5 of John Lennon’s Best Songs From 1970-1980

John Lennon may be best known for his work with The Beatles, but his career post-Fab Four is nothing to sneeze at. Let’s take a look at just five of John Lennon’s best songs from shortly after The Beatles broke up, to just before his untimely death in 1980. 

Keep in mind that this list isn’t exhaustive. We’re just fond of these five tracks in particular!

1. “Mother” (1970)

When The Beatles called it quits, John Lennon was quick to start penning new music of his own. And much of that early solo career work focused on exorcising Lennon’s demons. John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band is a rough ride, packed full of work that explored Lennon’s childhood trauma. “Mother” is the opener to this album, and it’s an arresting piece of work about Lennon’s tumultuous and brief relationship with his parents. Though, Lennon did say at one point that the song is about parents in general.

2. “New York City” (1972)

This has to be one of John Lennon’s best solo songs, despite the fact that 1972 is often considered Lennon’s “worst” year of songwriting. “New York City” lacks much of the political focus that tracks on Imagine boasted, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s a delightful little song about falling in love with a new place and a new home. 

3. “Mind Games” (1973)

Lennon and Yoko Ono briefly separated in 1973, and some of his music reflected that particular time in his life. “Mind Games”, specifically, seems to be Lennon’s rally for self-determination and personal freedom. The whole of the album of the same name is confusing, unserious, and hard to hold down. In a way, it’s almost fun, despite the tumultuous nature of Lennon’s life at the time of its inception. Sometimes, anxious uncertainty can lead to really incredible art.

4. “Move Over Ms. L” (1975)

This 1975 song marked a period that would last nearly five years in which Lennon would not release new music. He would release an album of covers in 1975 as well, but no original music would get released until almost five years later. This non-album single was the B-side to “Stand By Me”, but we think it was worth its own single release. Some would argue that “Move Over Ms. L” is a weak track, but we kind of dig the silly and loose nature of it.

5. “Woman” (1980)

Some of John Lennon’s best songs came to be shortly before he died, and “Woman” is one of them. This song from Lennon’s final album Double Fantasy is still a well-aged piece of work today. If the timeline was different, we imagine that Lennon would have been singing this particular song for decades.

Photo by George Konig/Shutterstock

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