"Nobody Told Me" by John Lennon

Top 10 Alert!

Song#:  1762
Date:  01/21/1984
Debut:  36
Peak:  5
Weeks:  14
Genre:  Soft Rock



Pop Bits:  Prior to his death in December 1980, Lennon and Yoko Ono had been working on music for the follow-up to their Grammy-winning #1 LP Double Fantasy. Although the songs were not fully finished, there was enough recorded that could be fleshed out into completed tracks. Nearly three years after Lennon's death, Ono returned to the studio to complete the songs. In similar fashion to Double Fantasy, half of the new album's tracks would be by John Lennon while the other half would be by Ono. Once completed, it was titled Milk and Honey and this first single was issued. Interest in the song was high, which helped the song debut within the Pop Top 40. It would peak at #5 at Pop, #2 at Rock, and #11 AC. The song would be Lennon's final Pop Top 40 entry.

ReduxReview:  Not being a big Lennon fan (I'm more McCartney-ish...), I didn't much care for this song when it was released. I specifically didn't like the barely melodic chorus. I actually enjoy the song much more now and like the verse and the transitions. Lennon almost yelling "nobody told me there'd be days like these" still irritates me a bit, but the rest of the song makes up for it. I don't think it ranks among his best, but it was a sunny head-bopper that played quite well as a non-morose posthumous release.

ReduxRating:  6/10

Trivia:  Lennon made a rough recording of this song in 1980 prior to his death. The intention was for Ringo Starr to record the song for his upcoming album (which ended up being 1981's Stop and Smell the Roses). A recording session for the song was scheduled in January 1981, but that was cancelled following Lennon's death. Starr resumed work on his album early in 1981, but he just couldn't bring himself to record this song. Starr was also unable to do another song Lennon had written for him called "Life Begins at 40."

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