1975 - ROCK 'N' ROLL, released in 1975 during John Lennon's seperation from Yoko Ono in the early seventies. It is a collection of oldies rock covers from Lennon's younger days. The project dates back to 1973. The sessions were done in partnership with the notoriously volatile producer Phil Spector. It was during these sessions that Spector's relationship with Lennon became strained; some versions claim that the producer suffered a breakdown in the studio, brandishing a gun and disappearing with the Rock 'n' Roll tapes. After several months, Lennon retrieved the tapes and finished the album himself, pushing back the album's release to 1975. The album's cover was taken by Jürgen Vollmer during the Beatles' stay in Hamburg. The photo depicts Lennon in a doorway with three blurry figures walking past him in the foreground. Those figures are Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Stu Sutcliffe.
Lennon Rock'n'Roll session, Record Plant Studio, 1974 L-R: Jesse Ed Davis, Eddie Mottau, Klaus Voormann, Jim Keltner, John Lennon, Shelly Yakus.
“John was exercising all his bad habits, as were we all, including Phil,” remembered Jim Keltner. “The only problem with that was that Phil was the producer, and somebody had to be, you know, sane.”
"Phil would drink a bottle of liquor...he set the tone. And then everybody started to go wild. John’s way of working was that he would come into the studio and do the work. If you wanted to go drinking or take drugs, you did it after, not during his sessions. In this case, everybody was drinking, getting out of their minds, before the sessions." remembered May Pang
Phil Spector would often dress as a surgeon, a karate instructor or a cowboy, armed with a loaded revolver. One day Spector fired the gun into the studio’s ceiling.
“The guys were all drinking and John was being one of the guys,” said May Pang.
SIDE A1- Be-Bop-A-Lula 2:36
2- Stand By Me 3:29
3- Medley: 1:39
Ready Teddy
Rip It Up
4- You Can't Catch Me 4:51
5- Ain't That A Shame 2:31
6- Do You Want To Dance 2:53
7- Sweet Little Sixteen 3:00
SIDE B
1- Slippin' And Slidin' 2:16
2- Peggy Sue 2:06
3- Medley: 3:41
Bring It On Home To Me
Send Me Some Lovin'
4- Bony Moronie 3:50
5- Ya Ya 2:17
6- Just Because 4:25