John Lennon’s favourite songs of the 1960s: “The greatest”

A Far Out Magazine feature revisits John Lennon's musical tastes during the 1960s, exploring how the songwriting partnership with Paul McCartney helped drive The Beatles' rise and the wider cultural revolution of the decade. The piece argues that Lennon's own eclectic influences, from folk to soul to Motown, shaped both his songwriting and The Beatles' reputation for genre-blending innovation, while also underlining Lennon's lifelong commitment to staying true to his artistic instincts despite controversy.

The article highlights Lennon's admiration for figures such as Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Chuck Berry and Otis Redding, alongside favourite songs including 'My Girl', 'You Are The Sunshine Of My Life' and Fleetwood Mac's 'Albatross'. It also recounts Lennon's enthusiastic praise for the Beach Boys' 'The Little Girl I Once Knew', in which he lauded Brian Wilson's inventive, self-taught arranging style as "the greatest" record he had heard in weeks.