Video: 'Give Peace A Chance - Plastic Ono Band'
(Saturday, May 31, 1969, 5:00 p.m.-4:00 a.m. EDT; during the Vietnam War) — John Lennon of The Beatles recorded the basic version of “Give Peace a Chance” during his second week-long bed-in for peace with wife Yoko Ono today in room 1742 of the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal for release as a single by the Plastic Ono Band on July 4, 1969.
Video: 'John Lennon - Give Peace A Chance (Early rehearsal - 1st June 1969)'
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.
Video: 'Ascot CD1 (Anthology Álbum) - John Lennon' (May 31, 1969, at 58:54)
Lennon played acoustic guitar and was joined by Tommy Smothers of the Smothers Brothers, also on acoustic guitar. The final version was recorded in a single take around 11:00 p.m.
The basic track was completed the following day, June 1, 1969, with a number of friends adding to the vocal choir and the heavy thumping backbeat heard throughout.
Video: 'John Lennon - Give Peace A Chance (Later rehearsal - 1st June 1969)'
Credited to Lennon and his writing partner, Paul McCartney, also of The Beatles, Lennon later stated his regrets about being “guilty enough to give McCartney credit as co-writer on my first independent single instead of giving it to Yoko, who had actually written it with me.”
The song quickly became the anthem of the anti Vietnam-war and counterculture movements, and was sung by half a million demonstrators in Washington, D.C. at the Vietnam Moratorium Day, on Nov. 15, 1969.
Video: 'BED PEACE starring John Lennon & Yoko Ono' (May 31, 1969, at 20:50-23:18/50:56-56:22)
After almost everybody went home, Ono recorded her “Remember Love” with Lennon on acoustic guitar for the single’s B-side, concluding the day’s session at 4:00 a.m. EDT.
Video: 'Remember Love (Bonus Track)'
