The original music video from his Double Fantasy album. It was released as a single on October 9, 1980, Lennon's 40th birthday, and reached number one in both the USA and UK two weeks after he was killed. It is his biggest solo American hit, staying at #1 for five weeks. (When Lennon died the single was at #3 in the USA and the following week reached the summit.) In the UK it had peaked at #8 in the charts and had fallen out of the Top 20 before Lennon's death propelled it to #1, making an impressive #21-#1 move. Indeed, in that week, there were 3 Lennon songs in the UK top 5, a feat never achieved before or since.

This was the first single released from Double Fantasy, and the first new recording Lennon had released since 1975. It was chosen by Lennon not because it was the best track on the album, but because it was the most appropriate following his five year absence from the recording industry. He referred to it during production as the "Elvis / Orbison" track, as he "tongue in cheek" impersonated their vocal styles. The uplifting bell at the intro of the song serves as the antidote to the morose bell sound which opens Lennon's first solo album, Lennon seeing it as him having come full circle.