Power to the People (song)
{{short description|1971 song written by John Lennon}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2011}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Power to the People
| cover = File:John-lennon-plastic-ono-band-power-to-the-people-apple-2-s.jpg
| caption = US picture sleeve
| alt = John Lennon wearing work clothing, aviator glasses, and a white hard helmet. His right hand is seen clenching a fist with his left hand behind him.
| type = single
| artist = John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
| album =
| B-side = {{ubl|"Open Your Box" (UK) (Yoko Ono)|"Touch Me" (US) (Yoko Ono)}}
| released = 12 March 1971 (UK)
22 March 1971 (US)
| recorded = 22 January{{snd}}9 February 1971
| studio = Ascot Sound, Berkshire
| venue =
| genre = Rock, protest song
| length = 3:15
| label = Apple
| writer = John Lennon
| producer = {{hlist|Phil Spector|John Lennon|Yoko Ono}}
| prev_title = Mother
| prev_year = 1970
| next_title = Imagine
| next_year = 1971
}}
"Power to the People" is a song written by John Lennon, released as a single in 1971, credited to John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band. It was issued on Apple Records (catalogue number R5892 in the United Kingdom, 1830 in the United States) and charted at number 6 on the British singles chart,{{cite web |title=Power to the People |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/john-lennon-and-the-plastic-ono-band-power-to-the-people/ |website=Official Charts}} at number 10 on the Cashbox Top 100, and at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100{{cite book|last=Blaney|first=John|title=John Lennon: Listen to This Book|year=2005|publisher=Paper Jukebox|location=[S.l.]|isbn=978-0-9544528-1-0|edition=illustrated|page=326}} The song's first appearance on album was the 1975 compilation Shaved Fish.
Writing and recording
"Power to the People" was recorded at Ascot Sound Studios{{cite book |first=Richard |last=Williams |title=Phil Spector: Out of His Head |year=2003 |publisher=Omnibus Press |location=London |isbn=0-7119-9864-7 |page=160}} on 15 February 1971,{{cite book |last1=Madinger |first1=Chip |last2=Raile |first2=Scott |title=LENNONOLOGY Strange Days Indeed - A Scrapbook of Madness |year= 2015 |publisher= Chesterfield, MO: Open Your Books, LLC |page=226 |isbn= 978-1-63110-175-5}} during sessions that would produce songs for Lennon's Imagine album. The single was released on 12 March 1971 in the UK and 22 March 1971 in the US{{cite book|last=Castleman|first=Harry|title=All Together Now – The First Complete Beatles Discography 1961–1975|year=1977|publisher=Ballantine Books|location=New York|isbn=0-345-25680-8|edition=Second|author2=Podrazik, Walter J.|page=[https://archive.org/details/alltogethernowfi0000cast/page/100 100]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/alltogethernowfi0000cast/page/100}}{{cite book |first=John |last=Blaney |title=John Lennon: Listen To This Book |year=2005 |pages=66–70| publisher=Biddles Ltd. |location=Guildford, Great Britain |isbn=0-9544528-1-X}} (although some sources give the British release as 8 March{{cite book |first=Keith |last=Badham |title=The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After the Break-Up 1970−2001 |publisher=Omnibus Press |location=London |year=2002 |page=32}}). The song was written by Lennon in response to an interview he gave to Tariq Ali and Robin Blackburn,{{cite book |first=Chris |last=Ingham |title=The Rough Guide to the Beatles |year=2003 |publisher=Rough Guides Ltd. |location=London |isbn=1-84353-140-2 |page=117}} published in Red Mole (8–22 March 1971).{{cite book |editor-first1=Elizabeth |editor-last1=Thomson |editor-first2=David |editor-last2=Gutman |title=The Lennon Companion |url=https://archive.org/details/lennoncompanion00thom |url-access=limited |year=2004 |publisher=Da Capo Press |location=Cambridge, MA |isbn=0-306-81270-3 |page=[https://archive.org/details/lennoncompanion00thom/page/n195 165]}}{{dead link|date=July 2024}} As Lennon explained: "I just felt inspired by what they said, although a lot of it is gobbledygook. So I wrote 'Power to the People' the same way I wrote 'Give Peace a Chance,' as something for the people to sing. I make singles like broadsheets. It was another quickie, done at Ascot."
It entered the charts on 20 March 1971, and remained there for nine weeks. It was Lennon's fifth solo single, the Plastic Ono Band on this occasion comprising Lennon, Bobby Keys and Billy Preston in addition to regulars Klaus Voormann and Alan White.{{cite book |first=John |last=Blaney |title=John Lennon: Listen To This Book |year=2005| publisher=Biddles Ltd. |location=Guildford, Great Britain |isbn=0-9544528-1-X |page=70}} Backing vocals were supplied by Rosetta Hightower and "44 others".Castleman & Podrazik, All Together Now, p. 172. The singers also stomped their feet to make it sound more like a political rally. Phil Spector, Lennon and Yoko Ono were credited as producers.
