‘Every Man Has A Woman Who Loves Him’ was recorded as one of Yoko Ono’s songs for the 1980 album Double Fantasy.
The song was composed around 1978, at a time when both Ono and John Lennon were preparing songs for their joint comeback album.
‘Every Man Has A Woman Who Loves Him’ was recorded in 1980, with Lennon performing a harmony vocal part. The Double Fantasy sessions took place between 6 August and 13 October at the Hit Factory studio in New York.
The song was remixed in July 1984 at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with Lennon’s part presented as lead vocals. The remix was made for the Polydor album Every Man Has A Woman, a Yoko Ono tribute released for her 50th birthday, which featured a collection of her songs sung by performers including Harry Nilsson, Roberta Flack, Elvis Costello, and Sean Lennon.
Upon the album’s release, Ono revealed that there was also a version of ‘Hard Times Are Over’ featuring Lennon on lead vocals, yet this remains unreleased.
The album Every Man Has A Woman was released in the US on 17 September 1984, and in the UK on 21 September. It failed to chart in both countries.
‘Every Man Has A Woman Who Loves Him’ was issued as a US single on 5 October 1984, with Sean Lennon’s performance of ‘It’s Alright’ on the b-side. The catalog number was Polydor 881 387-7. The single peaked at number 55 in the chart.
The single was issued in the UK on 16 November as Polydor POSP 712. As with the album, it did not reach the charts in either the US or the UK.
The Lennon vocal version was the penultimate song on the 1990 four-CD box set Lennon. A new remix of the recording was included on the 2020 collection Gimme Some Truth.
