Recording: (Just Like) Starting Over by John Lennon and Yoko Ono

Hit Factory, New York City
Producers: John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Jack Douglas
Engineer: Lee DeCarlo

An overdub session for John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s Double Fantasy album took place on 12 September 1980.

This was for the recording of backing vocals for ‘(Just Like) Starting Over’, the album’s lead single. Lennon and arranger Tony Davilio worked with the session performers: Cassandra Wooten, Michelle Simpson, and Cheryl Mason Jacks, who were members of The Ritchie Family and were credited as Cas Mijac on the album.

Jack Douglas brought me onto the session. Jack had really pumped him up about me and John was very agreeable to have me come in and sing. Working with John was the high point of my musical life. I showed up for the backing vocal session for ‘Starting Over’ and they’d already started layering parts before I got there. So they said, ‘Why don’t you wait until we start ‘Woman’ tomorrow?’ So then I hung out and ate sushi with Yoko, who was very nice. John was really friendly. I’d been a little bit apprehensive about doing the session. See, Jack had worked with John on a Yoko solo album and it was during the time when John was real caustic and edgy and he was drinking a lot, hanging around with Harry Nilsson. But he was much mellower now. When I talked to him, he said, ‘I’m totally enjoying being back in the studio. It’s totally different for me this time. It’s fun. It’s not hard work.’ He was always one to be quick in the studio. He would rush in and get things done and he didn’t really want to deal with the details. He just wanted it to sound good. I think he was calmer and he was letting Jack and Lee DeCarlo tweak the sound, which made Double Fantasy sound much better.