on this day in 1969, the final day of the couple’s bed-in protest. The final bed-in was staged at Queen Elizabeth Hotel, owned by one André Perry, who also owned a recording studio. 

Perry brought a barebones recording setup with him to the couple’s room. They recorded the song with dozens of journalists and famous individuals in attendance. Timothy Leary, Allen Ginsberg, and a few others attended the live recording. 

Tommy Smothers of The Smothers Brothers provided an additional acoustic guitar track in addition to Lennon’s guitar. Later, several backing vocal tracks were added to the song, which would be released in the UK on July 4.

Lennon would later say that he regretted giving Paul McCartney a co-writing credit on the song, as Yoko Ono “had actually written it with [him].”

Photo by Susan Wood/Getty Images

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