Record World called it a "a fantastic choral chant-song that really rocks."{{cite magazine|title=Picks of the Week|magazine=Record World|date=March 20, 1971|page=1|accessdate=2023-04-22|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/70s/71/Record-World-1971-03-20.pdf}}
Lennon's regard for the song changed during the 1970s. In Skywriting by Word of Mouth, he called the song "rather embarrassing" and supported Hunter S. Thompson's claim that the anthem was "ten years too late".{{cite book |first=John |last=Lennon |title=Skywriting by Word of Mouth: And Other Writings, Including "The Ballad of John and Yoko" |url=https://archive.org/details/skywritingbyword00lenn |url-access=registration |year=1986| publisher=HarperCollins |location=New York |isbn=0-06-091444-0 |page=[https://archive.org/details/skywritingbyword00lenn/page/25 25]}}{{Cite book|last=Thompson|first=Hunter S.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/41049769|title=Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream|date=1998|publisher=Random House|others=Ralph Steadman|isbn=0-679-78589-2|edition=Vintage Books (2nd)|location=New York|pages=21|oclc=41049769}} In 1980, he stated that the song "didn't really come off" as it had been "written in the state of being asleep and wanting to be loved by Tariq Ali and his ilk".{{cite book | first=Patrick |last=Cadogan | title=The Revolutionary Artist: John Lennon's Radical Years| year=2008 | publisher=Lulu| location=Morrisville, North Carolina | isbn=978-1-4357-1863-0 | page=137}}
Ultimate Classic Rock critic Nick DeRiso rated it as Lennon's 6th greatest solo political song, calling it "one of Lennon's funkiest and hardest-hitting musical achievements."{{cite web|title=Top 10 John Lennon Solo Political Songs|url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/john-lennon-solo-political-songs/|author=DeRiso, Nick|accessdate=2023-01-08|date=9 October 2013|publisher=Ultimate Classic Rock}}
Cover versions and other uses of the song
The Minus 5 recorded a version of "Power to the People" for the 1995 tribute album Working Class Hero: A Tribute to John Lennon. In 2000, Eric Burdon, Billy Preston and Ringo Starr recorded the song for Steal This Movie!, a film about Abbie Hoffman.{{cite book|last=Harry |first=Bill |title=The Ringo Starr Encyclopedia |year=2004 |publisher=Virgin Books |location=London |isbn=978-0-7535-0843-5 |page=269}}
The song has been used as a theme song of the 2016 and 2020 US presidential campaigns of Bernie Sanders.{{Citation|title=End Corporate Greed Rally in Iowa City| date=25 October 2019 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIwwp8Iiytc&t=806 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/iIwwp8Iiytc |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|access-date=2019-10-31}}{{cbignore}}
Personnel
The musicians who performed on "Power to the People" were as follows:Imagine: The Ultimate Edition
- John Lennon - vocals, electric guitar, piano
- Klaus Voormann - bass guitar
- Bobby Keys - saxophone
- Jim Gordon - drums
- Doris Troy, Madeline Bell, Nanette Workman, Rosetta Hightower and others - backing vocals
Chart history
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
=Weekly charts=
{{col-2}}
=Year-end charts=
| class="wikitable" |
| Chart (1971)
! style="text-align:center;"|Rank |
|---|
| Canada{{cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?brws_s=1&file_num=nlc008388.7590&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=mhe12pta2k83e08udtq66ot062|title=Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada|work=collectionscanada.gc.ca}}
| style="text-align:center;"|71 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[http://www.dutchcharts.nl/jaaroverzichten.asp?year=1971&cat=s Dutch Charts Annual Reviews - Single 1971]
|align="center"|88 |
| US (Joel Whitburn's Pop Annual){{cite book |last=Whitburn |first=Joel |year=1999 |title=Pop Annual |location=Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin |publisher=Record Research Inc. |isbn=0-89820-142-X}}
| style="text-align:center;"|99 |
{{col-end}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band}}
{{John Lennon}}
{{John Lennon Singles}}
{{Plastic Ono Band}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Apple Records singles
Category:Song recordings produced by Phil Spector
Category:Songs written by John Lennon
Category:Song recordings produced by John Lennon
Category:Song recordings produced by Yoko Ono
Category:Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign
Category:Bernie Sanders 2020 presidential campaign