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Remember When Cheap Trick Hit It off With John Lennon… And Then Got Left on the Cutting Room Floor in 1980?
In 1980, John Lennon briefly recorded a tougher version of “I’m Losing You” with Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen and drummer Bun E. Carlos, after seeking a different feel for the Double Fantasy track. The collaboration mattered because it offered a more abrasive alternative to the album’s usual session-band sound and showed Lennon considering further work with the group shortly before his death.
Producer Jack Douglas, who had worked with both Lennon and Cheap Trick, brought Nielsen and Carlos to New York’s Hit Factory in August, when Cheap Trick was enjoying the success of At Budokan. They also played on Yoko Ono’s “I’m Movin’ On”, but neither recording was used on Double Fantasy and no official reason was given; the session version of “I’m Losing You” nevertheless influenced the later recording by Lennon’s regular musicians.
In short
- Lennon recorded “I’m Losing You” with two Cheap Trick members.
- The unreleased version aimed for a harsher rock sound.
- The sessions reportedly shaped the final album recording.
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The case for
Using the Cheap Trick-backed version on Double Fantasy could have given Lennon’s song a more urgent, abrasive edge that matched its emotional tension. Advocates would argue that the session captured a rare meeting of Lennon’s directness and Cheap Trick’s live-wire power, and that preserving it on the album would have reflected his willingness to experiment beyond familiar studio arrangements.
The case against
Leaving the Cheap Trick version off the album can be defended as a coherent artistic choice rather than a rejection of the musicians involved. Supporters of that decision would argue that Double Fantasy needed a more unified sound across Lennon and Yoko Ono’s songs, and that Lennon’s regular musicians ultimately provided an arrangement better aligned with the album’s intended balance, intimacy and polish.
Explained simply
In August 1980, John Lennon briefly recorded a rougher version of the song "I'm Losing You" with members of American rock band Cheap Trick—guitarist Rick Nielsen and drummer Bun E. Carlos. The session took place at Hit Factory in New York, arranged by producer Jack Douglas, who had worked with both Lennon and the band. Lennon was seeking a tougher, more abrasive sound for what would become a track on his album Double Fantasy.
At the time, Cheap Trick was experiencing considerable commercial success following their live album At Budokan. In addition to "I'm Losing You", Nielsen and Carlos also played on a Yoko Ono composition called "I'm Movin' On" during the same session. However, neither of these recordings was selected for the final version of Double Fantasy, and no official explanation was ever provided for why they were shelved.
The collaboration is now of interest partly because it occurred just months before Lennon's death in December 1980, suggesting he was exploring new creative partnerships at that stage of his life. Although the Cheap Trick session recordings did not appear on the album, the more aggressive approach they captured apparently influenced how Lennon's regular session musicians later recorded their own version of "I'm Losing You".
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