In 1965, Beatlemania was in full swing. That year, the Beatles played their monumental show at Shea Stadium, performed for the last time on the Ed Sullivan Show, and capped off the year by releasing Rubber Soul. That year, John Lennon also bought a Swiss-Made KB Discomatic. A personal, portable playlist, Lennon filled the antediluvian music box with 40 of his favorite 45s to keep him “company” on tour with the Beatles. Lennon’s selection of singles highlighted his diverse musical tastes, spanning rock, R&B, folk, pop, Motown, and blues.

Lennon’s analog “playlist” featured Bob Dylan, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, Little Richard, Paul Revere & the Raiders, and The Lovin’ Spoonful, among many more, including the Beatles 1962 tourmate Gary U.S. Bonds’ 1960 song “New Orleans” and No. 1 “Quarter to Three,” from 1961, R&B singer Fontella Bass’s 1965 hit “Rescue Me,” the Animals’ “Bring It On Home to Me,” and even opens on Wilson Pickett’s “In the Midnight Hour.” 

Lennon also pointed out the five Smokey Robinson and the Miracles songs on his list. The Miracles appear on the Discomatic more than any other artist and were a significant influence on the Beatles, who covered the group’s 1962 hit “You Really Got a Hold on Me” on With the Beatles. “That’s me trying to be Smokey Robinson again,” said Lennon in his Jukebox notes, likening The Beatles’ 1963 hit “All My Loving” to something Robinson would have composed.

‘John Lennon’s Jukebox’

In 1989, the old jukebox resurfaced at a Christie’s auction and was sold to the Bristol music producer John Midwinter for £2,500 (approximately $2,770). Midwinter spent years restoring and researching the 45s that Lennon personally placed inside. Before he died in 2004, Midwinter shared the playlist, along with Lennon’s handwritten notes about some of his favorite songs.

Along with its release, the project was also the subject of a British documentary, John Lennon’s Jukebox, which features interviews with some of the artists influenced by Lennon and featured on his Discomatic.

[RELATED: 7 of John Lennon’s Favorite Song]

“In the Midnight Hour” – Wilson Pickett
“Rescue Me” – Fontella Bass
“The Tracks of My Tears” – Smokey Robinson and the Miracles
“My Girl” – Otis Redding
“1-2-3” – Len Barry
“Hi-Heel Sneakers” – Tommy Tucker
“The Walk” – Jimmy McCracklin
“Gonna Send You Back to Georgia” – Timmy Shaw
“First I Look at the Purse” – The Contours
“New Orleans” – Gary U.S. Bonds
“Watch Your Step” – Bobby Parker
“Daddy Rollin’ Stone” – Derek Martin
“Short Fat Fannie” – Larry Williams
“Long Tall Sally” – Little Richard
“Money (That’s What I Want)” – Barrett Strong
“Hey! Baby” – Bruce Channel
“Positively 4th Street” – Bob Dylan
“Wild About My Lovin’” – The Lovin’ Spoonful
“Turquoise” – Donovan
“Slippin’ and Slidin” – Buddy Holly
“Be-Bop-A-Lula” – Gene Vincent
“No Particular Place to Go” – Chuck Berry
“Steppin’ Out” – Paul Revere & the Raiders
“Do You Believe in Magic’ – The Lovin’ Spoonful
“Some Other Guy” – The Big Three
“Twist and Shout” – The Isley Brothers
“She Said, Yeah” – Larry Williams
“Brown Eyed Handsome Man” – Buddy Holly
“Slippin’ and Slidin” – Little Richard
“Quarter to Three’ – Gary U.S. Bonds
“Ooh! My Soul” – Little Richard
“Woman Love” – Gene Vincent
“Shop Around” – The Miracles
“Bring It on Home to Me” – The Animals
“If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody” – James Ray with the Hutch Davie Orchestra
“What’s So Good About Goodbye” – The Miracles
“Bad Boy” – Larry Williams
“Agent Double-O Soul” – Edwin Starr
“I’ve Been Good to You” – The Miracles
“Who’s Lovin’ You” – The Miracles

Photo: John Lennon in Paris, January 16, 1964. (Harry Benson/Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)