All You Need is Love: The Song by Lynn Lovegreen

I say, “All you need is love” on a regular basis. It’s one of my favorite songs, and I grew up on The Beatles. But I didn’t know how the song was written until recently. It’s a good story.

 

John Lennon wrote “All You Need is Love” for Our World, a live satellite television broadcast between 25 countries in 1967. The BBC picked The Beatles for the British contribution to the event. The Beatles had recently completed the Sgt. Pepper album. It was the height of the flower power era, and the peace and love theme fit the time perfectly. The band combined John’s original song with a psychedelic ending that included snippets of Beatles songs like “She Loves You” and other works including “Greensleeves” and “In the Mood.”

John Lennon wrote the song shortly before the event, with input from the rest of the band. Much of the background music was recorded previously, but the group played instruments and sang live. Many of their family and friends formed the audience, including famous names like Mick Jagger, Keith Richard, and Eric Clapton singing along to the chorus. Due to glitches in the live broadcast, they went on a little earlier than planned, but pulled off the performance like only The Beatles can. You really can feel the love.

 

I am so grateful to John Lennon and The Beatles for creating that moment in history, and the timeless song.

 

You can read all the details and see video of the group playing “All You Need Is Love” at https://www.beatlesbible.com/songs/all-you-need-is-love/.

 

Information and record photo courtesy of The Beatles Bible

Lynn Lovegreen has lived in Alaska for most of her life. After twenty years in the classroom, she retired to make more time for writing. She enjoys her friends and family, reading, and volunteering for her local library. Her young adult historical romance is set in Alaska, a great place for drama, romance, and independent characters. See her website at www.lynnlovegreen.com.