THE STORY OF A SONG: John Lennon's "Instant Karma (We All Shine On)" (1970)

Phil Spector had been intrigued by the possibility of producing the Beatles, and John Lennon in particular, ever since 1964. But it was only with the November 1969 publication in Rolling Stone of Jam Wenner’s interview with the producer that the idea became more than just a wistful notion. When Lennon read it, he wondered about what such an alliance could mean, and Beatles’ manager Allen Klein contacted Spector about piecing together the tattered remains of the Beatles’ tapes from the Let It Be sessions that had been recorded in early 1969. Lennon suggested that before Spector would be given that responsibility, they would work together on his own next single: Instant Karma.

Spector flew to London for the session at Abbey Road studio; Lennon’s band included bassist Klaus Voorman, keyboardist Billy Preston, and drummer Alan White. George Harrison was at the offices of Apple Records on the morning of January 26, 1970 when he got a call from Lennon, asking him to come to EMI studios to record a song he'd just completed; Spector came with him.

Biographer Dave Thompson: “At one point, Spector asked drummer Alan White to hit his tom-toms as hard as he could, having first muffled them with a bath towel. He had Lennon and White playing opposite ends of the piano simultaneously. And everything was being recorded at ear-splitting volume, so loud that Spector himself was forced to resort to sign language when he needed to communicate with anyone else in the room’’. 

Vooorman: “It was just incredible. It was ridiculously loud, but there was also the ringing of all these instruments and the way the song had such motion.’. To make the choruses as rousing as possible, percussionist Mai Evans recruited the patrons of London's Hatchet Club, who sang along with Allen Klein.

Thomas Ryan notes that he drenched “everything in a dry echo, giving the song a paranoid but vibrant atmosphere. The drum sound, in particular, is much heavier than anything recorded by Lennon, the Beatles, or anybody else for that matter.” The producer did the final mix himself for the U.S.- released version (with, Thompson describes, “a ricocheting riot of echoing percussion, thundering around Lennon’s most colossal chorus ever”). When the single became a smash, Spector had passed the audition, and was given permission to unleash his production skills on the Let It Be tapes. 

Lennon's message is simple: Do the right thing, or be prepared to face the spiritual consequences. Call it karmic revenge, or call it justice.

Chart debut on February 28, 1970 (reached #3 on Billboard; #5 in England)