Ballad of John and Yoko – Beatles

Chart Position: 8

• Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney
• Lead vocals: John Lennon
• Guitar: John Lennon
• Backing vocals: Paul McCartney
• Produced by  George Martin
• Recorded in London U.K.
• Beatles George Harrison and Ringo Starr were not available to take part in this recording
• The song references a number of activities newlyweds John Lennon and  Yoko Ono were involved in at the time including ‘Acorns for Peace’ and a Bed-In for Peace
• The song mentions Beatles aide Peter Brown by name; he later wrote a tell-all book about The Beatles
• Many U.S. radio stations refused to play this song because of its references to Christ and crucifixion
• This was Beatles’ last #1 single in the U.K.
• The outro guitar riff played by John Lennon is taken from Dorsey and Johnny Burnette’s ‘Lonesome Tears in My Eyes’