| John Lennon discography | |
|---|---|
.JPG) Lennon being interviewed by Tom Snyder in 1975 | |
| Studio albums | 11 |
| Live albums | 3 |
| Compilation albums | 15 |
| Video albums | 14 |
| Music videos | 64 |
| Singles | 23 |
| Box sets | 5 |
John Lennon was a British singer-songwriter and peace activist, best known as the co-founder of the Beatles. After three experimental albums with Yoko Ono, using tape loops, interviews, musique concrète, and other avant-garde performance techniques, Lennon's solo career properly began with the 1969 single "Give Peace a Chance". Lennon then released two more singles, "Cold Turkey" (1969) and "Instant Karma!" (1970), and a live album, Live Peace in Toronto (1969),[1] before the official break-up of the Beatles.
Lennon's first solo album after the Beatles' break-up was Plastic Ono Band, released simultaneously with Ono's album of the same name. He released the album Imagine the following year, which became his most critical and commercial success. His 1972 political themed album Some Time in New York City received scathing reviews and performed poorly commercially. Lennon's next two albums, Mind Games (1973) and Walls and Bridges (1974) were better received and had more commercial success. In 1975, Lennon released his covers album Rock 'n' Roll before retiring from music to focus on raising his newborn son Sean. He returned to the music industry in 1980 with the album Double Fantasy, but was murdered three weeks after its release. Following his death, the 1984 album Milk and Honey was posthumously released.
In 2020, to celebrate what would have been Lennon's 80th birthday, Ono and his son Sean released the box set Gimme Some Truth. The Ultimate Mixes, which contained newly remixed versions of 36 of Lennon's songs.[2] In 2018 and 2021, super deluxe box-sets of Imagine and John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band were released.
By 2012, Lennon's solo album sales in the US had exceeded 14 million units. He had 25 number-one singles on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart as a writer, co-writer or performer.
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Certifications | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [3] |
AUS [4] |
CAN [5] |
FRA [6] |
GER [7] |
ITA [8] |
JPN [9] |
NLD [10] |
NOR [11] |
US [12] | |||
| 1968 | Unfinished Music No. 1: Two Virgins (with Yoko Ono)
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 124 | |
| 1969 | Unfinished Music No. 2: Life with the Lions (with Yoko Ono)
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 174 | |
| Wedding Album (with Yoko Ono)
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 178 | ||
| 1970 | John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
|
8 | 3 | 2 | — | 7 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 4 [13] |
6 | |
| 1971 | Imagine
|
1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 1972 | Some Time in New York City (with Yoko Ono)
|
11 | 10 | 77 | — | — | 6 | 15 | — | 2 | 48 | |
| 1973 | Mind Games
|
13 | 8 | 28 | — | — | 14 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 9 | |
| 1974 | Walls and Bridges
|
6 | 4 | 1 | — | 41 | 11 | 14 | 16 | 3 | 1 | |
| 1975 | Rock 'n' Roll
|
6 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 37 | 12 | 15 | — | 9 | 6 | |
| 1980 | Double Fantasy (with Yoko Ono)
|
1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | |
| 1984 | Milk and Honey (posthumous; with Yoko Ono)
|
3 | 4 | 15 | 10 | 20 | 16 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 11 | |
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Certifications | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [3] |
AUS [4] |
CAN [5] |
FRA [6] |
JPN [9] |
NOR [11] |
SWE [20] |
US [12] | |||
| 1969 | Live Peace in Toronto 1969 (with The Plastic Ono Band)
|
— | 7 | — | — | 29 | 19 | — | 10 |
|
| 1986 | Live in New York City
|
55 | 66 | 33 | 33 | 13 | — | 12 | 41 |
|
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | ||||||||||
| Year | Album | Peak chart positions | Certification | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [3] |
AUS [4] |
AUT [22] |
CAN [5] |
GER [7] |
JPN [9] |
NLD [10] |
NOR [11] |
SWE [20] |
US [12] | |||||
| 1975 | Shaved Fish
|
8 | 8 | 5 | 70 | 37 | 22 | 5 | 9 | 28 | 12 | |||
| 1982 | The John Lennon Collection
|
1 | 1 | — | 29 | 62 | 8 | 32 | 1 | 4 | 33 | |||
| 1986 | Menlove Ave.
