John Lennon - '(Just Like) Starting Over' (1980)

"(Just Like) Starting Over" is a song written and performed by John Lennon for his album, Double Fantasy. The B-side was Yoko Ono's "Kiss Kiss Kiss". It was released as a single on 24 October 1980 and reached number one in both the USA and UK two weeks after he was murdered. It is his biggest solo American hit, staying at #1 for five weeks. (When Lennon was shot in New York City on 8 December 1980 the single was at #3 in the US and reached the summit for the week ending December 27, making it the fourth posthumous number one song on the US chart.) In the UK it had peaked at #8 in the charts and had fallen to position #21 before Lennon's death propelled it to #1, making an unprecedented #21 to #1 move. By 6 January 1981 there were three Lennon songs in the UK top 5, a feat never achieved before or since.


This was the first single released from Double Fantasy, and the first new recording Lennon had released since 1975. It was chosen by Lennon not because he felt it was the best track on the album, but because it was the most appropriate following his five year absence from the recording industry. He referred to it during production as the "Elvis/Orbison" track, as he "tongue in cheek" impersonated their vocal styles. The uplifting bell at the intro of the song serves as the antidote to the morose bell sound which opens Lennon's first solo album, Lennon seeing it as his having come full circle.


Although its origins were in unfinished older compositions like "Don’t Be Crazy" and "My Life", it was one of the last songs to be completed in time for the Double Fantasy sessions. “We didn’t hear it until the last day of rehearsal,” producer Jack Douglas said in 2005. Lennon finished the song while on holiday in Bermuda, and recorded it at The Hit Factory in New York City just weeks later. The original title was to be "Starting Over". "(Just Like)" was added at the last minute because a country song of the same title had recently been released by Tammy Wynette. Inspirations for the song include similarities in melody to a section in the Beach Boys song "Don't Worry Baby".


While commercial releases of the song (original 45rpm singles, LP's and Compact Discs) run a length of three minutes and 54 seconds, a promotional 12" vinyl single originally issued to radio stations feature a longer fadeout, officially running at four minutes and 17 seconds. This version is highly desired by collectors.  It is listed at #53 on Billboard's All Time Top Songs. The Flaming Lips recorded a version for the benefit album Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur.   On 8 October 2010, in honor of his birthday, iTunes released remastered albums, iTunes LPs and a free track, the 2010 remix of "(Just Like) Starting Over".