Song of the Day 5/1: John Lennon, “Working Class Hero”
It’s International Workers’ Day in 160 countries, but not the United States, where every day is Industrialists’ Day. Get back to work.
John Lennon recorded more than 100 takes of this song for his first solo album in 1970. Two different takes were spliced together for the final cut. You can hear the change at about the 1:25 mark. It was released as the B-side to “Imagine” in the UK, but not the US.
In 2007, Amnesty International put together a charity LP for its relief effort in Sudan (plus ça meme chose), which turned into a Lennon tribute album when Yoko Ono agreed to donate all the royalties. Green Day’s cover of “Working Class Hero” was also released as a single.