|
— | — | — | 92 | — | 32 | — | — | — | 127 | |||
| 1988 | Imagine: John Lennon
|
64 | 14 | — | — | — | 14 | — | — | — | 31 | |||
| 1997 | Lennon Legend: The Very Best of John Lennon
|
4 | 37 | 5 | 86 | 11 | 46 | 85 | 39 | 28 | 65 | |||
| 1998 | Wonsaponatime
|
76 | 83 | — | — | — | 57 | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2001 | Instant Karma: All-Time Greatest Hits
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2004 | Acoustic
|
133 | — | — | — | — | 23 | — | — | — | 31 | |||
| 2005 | Peace, Love & Truth
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
Working Class Hero: The Definitive Lennon
|
11 | 53 | 22 | — | 44 | 39 | 52 | 13 | 17 | 135 | ||||
| 2006 | The U.S. vs. John Lennon
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| Remember (Starbucks-released compilation)
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 44 | ||||
| 2010 | Power to the People: The Hits
|
15 | 10 | 16 | 7 | 33 | 25 | 64 | — | 33 | 24 | |||
| 2014 | Icon
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ||
| 2020 | Gimme Some Truth. The Ultimate Mixes
|
3 | 61 | 4 | 50 | 6 | — | 22 | — | — | 40 |
| ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | ||||||||||||||
| Year | Album | Peak chart positions | Certification | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [3] |
AUS [4] |
CAN [5] |
GER [7] |
ITA [8] |
JPN [9] |
NLD [10] |
NOR [11] |
SWE [20] |
US [12] | |||||
| 1990 | Lennon
|
— | 39 | — | — | — | 53 | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1998 | John Lennon Anthology | 62 | — | 86 | — | 42 | 30 | — | — | — | 99 |
| ||
| 2010 | Gimme Some Truth
|
— | — | — | — | — | 71 | — | — | — | 196 | |||
John Lennon Signature Box
|
— | — | — | 27 | — | 21 | 16 | 23 | 40 | 148 | ||||
| 2015 | John Lennon Signature Box
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | ||||||||||||||
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [3] |
AUS [4] |
AUT [22] |
CAN [32] |
GER [33] |
JPN [34] |
NLD [10] |
NOR [11] |
SWI [35] |
US [36] | |||||||||||||
| 1969 | "Give Peace a Chance" b/w "Remember Love" (Plastic Ono Band) |
2 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 81 | 1 | 11 | 4 | 14 | non-album singles | ||||||||||
| "Cold Turkey" b/w "Don't Worry Kyoko (Mummy's Only Looking for a Hand in the Snow)" (Plastic Ono Band) |
12 | 25 | — | 30 | — | 91 | 39 | — | — | 30 | ||||||||||||
| 1970 | "Instant Karma!" "Who Has Seen the Wind?" (Lennon/Ono with the Plastic Ono Band) |
5 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 58 | 7 | 9 | 31 | 3 |
| ||||||||||
| "Mother"[A] b/w "Why" (Yoko Ono) |
— | 57 | 9 | 12 | 26 | 30 | 10 | — | 3 | 43 | John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band | |||||||||||
| 1971 | "Power to the People" b/w "Open Your Box" (UK) (Yoko Ono) "Touch Me" (US) (Yoko Ono) (John Lennon / Plastic Ono Band) |
6 | 21 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 66 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 11 | non-album single | ||||||||||
| "Imagine" "It's So Hard" (US) "Working Class Hero" (UK) |
1[B] | 1 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 14 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 3 | Imagine | |||||||||||
| "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" (John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band with the Harlem Community Choir) b/w "Listen, the Snow Is Falling" (Yoko/Plastic Ono Band) |
2 | 6 | 6 | 24 | 6 | 30 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 38[C] | non-album single | |||||||||||
| 1972 | "Woman Is the Nigger of the World" (John Lennon / Plastic Ono Band with Elephant's Memory and Invisible Strings) b/w "Sisters, O Sisters" (Yoko Ono) |
