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TL;DR:

  • John Lennon’s “Power to the People” was designed to promote a political movement.
  • It’s not that good.
  • It was a hit anyway.

John Lennon‘s “Power to the People” was inspired by an interview the former Beatle did. He played the song for one of the interviewers. Subsequently, the tune performed differently in the United States and the United Kingdom.

John Lennon wrote ‘Power to the People’ after 2 communists interviewed him

The book Lennon on Lennon: Conversations With John Lennon reports communist writers Tariq Ali and Robin Blackburn interviewed John for the left-wing newspaper Red Mole in 1971. “All the revolutions have happened when a Fidel or Marx or Lenin or whatever, who were intellectuals, were able to get through to the workers,” he said. “They got a good pocket of people together and the workers seemed to understand that they were in a repressed state. They haven’t woken up here yet, they still believe that cars and tellies are the answer. You should get these left-wing students out to talk with the workers, you should get the school kids involved with The Red Mole.“

During a 2020 interview with Jacobin, Ali discussed what happened after the interview. “I remember once he rang after the interview and said, ‘I was so inspired by our interview that I have written a song for the movement. Can I sing it to you?'” he said. “I said, ‘Yes, sing it!’ It was ‘Power to the People.’ He said, ‘I want people to be singing it.’ I said, ‘Don’t worry, we will sing it.’ So he got it as a single and we publicized it as the song for the movement.”

There’s several possible reasons why the tune got overshadowed by other John Lennon songs

Like several of John’s other solo songs, “Power to the People” is political. “Imagine” promoted communism, while “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” protested the Vietnam War. “Power to the People” calls for women’s rights, workers’ rights, and a revolution.

“Power to the People” isn’t as ubiquitous as some of the former Beatle’s other songs. Perhaps that’s because it advocates so many causes that its message is all over the place. Or maybe listeners forgot “Power to the People” simply because its production is weak.

Related

The Beatles’ ‘Back in the U.S.S.R.’ Only Became a Hit Years After the Band Broke Up

How ‘Power to the People’ performed in the United States and the United Kingdom

“Power to the People” became a modest hit. It reached No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100, staying on the chart for nine weeks in total. “Power to the People” appeared on the compilation record Shaved Fish. That album reached No. 12 on the Billboard 200 and stayed on the chart for 32 weeks.

The Official Charts Company says “Power to the People” reached No. 7 in the United Kingdom, remaining on the chart for nine weeks. On the other hand, Shaved Fish peaked at No. 8 and spent 29 weeks on the chart.

“Power to the People” isn’t one of John’s best songs but it showed the singer cared about social causes.

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