In 1974, Elton John joined the company of musicians to cover Beatles songs when he released his rendition of “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds”. Featuring John Lennon on guitar and backing vocals under the pseudonym Dr. Winston O’Boogie, the cover went on to peak at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Given the prestige of The Beatles’ music, some people liked the cover, and others thought the song would have been better off if it had been left untouched. Per the chart history, it seems the majority of folks disagreed with the latter, including John Lennon.
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Voicing his affinity for the song, John Lennon told Spin, “I love it. I was thrilled he [Elton] was doing it.” Recalling how John asked him, he stated, “Elton asked me to play on ‘Lucy.’ He said, ‘I’m gonna do this song. I’d love it if you came and played.’ He was too shy to ask me. He got a friend that we both have to ask me … And I said, ‘Sure I’ll come.’ So I went to play and sang chorus or some garbage.”
In light of his love for John’s cover, Lennon questioned why more artists didn’t cover Beatles music despite the fact that they seemingly wanted to. Lennon’s response is on par with what we previously said regarding the prestige of Beatles songs. Through a certain lens, if one covers a Beatles song, they have to do it justice, get it perfect. John Lennon thought that perspective was complete and utter hogwash.
John Lennon Detested the Stigma Surrounding his Catalog
Concerning why more musicians didn’t cover Beatles music, Lennon divulged, “People are afraid of Beatle music. They are still afraid of my songs. Because they got that big image thing: You can’t do a Beatle number … You can’t touch a Lennon song; only Lennon can do it… It’s garbage!”
“Anybody can do anything. A few people in the past have done Beatle songs. But in general they feel you can’t touch them. And there are so many good singles that the Beatles wrote that were never released. Why don’t people do them? It’s good for me; it’s good for Paul. It’s good for all of us,” he added.
As of now, the most notable Beatles covers are by John, Joe Cocker, Nina Simone, Wilson Pickett, and Jimi Hendrix. However, as you’ve probably already noticed, those were all recorded in the 20th century. That being so, why haven’t more musicians taken on the challenge and indulged their wishes by covering one of these classics? Is it for the reason Lennon mentioned, the price tag, or something else?
Photo by Bela Zola/Mirrorpix/Mirrorpix via Getty Images
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