Song · John Lennon
“Mind Games” by John Lennon
From the album Mind Games (1973)
“Mind Games” by John Lennon appears on 10 radio countdowns from 8 stations between 1991 and 2026. It was first released in 1973 on the album Mind Games. Its best result is #55 on the KSHE 95 U-Man 500 (2026). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #5,452 indie & aaa song of all time.
"Mind Games" was the opening shot for John Lennon's album of the same name: Apple issued the single and the LP together in the US on October 29, 1973. The song had been kicking around since 1969, when it surfaced during the Beatles' Let It Be sessions as "Make Love, Not War", and another tune, "I Promise", held the melody it ended up with. A 1972 book by Robert Masters and Jean Houston, Mind Games: The Guide to Inner Space, gave Lennon what he needed to finish it.
He produced and arranged it himself, playing guitar with David Spinozza plus clavichord and percussion, with Kenny Ascher on keyboards and Mellotron, Gordon Edwards on bass, Jim Keltner on drums, Sneaky Pete Kleinow on pedal steel and Michael Brecker on sax. It's leftover hippie idealism leaning into the new mysticism of the '70s.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Indie & Adult Alternative
Classic Rock
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 448 | WNEW-FM | WNEW Firecracker 500 (1991) | 500 |
| 2011 | 867 | 100.7 WZLX | 100.7 WZLX Top 1100 Countdown (2011) | 1100 |
| 2012 | 906 | 100.7 WZLX | 100.7 WZLX Top 1200 Countdown (2012) | 1200 |
| 2014 | 525 | Big 100 | BIG 1000 New Year's Countdown (2014) | 1000 |
| 2019 | 161 | 102.5 KZOK | KZOK Top 1025 of 2019 | 1025 |
| 2022 | 586 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '70s | 908 |
| 2023 | 897 | 101.5 WPDH | WPDH Top 1015 (2023) | 1015 |
| 2023 | 506 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time | 909 |
| 2025 | 412 | 102.5 WDVE | DVE Memorial Day 500 (2025) | 500 |
| 2026 | 55 | KSHE 95 | KSHE 95 U-Man 500 (2026) | 499 |
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