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TL;DR:

  • John Lennon said Bob Dylan and a journalist inspired The Beatles’ “In My Life.”
  • John said he was able to mimic other artists such as Elvis Presley and The Everly Brothers.
  • John felt “In My Life” was his first “major piece of work.”
The Beatles' John Lennon with a guitar
The Beatles’ John Lennon | Harry Benson / Stringer

John Lennon said Bob Dylan inspired The Beatles‘ “In My Life.” In addition, he explained a journalist inspired the track. John opined why “In My Life” was so different from all of his previous songs.

John Lennon said Elvis Presley, The Everly Brothers, and Bob Dylan inspired The Beatles’ songs

The book All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono includes an interview from 1980. In it, John discussed drawing influence from other artists. “I am like a chameleon, influenced by whatever is going on,” he said. “If Elvis can do it, I can do it. If The Everly Brothers can do it, me and Paul can. Same with Dylan.”

Elsewhere in the book, John discussed “In My Life.” “For ‘In My Life,’ I had a complete set of lyrics after struggling with a journalistic version of a trip from home to downtown on a bus naming every sight. It became ‘In My Life,’ which is a remembrance of friends and lovers of the past.”

John Lennon said Bob Dylan and a journalist who regularly appeared on the BBC inspired The Beatles’ ‘In My Life’

John discussed the evolution of “In My Life.” “Paul helped with the middle eight musically,” he recalled. “But all lyrics written, signed, sealed, and delivered. And it was, I think, my first real major piece of work. Up till then it had all been sort of glib and throwaway.

“And that was the first time I consciously put my literary part of myself into the lyric,” he added. “Inspired by Kenneth Allsop, the British journalist, and Bob Dylan.” During the 1960s, Allsop regularly appeared on the BBC show Tonight.

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Beatles: Why Bob Dylan Felt They Ripped Him Off With ‘Norwegian Wood’

How ‘In My Life’ performed on the pop charts in the United States and the United Kingdom

“In My Life” was a minor hit in the United States. It peaked at No. 9 on Billboard’s Hot 100 Recurrents chart for one week. The Beatles put “In My Life” on the album Rubber Soul. The album topped the Billboard 200 for six weeks, remaining on the chart for a total of 70 weeks.

According to The Official Charts Company, “In My Life” reached No. 78 in the United Kingdom for a week. Meanwhile, Rubber Soul topped the U.K. chart for eight weeks. It stayed on the chart for 42 weeks altogether.

“In My Life” is one of The Beatles’ most famous ballads and it wouldn’t be the same without Dylan.

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