| "Cold Turkey" | ||||||
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| Single by Plastic Ono Band | ||||||
| B-side | "Don't Worry Kyoko (Mummy's Only Looking for a Hand in the Snow)" by Yoko Ono | |||||
| Released | 20 October 1969 (US) 24 October 1969 (UK) |
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| Format | 7" | |||||
| Recorded | 28 September 1969 | |||||
| Genre | Rock | |||||
| Length | 5:01 | |||||
| Label | Apple Records | |||||
| Writer(s) | John Lennon | |||||
| Producer | John Lennon, Yoko Ono | |||||
| Plastic Ono Band singles chronology | ||||||
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Cold Turkey is a song written by John Lennon, released as a single in 1969 by the Plastic Ono Band on Apple Records, catalogue Apples 1001 in the United Kingdom, Apple 1813 in the United States. It is the second solo single issued by Lennon, and it peaked at #30 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #14 on the British singles chart. The song's first appearance on album was the 1975 compilation Shaved Fish.
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According to Peter Brown in his book The Love You Make, the song was written in a "creative outburst" following Lennon and Ono going "cold turkey" from their brief heroin addictions.[1] Brown also states that Lennon presented the song to Paul McCartney as a potential single by The Beatles, but was refused and released it as a Plastic Ono Band single with sole writing credits to him.[1]
"Cold Turkey" was the first song John Lennon wrote for which he took sole credit; his previous compositions, including his first single release, "Give Peace a Chance",[2] were attributed to the Lennon–McCartney partnership, although the credit for "Give Peace a Chance" was later changed to Lennon alone.[3] It was recorded in Abbey Road Studio 2. There are other versions, a couple acoustic, and one that features Yoko Ono adding her unique vocalisations (as they did the song live), but none of these served as the single.
The single was released with a standard green Apple label, with the words "Play Loud" printed on the spindle plug of the UK pressing and above and beneath the spindle hole of the US pressing. This instruction would also appear on the labels of Lennon's next solo single, "Instant Karma!"
"Cold Turkey" rose to #14 on the British Singles Chart on the chart announced on 11 November 1969. On 18 November, "Cold Turkey" dropped to #15, and on 25 November Lennon returned his MBE to Buckingham Palace saying "I am returning this MBE in protest against Britain’s involvement in the Nigeria-Biafra thing, against our support of America in Vietnam, and against Cold Turkey slipping down the charts. With love, John Lennon of Bag." [4] In March 2005, Q magazine placed "Cold Turkey" at number 74 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks.
Its first public performance was recorded and released on the Live Peace In Toronto 1969 album by Plastic Ono Band which included Lennon, Yoko Ono, Eric Clapton, Klaus Voormann, and Alan White. Yoko introduced it as the newest song written by John; John added that the band had never played the song together as a group before. He also performed this song, along with "Don't Worry Kyoko", at the Lyceum Ballroom with George Harrison, Keith Moon, Eric Clapton, and others. This would be Lennon's last live performance with any of the other Beatles, and this version would be available on his Some Time in New York City album.
| Chart (1969) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian RPM Singles Chart[5] | 30 |
| Dutch Top 40[6] | 39 |
| UK Singles Chart[7] | 14 |
| Chart (1970) | Peak position |
| US Billboard Pop Singles[8] | 30 |
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