How? (song) explained

How?
Artist:	John Lennon
Album:	Imagine
Released:	9 September 1971 (US) 8 October 1971 (UK)
Recorded:	25 May–5 July 1971
Length:	3:43
Label:	Apple/EMI
Producer:	John Lennon Yoko Ono Phil Spector

"How?" is a song from John Lennon's second solo album Imagine, released in 1971. Lennon recorded "How?" on 25 May 1971 at Ascot Sound Studios, during the sessions for his Imagine album. String overdubs took place on 4 July 1971 at the Record Plant, in New York City.^[1]

Far Out critic Tim Coffman rated it as Lennon's 7th greatest deep cut, saying "Following none of the conventional structures of a pop tune, [it] features Lennon leaving questions unanswered to his audience, wondering if he will ever be able to properly love again if he doesn’t understand the concept of love itself."^[2] Coffman notes that "the song’s ending provides an optimistic solution to his problems."^[2]

Personnel

Personnel per John Blaney.^[3]

• John Lennon – vocals, piano
• Nicky Hopkins – piano
• Klaus Voormann – bass guitar
• John Barham – vibraphone
• Andy Davis – acoustic guitar
• Alan White – drums
• The Flux Fiddlers – strings

Covers

• The song was covered by the band Stereophonics as a B-side to the song "Handbags and Gladrags".
• The song was covered by English singer Julie Covington on her 1978 eponymous album.
• Ozzy Osbourne released a cover of this song in support of Amnesty International during the same week John Lennon would have become 70. He recorded a music video on the streets of New York to promote the single.^{[4] [5]} Osbourne has previously stated that Lennon's song "Imagine" (from the same album as "How?") was an inspiration for Osbourne's own song "Dreamer".
• The song was covered by American singer/songwriter Amy LaVere on her 2014 record Runaway's Diary.^[6]

Notes and References

1. Book: Madinger . Chip . Raile . Scott . LENNONOLOGY Strange Days Indeed - A Scrapbook Of Madness . 2015 . Chesterfield, MO: Open Your Books, LLC . 239, 247 . 978-1-63110-175-5.
2. Web site: 10 greatest John Lennon deep cuts. Coffman, Tim. 22 January 2024. 2024-01-24. Far Out.
3. Book: Lennon and McCartney: Together Alone – A critical discography of their solo work. Blaney, J.. 82-90. 2007. Jawbone Press. 9781906002022.
4. Web site: Ozzy Osbourne Sings John Lennon in Charity Video Cover Me . Covermesongs.com . 2010-10-06 . 2011-09-09.
5. Web site: 2010-10-06 . Ozzy Osbourne covers John Lennon song for charity . 7 August 2022. the Guardian . en.
6. Web site: Runaway's Diary 2014. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20141019112843/http://amylavere.com/music/runaways-diary. 2014-10-19. 2014-10-19. Amy Lavere Official Website.