Music News


'Give Peace a Chance' Lyrics Up for Sale

By GREGORY KATZ, AP
Posted: 2008-04-29 16:00:26
Filed Under: Music News
LONDON (April 29) - When John Lennon gave Gail Renard the scribbled lyrics to "Give Peace a Chance" in 1969, he told the teen to hold on to the piece of paper.

"It will be worth something someday," predicted Lennon, who was in the midst of his famous eight-day "bed-in" with his new wife, Yoko Ono, in Montreal.

She did, and it is. Christie's plans to auction the lyric sheet in July as the centerpiece in its rock and pop memorabilia sale. The words to the enduring peace anthem are expected to fetch more than $400,000.

The lyrics will go on public view July 5 in London and will be auctioned July 10. They will also be available for viewing by appointment in New York on May 7-10.

"I think the interest is there because this is certainly one of the most recognizable and influential of John Lennon's solo compositions," said Helen Hall, head of the popular culture department at Christie's South Kensington. "It's important not just as one of Lennon's most famous peace anthems, it's also the fact that it was written at such a historical event."

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Few believe the lyric is an example of great songwriting. The Beatles had moved beyond their cute moptop phase and their psychedelic infatuation, but were close to breaking apart as Lennon, heavily influenced by Ono, became a utopian peace activist.

Determined to focus world attention on the war in Vietnam, the newlyweds moved into suite 1742 at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel and invited the world's media to come interview them.

Renard, a teenage fan who sneaked past security guards, was among the first to arrive. She befriended Lennon, helped look after Ono's young daughter, Kyoto, and made copies of the song Lennon wrote during the "bed-in" so their friends could read the lyrics and record it in the room.

Renard, now a British-based TV writer and presenter, developed a lifelong friendship with Lennon, who helped launch her journalism career by placing an article she wrote about the bed-in in the Beatles Monthly magazine. She is also selling some rare photographs of herself with Lennon and Ono.

The actual recording of "Give Peace a Chance" took about five minutes. It became a worldwide hit after it was touched up in the studio. A number of famous guests, including Timothy Leary, Allen Ginsberg and Tommy Smothers, sang on the record, which went to No. 14 on the Billboard charts.

It was released as a song by the Plastic Ono Band, signaling Lennon's growing disenchantment with the Beatles, particularly longtime songwriting partner Paul McCartney.

The song is a simple, casual affair recorded without any of the Beatles' typically high level of musicianship and artistry, but the phrase "Give Peace a Chance" has entered the popular lexicon, surviving long after Lennon's death in 1980.

Hall said it ranks with "Imagine" as one of Lennon's most popular songs. She said the prices paid for Beatles' lyrics continue to rise as a new generation discovers the works of Lennon and McCartney.

"It's interesting to see the reach the Beatles have," she said. "We're seeing a lot of buyers in their 30s and 40s who didn't grow up listening to them."

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2008-04-29 13:29:35
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24 comments

repk2bill 12:28:09 AM May 01 2008

Didn't he mean "give the enemy a chance"

wugeerpegiar 04:41:34 PM Apr 30 2008

JORDAN , NIKE , PUMA , ADIDAS , BAPE shoes , COACH , LV , GUCCI , CHANEL , FENDI handbags , $20/pair(pcs) !!!! Welcome to http://www.netsowntown.com

Sprite340 12:35:48 PM Apr 30 2008

answer24 you are an idiot!!!!!!!! Imagine is a great song. So what if he was a millionare, he didn't flaunt it like people do today!!!! I guess you aren't very smart if you don't understand what that song means!!!!

Jeagle653 10:34:52 AM Apr 30 2008

Isn't this a cue for Yoko Ono to pop her ugly mug into this and claim she wrote the lyrics?

atorre2 07:23:48 AM Apr 30 2008

Johnnie Lennon closest muse to the Bolshoi Ballet and Tshaicosky and cold turkey and t34-s and american jeeps. Ringo.s rings are overrated.

joepaduano 10:20:49 PM Apr 29 2008

ucpyramidsicm2 You are on drugs. Not even a 2 year old would believe your inane comments

joepaduano 10:19:37 PM Apr 29 2008

ucpyramidsicm2 You are on drugs. Not even a 2 year old would believe your inane comments

joepaduano 10:17:46 PM Apr 29 2008

ucpyramidsicm2 You are on drugs. Not even a 2 year old would believe your inane comments

repk2bill 08:37:38 PM Apr 29 2008

Lennons communist lyrics are for sale.

answer24 07:56:59 PM Apr 29 2008

lennon was a joke read the lyrics to the song imagine,he never did anything for nothing.Tells us not to have any possessions,some advice coming from a milloinaire

bdf76273 07:50:20 PM Apr 29 2008

ParaleGal925 and ur prob a republican redneck who is afraid the Democrats are " gonna take ur guns away".. HILLARY 2008!

bdf76273 07:41:55 PM Apr 29 2008

we need another person like the great john lennon to help end the war 2day!!! HILLARY 08!!

bdf76273 07:40:16 PM Apr 29 2008

we need somebody like the great john lennon to help everybody band together to end this war! HILLARY 2008!!!!

themarbleplace 07:38:41 PM Apr 29 2008

I wish John Lennon could see the world in the present time... so many things happening and everybody trying to understand it, without knowing what to do...
Maybe a song would help ease the pain in the deep of the hearth...maybe.

ucpyramidsicm2 07:27:27 PM Apr 29 2008

IT'S A LITTLE KNOWN FACT THAT THE SONG WAS ORGINALLY TITLED, "GIVE PEACE THE CHANCE" WHEN ON A REPRISE TOUR IN HAMBURG GERMANY, THE BEATLES HAD A LIVE-IN ROADIE BY THE NAME OF "CHEECE" WHO'D GET SO STONED ON LSD, THAT HE ONCE LEFT PAUL MCCARTNEY'S PRIZED RICKENBACKER BASS GUITAR BEHIND AT A SKINHEADS VENUE IN HAMBURG, GERMANY.

MCCARTNEY WAS SO INCENSED THAT HE GRABBED CHEECE BY THE HAIR, THREW HIM ON THE FLOOR, AND IN TYPICAL LIVERPOOL STYLE, "DE-PANTSED" THE POOR SCHNOOK AND KICKED HIM OUT THE DOOR IN BROAD DAYLIGHT ONTO UNTER DER LINDEN STRASSE. AS CHEECE BANGED ON THE LOCKED FLAT'S DOOR SCREAMING BLOODY MURDER TO BE LET BACK IN TO QUELL HIS IGNOMINY, A KINDLIER GEORGE HARRISON SAID TO MCCARTNEY, "C'MON BLOKE, GIVE CHEESE THE PANTS" AS JOHN LENNON, OVERHEARING, STOPPED WHAT HE WAS DOING SITTING IN A CORNER SHUFFLING THROUGH A DECK OF PORNOGRAPHIC PLAYING CARDS TO TINKER WITH A NEW SONG TITLE... NO SH!T, THIS IS EXACTLY HOW IT WENT DOWN!

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