A simplistic beautiful song by John Lennon. Love was on the John Lennon album Plastic Ono Band. Phil Spector produced this as well as playing the piano on it.
The Lettermen recorded the song in 1971. This single became a top 20 hit on the Japanese Oricon singles chart and hit number 42 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming the only charting version of the song in the US and the last charting single of the group’s career.
Other covers included The Dream Academy, Barbara Streisand, and many others.
John’s version charted when he was killed in the UK at #41 in 1981. It also charted at #58 in Japan in 1998.
The Plastic Ono Band album peaked at #6 in the Billboard Album Charts, #8 in the UK, and #1 in Canada in 1971.
Love
Love is real, real is love
Love is feeling, feeling love
Love is wanting to be loved
Love is touch, touch is love
Love is reaching, reaching love
Love is asking to be loved
Love is you
You and me
Love is knowing
We can be
Love is free, free is love
Love is living, living love
Love is needing to be loved
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A great song, one of John’s best. I’m surprised Spector produced it…glad he didn’t put a whole wall of sound behind it.
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Exactly! He must have itching to fill that mix up. In the end though, perfection.
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Good point Dave… I never thought of that.
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Can’t think of many song I like more than this one
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Sometimes simple is the best way…and simple is hardly ever used.
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Beautiful simple lyric – but I find the music strangely complex. Sorts of pulls between key centres…there’s this beautiful tension through the whole track. Quite unique choice of chords
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Lennon’s rhythm was different than other artists to me. Like Give Peace a Chance…his melodies were sometimes different.
Bowie once said of him…Lennon could take odd things or Avant Garde music and make the masses like it.
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Weird there are so many covers – feels like a simple, personal song.
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I almost forgot aobut it…I only hear it in Lennon docs mostly.
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Really always loved this tune – no pun intended!
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