— | — | — | 73 | — | 38 | 21 | — | — | 57 | Some Time in New York City | ||||||||||
| 1973 | "Mind Games" b/w "Meat City" |
26 | 16 | — | 11 | 37 | 46 | 16 | — | — | 18 | Mind Games | ||||||||||
| 1974 | "Whatever Gets You thru the Night" (John Lennon with the Plastic Ono Nuclear Band & Elton John) b/w "Beef Jerky" |
36 | 34 | — | 2 | 42 | 72 | 21 | — | — | 1 | Walls and Bridges | ||||||||||
| "#9 Dream" b/w "What You Got" |
23 | — | — | 35 | — | 97 | — | — | — | 9 | ||||||||||||
| 1975 | "Stand by Me" b/w "Move Over Ms. L" |
30 | 61 | 19 | 13 | 22 | 74 | — | — | — | 20 | Rock 'n' Roll | ||||||||||
| "Ya Ya" b/w "Be-Bop-A-Lula" |
— | — | — | — | 47 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| 1980 | "(Just Like) Starting Over" b/w "Kiss Kiss Kiss" (Yoko Ono) |
1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 37 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 1 | Double Fantasy | ||||||||||
| 1981 | "Woman" b/w "Beautiful Boys" (Yoko Ono) |
1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4 | — | 11 | 5 | 2 | 2 | |||||||||||
| "Watching the Wheels" b/w "Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)" (US Reissue) "Yes, I'm Your Angel" (Yoko Ono) (UK/US) |
30 | 45 | 12 | 3 | 46 | — | — | — | 6 | 10 | ||||||||||||
| "I Saw Her Standing There" b/w "Whatever Gets You Thru the Night" (live) "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" (live) (Elton John with John Lennon and the Muscle Shoals Horns) |
40 | 81 | — | — | — | — | — | 8 | — | — | 28 November 1974 | |||||||||||
| 1982 | "Love" b/w "Gimme Some Truth" |
41 | 94 | — | — | — | 58 | — | — | — | — |
|
The John Lennon Collection | |||||||||
| 1984 | "Nobody Told Me" b/w "O' Sanity" (Yoko Ono) "I'm Stepping Out" (1990) |
6 | 6 | — | 4 | 55 | — | 13 | 7 | — | 5 | Milk and Honey | ||||||||||
| "Borrowed Time" b/w "Your Hands" (Yoko Ono) |
32 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 108 | ||||||||||||
| "I'm Stepping Out" b/w "Sleepless Night" (Yoko Ono) |
88 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 55 | ||||||||||||
| "Every Man Has a Woman Who Loves Him" b/w "It's Alright" (Sean Lennon) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Every Man Has a Woman | |||||||||||
| 1985 | "Jealous Guy" b/w "Going Down on Love" (UK) "Give Peace a Chance" (US) |
65 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 80 | Imagine | ||||||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Sweet Toronto
|
Concert film of the Toronto Rock'N'Roll Revival Festival 1969. |
| 1972 | John Lennon and Yoko Ono Present the One-to-One Concert (TV)
Live in New York City (video title)
|
Television special benefit concert for the Willowbrook Institution for Retarded Children in New York. Filmed 30 August 1972 at Madison Square Garden by Jake Films. |
| 1972 | Imagine: The Film
|
Music film television special. |
| 1988 | Imagine: John Lennon
|
"The Definitive Film Portrait" documentary. |
| 1992 | The John Lennon Video Collection
|
Music video collection. |
| 2000 | Gimme Some Truth: The Making of John Lennon's Imagine Album
|
Documentary video with bonus footage. |
| 2000 | John & Yoko's Year of Peace
|
Documentary on the "Bed-In" for peace. |
| 2003 | Lennon Legend: The Very Best of John Lennon
|
Remastered music video collection. |
| 2005 | The Dick Cavett Show – John & Yoko Collection
|
Three episodes (9/11/71, 9/24/71, 5/12/72) of their appearances on the show with special features. |
| 2006 | The U.S. vs. John Lennon
|
Documentary on the U.S. government's attempt to deport Lennon. |
