SamboraBlog

Stars name their favorite Lennon songs

What's your favorite John Lennon song -- and why?

Trey Anastasio: I like everything he did on the "White Album." I like everything he did right before he died. "Beautiful Boy" is heartbreaking. And then right at the end, the stuff he was writing --"(Just Like) Starting Over" and all those songs.

Bonnie Raitt: I love when he sang "Twist and Shout" and the early R&B covers that John did [with the Beatles]. "Love Me Do" and "I Should Have Known Better" -- I couldn't get enough of them.

Richie Sambora: "Jealous Guy." It's haunting, that whistle. Everybody is in that position at one point in their relationships.

Peter Himmelman: "Girl." It's so simple. It makes me happy. Nothing too profound.

Bruce Springsteen: "Mother" is an amazing piece of music and an incredible thing to do. The rawness of it, and to make it beautiful.

Slash: "Mother." Because it's so personal, it's screaming out pain, it's very effective.

Scott Weiland of Velvet Revolver: "How Do You Sleep." It's amazing how that guy can go from writing about love in such a touching and beautiful way and quickly traverse into a rant. He's obviously talking about his old writing partner [Paul McCartney].

Donovan: "Across the Universe." It's when we most personally connected. We spent a lot of time together because of this superfame thing. And "Julia," which he wrote for his mother when I taught him a guitar style in India. He asked me to help with the lyrics. It was a tender relationship that we had for a few days over that song.

Lionel Richie: "Imagine." It says so much. You can always tell songs that are powerful: very few words to say so much.

Carlos Santana: "Imagine." Because it wasn't about John Lennon. It was about all of us. Certain songs you don't even hear the artist, you just hear a big mirror of humanity.

JON BREAM