US single release: Instant Karma! by John Lennon

‘Instant Karma!’, John Lennon’s first solo single, was released in the USA on 20 February 1970.

It was Lennon’s third non-Beatles single release, and followed the Plastic Ono Band’s ‘Give Peace A Chance’ and ‘Cold Turkey’.

‘Instant Karma!’ was issued as APPLES 1818. It peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, and was the first solo single by a former Beatle to sell more than a million copies in America.

The b-side of the single was an acoustic ballad, ‘Who Has Seen The Wind?’ It was written by Yoko Ono, produced by Lennon, and recorded privately. The label had ‘PLAY QUIET’ printed in large type, in contrast to the a-side’s ‘PLAY LOUD’.

Its UK release had been two weeks previously, on 6 February 1970.