One of John Lennon‘s albums was inspired by him screaming as a form of therapy. Subsequently, Yoko Ono discussed why this form of therapy appealed to John. Notably, pop star Christina Aguilera covered the most famous tune on the album.
A book called ‘The Primal Scream’ inspired a John Lennon album
In a 1980 interview from the book All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono, John discussed the origin of his album John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band. He received a copy of Arthur Janov’s book The Primal Scream in the mail. The book advocates screaming as a form of therapy. John decided to try it because he figured screaming was better than taking LSD to solve one’s problems. The treatment helped him create the album.
Yoko chimed in, saying primal scream therapy appealed to men because they were raised not to show emotion. “She came along for the ride,” John said. “I was the male who had never cried, you know. She could cry. My defenses were so great.
“I mean the cocky chip-on-the-shoulder, macho, aggressive rock ‘n’ roll hero who knew all the answers and the smart quip, the sharp-talking king of the world, was actually a terrified guy who didn’t know how to cry,” he added. “Simple.”
The former Beatle learned to cry around the time he made the album
John discussed how primal scream therapy changed him. “Now I can cry,” he said. “That’s what I learned from primal therapy. We were there six months. We had a nice house in L.A. We’d go down to the session, have a good cry, and come back and swim in the pool.”
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The former Beatle felt the effects of the therapy were temporary. “And you’d always feel like after acid or a good joint, you know, sort of in the pool tingling and everything was fine,” he said. “But then your defenses would all come up again — like the acid would wear off, the joint would wear off — and you’d go back for another fix.”
How ‘John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band’ performed on the international charts
John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band wasn’t a tremendous commercial success. It reached No. 6 on the Billboard 200, staying on the chart for 34 weeks. The one single from the album was the angry ballad “Mother.” That decidedly uncommercial track peaked at No. 43 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed on the chart for six weeks. It wasn’t much of a hit for an artist who had topped the charts so often with The Beatles.
According to The Official Charts Company, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band peaked at No. 8 in the United Kingdom and stayed on the chart for 11 weeks. Meanwhile, “Mother” didn’t hit the chart at all. The song received renewed attention when powerhouse vocalist Christina Aguilera covered it. Her rendition appeared on the charity album Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur. The album featured covers of John’s songs by famous singers.
John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band wasn’t a crowd-pleaser but it has a fascinating backstory.
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