"Give Peace a Chance" | ||||||||
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Single by Plastic Ono Band | ||||||||
B-side | "Remember Love" (Yoko Ono) | |||||||
Released | 4 July 1969 (UK) 7 July 1969 (US) |
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Format | 7" | |||||||
Recorded | 1 June 1969, Room 1742, Queen Elizabeth Hotel, Montreal, Quebec, Canada | |||||||
Genre | Folk rock | |||||||
Length | 4:54 | |||||||
Label | Apple | |||||||
Writer(s) | John Lennon | |||||||
Producer(s) | John Lennon and Yoko Ono | |||||||
Plastic Ono Band singles chronology | ||||||||
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"Give Peace a Chance" | ||||
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TW50070
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Single by Yoko Ono | ||||
Released | 1 June 2008 (TW50066) 1 July 2008 (TW50069) 18 February 2009 (Int'l Remixes) |
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Format | Digital download | |||
Genre | Electronica, Remix | |||
Label | Mind Train, Twisted Records | |||
Yoko Ono singles chronology | ||||
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"Give Peace a Chance" is a song written by John Lennon (credited to Lennon–McCartney), and performed with Yoko Ono in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Released as a single in 1969 by the Plastic Ono Band on Apple Records (catalogue Apple 13 in the United Kingdom, Apple 1809 in the United States), it is the first solo single issued by Lennon, released when he was still a member of the Beatles, and became an anthem of the American anti-war movement during the 1970s. It peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 2 on the British singles chart.
The song was written during Lennon's 'Bed-In' honeymoon in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. When asked by a reporter what he was trying to achieve by staying in bed, Lennon answered spontaneously "Just give peace a chance". He went on to say this several times during the Bed-In. Finally, on 1 June 1969, in Room 1742 at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, André Perry recorded it using a simple setup of four microphones and a four-track tape recorder rented from a local recording studio. The recording session was attended by dozens of journalists and various celebrities, including Timothy Leary, Rabbi Abraham Feinberg, Joseph Schwartz, Rosemary Woodruff Leary, Petula Clark, Dick Gregory, Allen Ginsberg, Roger Scott, Murray the K and Derek Taylor, many of whom are mentioned in the lyrics. Lennon played acoustic guitar and was joined by Tommy Smothers of the Smothers Brothers, also on acoustic guitar.