I had never heard the Yoko Ono song, "Mrs. Lennon," before. But Alex Chilton certainly has. In a 1987 interview with Dawn Eden, he admitted that "it's just like [Big Star's] 'Holocaust.' Exactly."
The Bob: Did you have that song in mind when you wrote "Holocaust"?
CHILTON: I don't know. I think that it was one of those instances of plagiarism that you sort of are aware of somewhere in your mind, but not...I think that, at the time I was doing the tune, I didn't realize that I was copying it.
Decide for yourself: Yoko Ono - "Mrs. Lennon"
Stream: Big Star - "Holocaust" from Third/Sister Lovers.
"Mrs. Lennon" was originally released as the first single from Yoko's 1971 album, Fly.
Via a fascinating thread on the Velvet Rope that includes scandalous stories from producer Jon Tiven and a heated argument with Howlin' Wolf's guitarist's manager!
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Comments
"Holocaust" is one of my favorite Big Star tunes. It sounds just like this and I'm totally putting these two songs next together on a future mix tape.
Wow! Dick Cavett, complete with guests smoking on camera. Gotta love the 70s, man.
Makes me think, "why the fuck did John hook-up with that ho?"
The two songs are definitely peas in a pod. I think "Holocaust" has more depth to it, but I'm a shameless Chiltonian. And yes, at one point, Yoko was an attractive lady. But imagine it; one of the moptops falling madly in love with an avant-garde artist. That would be like Justin Timberlake falling for Lene Lovich. And then JT releasing a tribute album to Anne Frank.