| 2006 | John & Yoko: Give Peace a Song
|
Documentary on the "Bed-In" for peace. |
| 2008 | Classic Albums: John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
|
The making of the classic album. |
| 2010 | LennoNYC
|
Documentary on Lennon's life in New York City. |
| 2018 | John & Yoko: Above Us Only Sky
|
Documentary on their relationship during the making of the Imagine album. |
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | "Give Peace a Chance" | John Lennon & Yoko Ono | Version 1 has been presented in color, black & white and an extended cut in color |
| "Cold Turkey" | Version 1 | ||
| "Cold Turkey" (Live) | D. A. Pennebaker | Live version from 1971 film Sweet Toronto | |
| 1970 | "Instant Karma!" (Live) | Brian Whitehouse | Filmed for Top of the Pops on 11 February, 2 versions aired: "Cue Cards" & "Knitting" |
| 1971 | "Imagine" (Version 1) | John Lennon & Yoko Ono | Filmed for the 1972 musical TV film Imagine |
| "Crippled Inside" (Version 1 & 2) | |||
| "Jealous Guy" (Version 1) | |||
| "It's So Hard" | |||
| "I Don't Wanna Be a Soldier Mama" | |||
| "Power to the People" (Version 1) | |||
| "Gimme Some Truth" | |||
| "Oh My Love" | |||
| "How Do You Sleep?" | |||
| "How?" | |||
| "Oh Yoko!" | |||
| Yoko Ono: "Don't Count the Waves" | Lennon co-produced the music and appears in the videos with Ono | ||
| Yoko Ono: "Mrs. Lennon" | |||
| 1973 | "Mind Games" | John Lennon | Version 1, John dancing with a man impersonating Her Majesty the Queen |
| 1974 | "Whatever Gets You thru the Night" | John Lennon | Version 1, with Elton John (voice only), original live action with Lennon in Manhattan |
| 1975 | "Stand by Me" (Live, Version 1) | Tom Corcoran | Filmed at The Hit Factory in New York on 18 March 1975 |
| "Slippin' and Slidin'" (Live) | |||
| "Imagine" (Live) | Dave Wilson | Filmed at the "Salute to Lew Grade" concert on 18 April 1975 | |
| 1980 | "(Just Like) Starting Over" | John Lennon & Yoko Ono | Version 1, first released in 1992 with The John Lennon Video Collection |
| 1981 | "Woman" | Restored in 2003 for Lennon Legend: The Very Best of John Lennon video | |
| 1984 | "Nobody Told Me" (Version 1) | Archive footage | |
| "Borrowed Time" (Version 1) | |||
| "I'm Stepping Out" | |||
| "Grow Old with Me" | |||
| "Every Man Has a Woman Who Loves Him" | Roger H. Lyons | Original video made for MTV about two people meeting on a boardwalk | |
| 1985 | "Jealous Guy" | Yoko Ono | Version 2 created for the single release |
| 1986 | "Come Together" (Live) | Carol Dysinger & Steve Gebhardt | Used to promote the 1972 Madison Square Garden concert video Live in New York City |
| 1987 | "Imagine" (Version 2) | Zbigniew Rybczyński | Created for the Imagine: John Lennon documentary |
| 1988 | "Jealous Guy" (Version 3) | Steve Purcell & Andrew Solt | |
| 1992 | "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" (Version 1) | Yoko Ono & Gerald Meola | Created for The John Lennon Video Collection |
| "Power to the People" (Version 2) | |||
| "Mind Games" (Version 2) | |||
| "#9 Dream" (Version 1) | |||
| "Whatever Gets You thru the Night" (Version 2) | John Canemaker | with Elton John, animation created for The John Lennon Video Collection, extended version restored in 1994 | |
| 1997 | "Working Class Hero" (Version 1) | Brian Vosko & Bruce Westcott | Created to promote the John Lennon Anthology |
| 1998 | "I'm Losing You" (w/ Cheap Trick) | Dean Karr | |
| 2000 | "(Just Like) Starting Over" | Joe Pytka | Version 2 |
| 2003 | "Cold Turkey" (Version 2) | Simon Hilton, Gebhardt, Lennon & Ono | Created for the 2003 Lennon Legend: The Very Best of John Lennon DVD with archival footage |
