What John Lennon Thought of Elton John Singing on ‘Whatever Gets You Thru the Night’

After The Beatles broke up, it seemed like the individual members of the band were on a mission to work with every pop star they could. Elton John sang backup on John Lennon’s “Whatever Gets You Thru the Night.” John revealed what he thought about the “Cold Heart” singer’s work on the song. Sean Ono Lennon said he’s not a big fan of “Whatever Gets You Thru the Night.”

John Lennon’s ‘Whatever Gets You Thru the Night’ inspired John to make a promise

The book All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono features a 1980 interview. In it, John recalled working with the “Your Song” singer. “He sang on a single that turned out to be a cut from Walls and Bridges, ‘Whatever Gets You Thru the Night,'” he remembered. “He sang harmony on it and he really did a damn good job. 

“So I sort of halfheartedly promised that if ‘Whatever Gets You Thru the Night’ became No. 1, which I had no reason to expect, I’d do Madison Square Garden with him,” he added. “So one day Elton called and said, ‘Remember when you promised.’ It wasn’t like I promised some agent or something, so I was suddenly stuck. I had to go onstage in the middle of nothing.”

The song was part of a big moment from the former Beatle’s relationship with Yoko Ono

John recalled reconnecting with Yoko after a pause in their relationship after he saw her in the audience during the aforementioned Madison Square Garden performance. “We have a photograph of the moment we met — looking a bit coy and shy,” he said. “A photographer just happened to catch it.”

John would have behaved differently if he was aware of his wife’s presence. “I couldn’t have gone on if I had known she was in the audience,” he revealed. “It was hard enough. I went on because I had promised Elton I’d do it.”

What Sean Ono Lennon said about ‘Whatever Gets You Thru the Night’

Sean is the only child of John and Yoko. During a 2020 interview with Rolling Stone, Sean discussed his feelings about “Whatever Gets You Thru the Night.” He said the tune wasn’t nearly as good as another song from Walls and Bridges: “#9 Dream.” He said it didn’t age as well as some of John’s other tunes, such as “Imagine” and “Gimme Some Truth.”

In Sean’s opinion, “Whatever Gets You Thru the Night” was big because it was a duet between two major stars. Sean said the song’s poor quality is the reason why Walls and Bridges doesn’t get much attention. 

Sean has talent, but he’s completely wrong here. “Whatever Gets You Thru the Night” is a jazzy blast of dynamite. It’s not one of the most emotional songs by either of the players, but it’s a lot of fun. It might be the best dancefloor song by any of The Beatles.

Two rock stars did a great job on “Whatever Gets You Thru the Night” even if Sean isn’t a big fan of it.