John Lennon Sang Vocals on a Song He Thought Was a Cheap Knockoff of The Beatles
While many musicians practice diplomacy when speaking about their peers’ work, John Lennon never hesitated to call out a song he didn’t like. One of these songs was “We Love You” by The Rolling Stones. The band was one of The Beatles’ biggest competitors in the 1960s, and rumors frequently circulated about a rivalry between the two groups. Lennon publicly rolled his eyes at “We Love You” without mentioning that his voice was on the track.
John Lennon didn’t like a song, but he sang vocals on it
After The Beatles broke up, Lennon began airing many of his grievances from the 1960s in the press. One of his major problems was with The Rolling Stones. Lennon felt they knocked off The Beatles’ music, particularly with albums like Their Satanic Majesties Request.
“I was always very respectful about Mick [Jagger] and the Stones, but he said a lot of sort of tarty things about the Beatles, which I am hurt by, because you know, I can knock the Beatles, but don’t let Mick Jagger knock them,” he told Rolling Stone in 1970. “I would like to just list what we did and what the Stones did two months after on every f***in’ album. Every f***in’ thing we did, Mick does exactly the same — he imitates us.”
He said that the song “We Love You” was a particularly egregious lift from The Beatles’ catalog.
“I would like one of you f***in’ underground people to point it out, you know Satanic Majesties is Pepper, ‘We Love You,’ it’s the most f***in’ bulls***, that’s ‘All You Need Is Love.’”
In his rant against the Stones and “We Love You,” Lennon failed to mention that he played a role in “We Love You.” He and Paul McCartney sang backing vocals on the song. They stopped by the studio in 1967 to sing harmony.
What Beatles songs did members of The Rolling Stones sing?
Members of The Rolling Stones joined The Beatles in the studio several times. Despite rumors of a feud and Lennon’s harsh words, the two bands were friendly with each other.
“We were like kings of the jungle then, and we were very close to the Stones,” Lennon said in the same interview that he insulted “We Love You.” “I don’t know how close the others were but I spent a lot of time with Brian [Jones] and Mick. I admire them, you know.”
The Rolling Stones joined The Beatles in the studio to record “Yellow Submarine,” “You Know My Name (Look Up The Number),” “Baby You’re a Rich Man,” and “All You Need Is Love.”
Lennon and McCartney also gave the band an early hit, “I Wanna Be Your Man.”
John Lennon and Mick Jagger became good friends, despite what he said about the song
In spite of Lennon’s harsh words about the Stones and Jagger at the start of the 1970s, he became closer friends with him that decade. According to his girlfriend, May Pang, Lennon and Jagger spent a great deal of time together.
“We were always delighted to see him,” she wrote in her book Loving John. “Nattily dressed and always looking roguish, he’d turn up with a wicked grin on his face.”
They spent relaxing evenings together in Pang and Lennon’s New York apartment.
“Mick usually brought something to drink, and John and he would spend their evenings together, drinking wine and sitting back and relaxing,” she explained. “Mick loved takeout Chinese food. During those visits I’d call out and order our favorite dishes. Then, after we ate, John and Mick sometimes played their guitars and sang a bit, or we all watched television.”
They were close enough that Pang and Lennon visited Jagger’s vacation home.
