John Lennon Didn’t Expect 1 Beatles Song to Get Played in the American South

John Lennon was terrified during one of his trips to the American South. Subsequently, he thought one of The Beatles’ songs wouldn’t get airplay there. He was surprised to hear the song was played in Jacksonville, Florida.

John Lennon was worried someone shot at The Beatles during their time in the South

The book Lennon on Lennon: Conversations with John Lennon includes an interview from 1969. In it, the singer discussed the reaction to his “more popular than Jesus” comment in the Southern United States. “Yeah, when we were down there, in the States [on The Beatles’ last U.S. tour, in August 1966], it was terrifying,” he recalled. 

“That’s when they were getting me for saying we’re bigger than Christ,” he said. “Somebody was letting off balloons, and we all looked around to see which of us had got shot.”

One of The Beatles’ songs uses ‘Christ’ as an expletive

John was surprised by the reception of The Beatles’ “The Ballad of John and Yoko” in the South. The track includes the line “Christ, you know it ain’t easy.” Notably. some Christians are offended by the use of Jesus’ name as an expletive.

“They’re even playing the ‘Christ, you know it ain’t easy’ record down South on some stations,” he noted. “I didn’t think it’d get past the line, y’know, didn’t think they’d play it there at all. I asked them [in] Jacksonville, Florida, ‘Hi! Y’playing the record?’ ‘Yeah, we’re playing it. Why did you say that?’ ‘Well,’ I said. ‘Uh, heh.'”

How The Beatles’ ‘The Ballad of John and Yoko’ performed on the charts in the United States and the United Kingdom

“The Ballad of John and Yoko” was a hit in the United States. It peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed on the chart for nine weeks. The tune appeared on the compilation album 1967-1970. The compilation hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for one week, lasting on the chart for 182 weeks altogether.

The Official Charts Company reports “The Ballad of John and Yoko” became far more popular in the United Kingdom. There, the song was No 1 for three weeks, staying on the chart for a total of 14 weeks. Subsequently, it hit No. 84 in 1989 and spent two weeks on the chart. Meanwhile, 1967-1970 hit No. 2 in the U.K. and spent a total of 131 weeks on the chart.

“The Ballad of John and Yoko” was a hit even if John felt it would offend Southerners.