Lennon Legend: The Very Best of John Lennon
Encyclopedia
Lennon Legend: The Very Best of John Lennon is the third official compilation album
of John Lennon
's solo career, coming after 1975's Shaved Fish
and 1982's The John Lennon Collection
. Because neither collection spanned Lennon's releases up to and including 1984's Milk and Honey, Lennon Legend: The Very Best of John Lennon - considered the definitive Lennon retrospective - was compiled to rectify the situation. It was released in the UK in 1997 through Parlophone
and early 1998 in the US by EMI Records
.
Lennon Legend: The Very Best of John Lennon peaked at #3 on the UK Albums Chart and certified 2x Platinum by the BPI in May 1998. The album has also certified Platinum in the US and Canada as of December 2008. In the history of Japanese Oricon chart, Lennon Legend has been one of the longest charting albums that failed to reach top 40, selling more than 190,000 copies up to late 2006.
The album re-entered the UK Chart on 18 June 2007, almost ten years after its release, at #30. The album also appeared in a commercial for Apple's iPod touch
.
Same titled DVD was also released in 2003 as a series of remastered, remixed & new music videos with Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound audio mixes (See Lennon Legend: The Very Best of John Lennon DVD
).
, except where noted.
1. US single version, issued in December 1970, for the first time released on CD.
2. Originally credited to Lennon/McCartney
, the credit was revised in the 1990s to cite only Lennon as its composer.
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
of John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
's solo career, coming after 1975's Shaved Fish
Shaved Fish
The year the album was released, a Creem magazine reader's poll included it among the top five "Best Reissues" of 1975, placing fourth, behind two Rolling Stones compilations, Made in the Shade and Metamorphosis, and The Basement Tapes....
and 1982's The John Lennon Collection
The John Lennon Collection
The John Lennon Collection is a retrospective compilation album of music from John Lennon's 1970s solo career. The album was released on vinyl in 1982 by Parlophone through EMI, and by Geffen Records in the United States, later being remastered and released on CD in 1989. It was the first Lennon...
. Because neither collection spanned Lennon's releases up to and including 1984's Milk and Honey, Lennon Legend: The Very Best of John Lennon - considered the definitive Lennon retrospective - was compiled to rectify the situation. It was released in the UK in 1997 through Parlophone
Parlophone
Parlophone is a record label that was founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch was formed in 1923 as "Parlophone" which developed a reputation in the 1920s as a leading jazz label. It was acquired in 1927 by the Columbia Graphophone Company which...
and early 1998 in the US by EMI Records
EMI Records
EMI Records is the flagship record label founded by the EMI company in 1972 and launched in January 1973 as the successor to its Columbia label. The EMI label was launched worldwide...
.
Lennon Legend: The Very Best of John Lennon peaked at #3 on the UK Albums Chart and certified 2x Platinum by the BPI in May 1998. The album has also certified Platinum in the US and Canada as of December 2008. In the history of Japanese Oricon chart, Lennon Legend has been one of the longest charting albums that failed to reach top 40, selling more than 190,000 copies up to late 2006.
The album re-entered the UK Chart on 18 June 2007, almost ten years after its release, at #30. The album also appeared in a commercial for Apple's iPod touch
IPod touch
The iPod Touch is a portable media player, personal digital assistant, handheld game console, and Wi-Fi mobile device designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The iPod Touch adds the multi-touch graphical user interface to the iPod line...
.
Same titled DVD was also released in 2003 as a series of remastered, remixed & new music videos with Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound audio mixes (See Lennon Legend: The Very Best of John Lennon DVD
Lennon Legend: The Very Best of John Lennon DVD
Lennon Legend: The Very Best of John Lennon was released on DVD in November 2003 as a series of remastered, remixed & new videos with Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound audio mixes....
).
Track listing
All songs written and composed by John LennonJohn Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
, except where noted.
- "ImagineImagine (song)"Imagine" is a song written and performed by the English musician John Lennon. It is the opening track on his album Imagine, released in 1971...
" – 3:02 - "Instant Karma!Instant Karma!"Instant Karma!" is a song written by John Lennon, released as a single in 1970 on Apple Records, catalogue Apple 1003 in the United Kingdom, Apple 1818 in the United States. It is the third solo single issued by Lennon, and it peaked at #3 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100 singles...
" – 3:20 - "MotherMother (John Lennon song)Mother is a song by British musician John Lennon, first released on his 1970 album John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band. An edited version of the song was issued as a single in the United States on Apple Records, catalogue 1827, about three weeks after the album. The single runs about fifteen seconds...
"1 – 3:53 - "Jealous GuyJealous Guy"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...
" – 4:14 - "Power to the PeoplePower to the People (song)"Power to the People" is a song written by John Lennon, released as a single in 1971 by John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band on Apple Records, catalogue Apple R5892 in the United Kingdom and Apple 1830 in the United States. It peaked at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #7 on the British singles chart...
" – 3:17 - "Cold TurkeyCold TurkeyCold Turkey is a song written by John Lennon, released as a single in 1969 by the Plastic Ono Band on Apple Records, catalogue Apples 1001 in the United Kingdom, Apple 1813 in the United States. It is the second solo single issued by Lennon, and it peaked at #30 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #14 on...