| "Power to the People" (Extended Version 2) | Yoko Ono & Simon Hilton | ||
| "Love" | |||
| "Mind Games" (Version 3) | John Lennon & Simon Hilton | ||
| "Mother" | Simon Hilton | ||
| "Working Class Hero" (Version 2) | |||
| "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" (Version 2) | |||
| "Jealous Guy" (Version 4) | Lennon, Ono & Hilton (editor) | ||
| "#9 Dream" (Version 2) | |||
| "Stand by Me" (Version 2) | |||
| "Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)" | |||
| "Watching the Wheels" | |||
| "Nobody Told Me" (Version 2) | |||
| "Borrowed Time" (Version 2) | |||
| "Give Peace a Chance" (Version 2) | |||
| 2018 | "How Do You Sleep? (Takes 5&6, Raw Mix Outtake)" | Created to promote Imagine: The Ultimate Collection Box Set | |
| "Jealous Guy (Raw Outtake)" | |||
| "How? (Raw Outtake)" | |||
| "Gimme Some Truth (Raw Outtake)" | |||
| "Happy Xmas (War Is Over) (New Alt Acoustic Mix)" | Yoko Ono | ||
| 2019 | "Oh My Love (Raw Studio Mix)" | ||
| "Oh Yoko! (Bahamas 1969)" | Nic Knowland | Filmed at the Sheraton Oceanus Hotel, Freeport, Bahamas, 25 May 1969 | |
| 2020 | "The Luck of the Irish" (Live w/ Yoko Ono) | John Reilly | Filmed at John & Yoko's apartment, 105 Bank Street, New York, 12 November 1971 |
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Imagine" (John Lennon & Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Choir) |
2012 | A Symphony of British Music |
|
See also: Lennon-McCartney § Non-Beatles songs |
| Year | Album/single | Collaborator | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | B-side: "I've Just Fallen for Someone" | Johnny Gentle | uncredited co-writer (middle eight)[48] |
| 1965 | "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" | The Silkie | producer |
| 1967 | "We Love You" | The Rolling Stones | backing vocals, tambourine, handclaps |
| 1970 | "Down in the Alley" | Ronnie Hawkins | spoken introduction |
| Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band | Yoko Ono | producer, guitar | |
| 1971 | "God Save Oz" / "Do the Oz" | Bill Elliot and the Elastic Oz Band | writer of both songs, lead vocals on "Do the Oz" |
| Fly | Yoko Ono | producer, guitar, piano, organ | |
| 1972 | The Pope Smokes Dope | David Peel and The Lower East Side | producer |
| Elephant's Memory | Elephant's Memory | producer, guitar, backing vocals | |
| 1973 | Approximately Infinite Universe | Yoko Ono | producer, guitar, backing vocals |
| Ringo | Ringo Starr | writer, piano and harmony vocals on "I'm the Greatest" | |
| Feeling the Space | Yoko Ono | producer, guitar on "She Hits Back" and "Woman Power" | |
| "Too Many Cooks (Spoil the Soup)" | Mick Jagger | producer[49] | |
| 1974 | Pussy Cats | Harry Nilsson | producer, co-writer of "Mucho Mungo/Mt. Elga" |
| Caribou | Elton John | Tambourine on "The Bitch Is Back"[50] | |
| Goodnight Vienna | Ringo Starr | writer/vocals/piano on title song, guitar on "All by Myself" and "Only You (And You Alone)" | |
| "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" / "One Day (At a Time)" | Elton John | guitar, backing vocals | |
| John Dawson Winter III | Johnny Winter | writer of "Rock and Roll People" | |
| 1975 | Two Sides of the Moon | Keith Moon | writer of "Move Over Ms. L" |
| Young Americans | David Bowie | vocals, guitar, backing vocals on "Across the Universe" and "Fame" (also co-writer) | |
| 1976 | Ringo's Rotogravure | Ringo Starr | writer/piano on "Cookin' (In the Kitchen of Love)" |
| 1980 | John Lennon for President | David Peel and the Lower East Side | producer[51] |
| 1981 | "Walking on Thin Ice" | Yoko Ono | producer, guitar |
