(Saturday, November 16, 1974) — “Whatever Gets You thru the Night” by ex-Beatle John Lennon (with Elton John on harmony vocals, piano) peaked at #1 on today’s Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for one week.

It was Lennon’s first of two number one hits on the chart since The Beatles split up in 1970 (1974-1980).

As the lead single for Lennon’s Walls and Bridges studio album (released Sept. 26, 1974), the inspiration for the lyrics came from late-night television.

In December 2005, Lennon’s former mistress, May Pang, told Radio Times: “At night [Lennon] loved to channel-surf, and would pick up phrases from all the shows. One time, he was watching Reverend Ike, a famous black evangelist, who was saying, ‘Let me tell you guys, it doesn’t matter, it’s whatever gets you through the night.’ John loved it and said, ‘I’ve got to write it down or I’ll forget it.’ He always kept a pad and pen by the bed. That was the beginning of “Whatever Gets You thru the Night.””