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.