Jealous Guy
| "Jealous Guy" | ||||||||||||
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| Single by John Lennon | ||||||||||||
| from the album Imagine | ||||||||||||
| B-side | "Going Down on Love" | |||||||||||
| Released | 18 November 1985 (UK) | |||||||||||
| Recorded | May and June 1971 | |||||||||||
| Genre | Pop rock | |||||||||||
| Length | 4:14 | |||||||||||
| Label | Parlophone | |||||||||||
| Producer | John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Phil Spector |
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| John Lennon singles chronology | ||||||||||||
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"Jealous Guy" is a song written and performed by John Lennon which first appeared on his 1971 album Imagine. It is one of the most commonly covered Lennon songs, with at least ninety-two recorded cover versions, the most notable being Roxy Music's version, which reached number one in several countries three months after John Lennon's death.
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[edit] Origins
The song's genesis came in India, after The Beatles attended a lecture by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi about a "son of the mother nature". This inspired both Paul McCartney and John Lennon to write songs about the same subject. McCartney's composition "Mother Nature's Son" was selected for The Beatles (The White Album), while Lennon's song "Child of Nature" was not. However, both were demoed at George Harrison's Esher home in May 1968. The demo featured Lennon's double-tracked vocal and playing an acoustic guitar. After that, Lennon continued to play it into the Get Back sessions.[1] Eventually, the lyrics were scrapped and replaced by the now well known "Jealous Guy" lyrics for Imagine.
Three recordings of "Child of Nature" are currently known. The first is a demo of the song recorded at the home of George Harrison in May 1968. The second, on which George sings backing vocals, was recorded at Twickenham Film Studios on 2 January 1969. A third recording was made at Apple Studios on 24 January. A snatch of the chorus from the second recording appears on the Fly on the Wall bonus disc packaged with Let It Be... Naked.[1]
The bass guitar on the song is played by Klaus Voormann, a friend of The Beatles from their Hamburg days.
[edit] The release
"Jealous Guy" was released on the Imagine album in 1971. During Lennon's lifetime, it was not released as a single.
Almost five years after Lennon's murder, and four-and-a-half years after Roxy Music had taken their cover of the song to number one on the UK charts in 1981, John Lennon's recording of "Jealous Guy" was released by Parlophone as a single in November 1985, under catalogue number R-6117. ("Going Down on Love", a track from Walls and Bridges, was the B-side.) Lennon's version of "Jealous Guy" reached number 65 in the charts.[2]
In the United States, the single reached number 80 in the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1988, in conjunction with the release of the film Imagine: John Lennon.[3]
[edit] Personnel
The album track from Imagine was recorded by [4]
- John Lennon (Vocals, acoustic guitar, whistling)
- Nicky Hopkins (Piano)
- John Barham (Harmonium)
- Alan White (Vibraphone)
- Joey Molland (Acoustic guitar)
- Tom Evans (Acoustic guitar)
- Mike Pinder (Tambourine)
- Klaus Voormann (Bass)
- Jim Keltner (Drums)
- The Flux Fiddlers (Strings)
[edit] Promotional video
A promotional video was made for the song in 1971. It showed, mostly in a continuous overhead shot by helicopter, John and Yoko travelling in a hearse from their Tittenhurst Park mansion to a nearby lake, where they were then shown hopping into a rowing boat.
[edit] Roxy Music version
| "Jealous Guy" | ||||
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| Single by Roxy Music | ||||
| B-side | "To Turn You On" | |||
| Released | February 1981 (UK) | |||
| Genre | Pop rock, New Wave | |||
| Length | 6:10 | |||
| Label | Polydor/E.G. | |||
| Producer | Bryan Ferry and Rhett Davies | |||
| Roxy Music singles chronology | ||||
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Following Lennon's death in 1980, Roxy Music added a cover version of the song to their set while touring in Germany, which they recorded and released in March 1981. The single was released by Polydor with "To Turn you on" as the B-side, with catalogue number "ROXY 2". The song was the only UK #1 hit for Roxy Music, topping the charts for two weeks in March 1981.[5] Its B-side, called "To Turn You On", appeared on the 1982 album "Avalon", although it was slightly remixed. [6] "Jealous Guy" featured on the compilation "Bryan Ferry & Roxy Music: The Platinum Collection".
