# In 1971, John Lennon wrote the best song he ever made. Decades later, it’s still never made it to number one in America

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/in-1971-john-lennon-wrote-the-best-song-he-ever-made-decades-later-its-still-never-made-it-to-number-one-in-america/
- Published: 2026-11-11T22:30:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-11T23:34:45+00:00
- Original publisher: Far Out
- Original article: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/1971-john-lennon-wrote-the-best-song-he-ever-made/
- Topics: Americas, Entertainment, Music, World

## Key points

- Lennon called “Imagine” his best song.
- It never topped the US charts.
- Its message outlasted its chart performance.

## Summary

After The Beatles split, John Lennon shifted towards more personal and experimental music, but wanted to express his hopes for a better world in a way listeners could share. He wrote “Imagine” in 1971, later calling it his best song and describing it as “almost like a prayer”; despite its lasting reputation, it never reached number one in the United States.

The article places the song against the backdrop of the Vietnam War and Lennon’s move to New York the following year. It contrasts “Imagine” with the harsher, politically direct work that followed, including the poorly received *Some Time in New York City*, and argues that the song’s influence is not measured by its chart position.

---
Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.