" – 5:01 - "LoveLove (John Lennon song)"Love" is a song written and performed by John Lennon, originally released in 1970 on the John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band album.-Song:The song first came out on Lennon's 1970 album John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band. "Love" later appeared on the 1982 compilation The John Lennon Collection, and was released...
" – 3:23 - "Mind GamesMind Games (song)"Mind Games" is a song written by John Lennon, released as a single in 1973 on Apple Records, catalogue Apple 1868 in the US and Apple R5994 in the UK. It peaked at #18 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #26 on the British singles chart...
" – 4:11 - "Whatever Gets You thru the NightWhatever Gets You thru the Night"Whatever Gets You Thru the Night" is a song written by John Lennon, released as a single in 1974 on Apple Records, catalogue Apple 1874 in the United States and Apple R5998 in the United Kingdom. It peaked at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #36 on the British singles chart...
" – 3:19 - "#9 DreamNumber 9 Dream"#9 Dream" is a song written by John Lennon and first issued on his 1974 album Walls and Bridges. It was released as the second single from that album months later, on Apple Records catalogue Apple 1878 in the United States and Apple R6003 in the United Kingdom...
" – 4:46 - "Stand By Me" (Ben E. KingBen E. KingBenjamin Earl King , better known as Ben E. King, is an American soul singer. He is perhaps best known as the singer and co-composer of "Stand by Me", a U.S...
/Jerry Leiber/Mike Stoller) – 3:27 - "(Just Like) Starting Over(Just Like) Starting Over" Starting Over" is a song written and performed by John Lennon for his album, Double Fantasy. The B-side was Yoko Ono's "Kiss Kiss Kiss". It was released as a single on 24 October 1980 and reached number one in both the USA and UK two weeks after he was murdered. It is his biggest solo American...
" – 3:55 - "Woman" – 3:26
- "Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)"Beautiful Boy " is a song written and performed by John Lennon. It was released on the 1980 album Double Fantasy, the last album by Lennon and Ono released before his death....
" – 4:00 - "Watching the WheelsWatching the Wheels"Watching the Wheels" is a single by John Lennon released posthumously in 1981 after his murder. It was the third and final single released from Lennon and Yoko Ono's Double Fantasy album, and reached #10 in the U.S and #30 in the UK....
" – 3:31 - "Nobody Told MeNobody Told Me"Nobody Told Me" is a song by the British musician John Lennon. Recorded shortly before his death in 1980, the song was later completed by Lennon's widow Yoko Ono in 1983 and released as the first single from Lennon and Ono's album Milk and Honey in 1984. The song was later released in the UK in...
" – 3:33 - "Borrowed TimeBorrowed Time (John Lennon song)"Borrowed Time" is the title of a song from John Lennon and Yoko Ono's last album, Milk and Honey. While the single failed to chart in the United States, it charted at #32 in the UK Singles Chart....
" – 4:30 - "Working Class HeroWorking Class Hero"Working Class Hero" is a song from John Lennon's first post-Beatles solo album, 1970's John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band.-Theme:The song is a take on the class split of the 1940s and 1950s, and of the 1960s in which he was famous. The song appears to tell the story of someone growing up in the working...
" – 3:49 - "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)Happy Xmas (War Is Over)"Happy Xmas " is a song written by John Lennon and Yoko Ono and released in 1971 as a single by John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band with the Harlem Community Choir....
" (John Lennon/Yoko OnoYoko Onois a Japanese artist, musician, author and peace activist, known for her work in avant-garde art, music and filmmaking as well as her marriage to John Lennon...
) – 3:33 - "Give Peace a ChanceGive Peace a Chance"Give Peace a Chance" is a song written by John Lennon, originally under the moniker Lennon–McCartney, released as a single in 1969 by the Plastic Ono Band on Apple Records, catalogue Apple 13 in the United Kingdom, Apple 1809 in the United States. It is the first solo single issued by Lennon, and...
"2 – 4:52
1. US single version, issued in December 1970, for the first time released on CD.
2. Originally credited to Lennon/McCartney
Lennon/McCartney
The Lennon–McCartney songwriting partnership is one of the best-known and most successful musical collaborations in history...
, the credit was revised in the 1990s to cite only Lennon as its composer.
Charts
| Chart (1997) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Top 75 Albums | 5 |
| Finnish Top 50 Albums | 22 |
| French Top Albums | 7 |
| German Albums Chart | 11 |
| Netherlands Top 100 Albums | 85 |
| New Zealand Top 50 Albums | 21 |
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
4 |
| Chart (1998) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgium (Wallonia) 100 Albums | 48 |
| Japanese Top 100 Albums | 46 |
| Swiss Top 100 Albums | 13 |
| US Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
65 |
| Chart (1999) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Top 50 Albums | 37 |
| Chart (2001) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Catalog Albums Top Pop Catalog Albums Top Pop Catalog Albums is a fifty-position weekly albums chart produced by Billboard magazine which ranks the best selling catalog titles, regardless of genre. Billboard defines a catalog title as one that is more than eighteen months old and that has fallen below position 100 on the Billboard 200... |
8 |
| Chart (2003) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Swedish Top 60 Albums | 28 |
| Chart (2004) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgium (Flanders) 100 Albums | 94 |
| Chart (2008) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Mexican Top 100 Albums | 62 |
| Norwegian Top 40 Albums | 39 |