John Lennon, a name synonymous with musical genius and unfiltered honesty, wasn’t one to shy away from speaking his mind. While Lennon worked with some of the biggest names in music, including guitar legend Eric Clapton, he wasn’t afraid to critique their performances. And when it came to Clapton’s work on Lennon’s 1969 single Cold Turkey, the former Beatles member didn’t hold back.
In 1969, John Lennon was at a turning point in his career. Having recently left The Beatles, he was eager to explore rawer, more personal music. Cold Turkey was born from Lennon’s battle with heroin withdrawal, its lyrics offering a stark and unflinching look at his struggles. The song’s intensity demanded an equally gripping performance, and Lennon called in some heavy hitters to bring it to life.
Fast forward to 1980. During the recording sessions for Lennon’s final studio album, Double Fantasy, Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen and drummer Bun E. Carlos were invited to collaborate. While their contributions to I’m Losing You didn’t make the original album, Lennon had some memorable things to say about Nielsen’s guitar work.
During an interview with Booked on Rock, the author of the Cheap Trick book, “American Standard: Cheap Trick from the Bars to the Budokan and Beyond,” Ross Warner, discussed that at least Nielsen was paid an extremely high compliment by Lennon during the sessions.
He said: “John had said something to the effect of, ‘I wish I’d had this guy on ‘Cold Turkey. Cause Eric Clapton, A. was addicted to heroin, and B. didn’t really deliver the solo.”
Eric Clapton’s lead guitar work on Cold Turkey is often described as raw, jagged, and visceral—qualities that perfectly matched the song’s dark themes. However, Lennon may have been looking for something more polished or emotionally intense, especially given Clapton’s struggles with addiction at the time.
It also remains one of Lennon’s most raw and rocking songs: from both a lyrical and performance standpoint. As a result, it was also a favorite of Cheap Trick’s, according to Warner.
“‘Cold Turkey’ is like one of Cheap Trick’s earliest covers. They loved that. It’s 100% like what their sound was kind of founded on: crunchy and subversive. Robin [Zander], before they started writing their own songs, could do a perfect imitation of almost anybody.”
“It was funny because the story about why they didn’t appear on the album was that John apparently had said something like, ‘This sounds too much like ‘Cold Turkey,” Warner continued. “Had Cheap Trick known that or had Bun and Rick known that — that would have been the ultimate compliment, right? I mean, that’s exactly everything they would have wanted to hear.”
