John Lennon On The Making Of 'God'

US Song Exploder gains access to artists interview archive 10/10/21

Song Exploder is all about artists explaining the making of their greatest tracks, with all kinds of details included and insights into their process as well as song development. This latest episode is the first posthumous exploration of a song made between the 26th of September and the 9th of October 1970 by John Lennon. Here's the explanation of how it came about:

Earlier this year, I got an amazing email--the estate of John Lennon said that they have a treasure trove of audio material from his life, and they were wondering if I would be interested in making an episode around the song "God," from John Lennon's first solo album. I've never tried making a posthumous episode before, because hearing directly from the artist is at the heart of Song Exploder. But with all the interview archives that they have of him speaking, plus all the isolated tracks from the recordings, and the original demo, it actually seemed possible. So this is a very different and special episode of the show.

In September 1969, John Lennon told the rest of the Beatles that he was leaving the group. Their breakup was announced publicly in April 1970, and that December, John Lennon released his first solo album, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band. The Plastic Ono band was the name for a rotating group of musicians that John and his wife, the artist Yoko Ono, had put together. For the making of "God," the band included Ringo Starr on drums, Billy Preston on piano, and Klaus Voormann on bass. I got to interview Klaus Voormann about his experiences making this track, and in this episode, you'll hear from him along with the archival interviews with John Lennon, Ringo Starr, and Billy Preston. You'll also hear the original demo for "God," and outtakes from the recording sessions at Abbey Road studios. They recorded the final version of this song on October 9, 1970 – John Lennon's 30th birthday.

There are many superb episodes of Song Exploder to explore and more information on this episode here: https://songexploder.net/john-lennon

About the author [midierror]: midierror makes nifty Max For Live devices, innovative music hardware, award winning sample packs and hosts a podcast speaking to people in the music world.