[edit] Other versions
"Jealous Guy" has been covered by musicians including:[7][8]
- Aslan[9] The song served as their first single from the Uncased album.
- Belinda Carlisle (as a B-side to her single "In Too Deep" and on the U.S. version of her 1996 album A Woman and a Man).
- Ben Allison (on his 2008 album "Little Things Run The World").
- The Black Crowes (live version appears as the B-side to the 1990 "Twice As Hard" single)
- Casey James on the ninth season of American Idol
- Collective Soul (for the 1995 tribute album Working Class Hero: A Tribute to John Lennon).
- Curtis Stigers (on his 2009 album "Lost in dreams")
- Deftones (appeared on Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur as an iTunes exclusive bonus track).
- Donny Hathaway (appeared on Live in 1972).
- Elliott Smith (his simple acoustic rendering was a frequent part of his live performances, such as his 1998 Washington DC Black Cat show).
- Enuff Z'Nuff (on their 1997 album "Seven").
- The Faces (on their 1975 live album Coast to Coast: Overture and Beginners).
- Frankie Miller
- Gavin DeGraw
- Jeff Tweedy
- Kevin Hewick
- Liz Gillies article [www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-04-21/lennons-surprising-jealous-guy/]
- Lou Reed of the Velvet Underground, who gave an emotional performance of "Jealous Guy" at the October 2001 Radio City Music Hall New York City show, Come Together: A Night for John Lennon's Words and Music - a tribute to Lennon and the victims of the 11 September attacks.
- Luna (on the "Mr. Jealousy - Music From The Motion Picture" soundtrack).
- Mason Betha
- Peter Criss (of KISS).
- The Shadows (on their 1987 album Simply Shadows)
- Youssou N'Dour (for Amnesty International's 2007 CD benefit release, Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur).
- Jimmy Scott on his 1998 album Holding Back the Years and in the 2002 film Chelsea Walls[10]
- Brendan Bayliss (of Umphrey's McGee) during the 8th Annual Brendan Bayliss & Jake Cinninger Acoustic Holiday Show (2010) at Park West in Chicago [11]
[edit] References
- ^ a b The Beatles Bible: Child Of Nature Retrieved 23 August 2008.
- ^ "Jealous Guy b/w Going Down On Love - John Lennon". http://www.jpgr.co.uk/r6117.html.
- ^ "The Billboard Hot 100-Jealous Guy". http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp?cfi=379&cfgn=Singles&cfn=The+Billboard+Hot+100&ci=3007712&cdi=6382702&cid=10/22/1988.
- ^ John Blaney (2005-06-06). John Lennon. John Blaney. p. 86. ISBN 9780954452810. http://books.google.com/books?id=ZuCZR7MiDA0C&pg=PA84.
- ^ "UK top 40 database". http://www.everyhit.com/.
- ^ To Turn You On (B-side version) on Viva Roxy Music!
- ^ "The Covers Project". http://www.coversproject.com/search?q=Jealous+Guy.
- ^ "Second Hand Songs". http://www.secondhandsongs.com/song/1223.
- ^ "Aslan Official Site - Singles". http://www.aslan.ie/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=26&Itemid=56.
- ^ The New York Times Magazine, "The Ballad of Little Jimmy Scott" By Joseph Hooper, 27 August 2000
- ^ http://www.ohkeepahblog.com/2010/12/setlist-jake-and-brendans-8th-annual.html
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| Preceded by "Shaddap You Face" by Joe Dolce Music Theatre |
UK number-one single (Roxy Music version) 14 March 1981 – 21 March 1981 |
Succeeded by "This Ole House" by Shakin' Stevens |
| Preceded by "9 to 5 (Morning Train)" by Sheena Easton |
Australian Kent Music Report number-one single (Roxy Music version) 11 May 1981 – 1 June 1981 |
