Walls and Bridges

Released on 26 September 1974 in the United States and 4 October in the UK, Lennon produced and arranged it with a core group of Jim Keltner on drums, Klaus Voormann on bass, Jesse Ed Davis on guitar and Nicky Hopkins on piano, and Ken Ascher arranged and conducted the strings and brass. Engineer Jimmy Iovine said the sessions were the most professional he had been on.

Lennon said the title came from the idea that walls keep you in, while bridges get you somewhere else. Elton John played piano and sang harmony on "Whatever Gets You thru the Night", and won a bet that the song would reach number one, with a guest appearance by Lennon at his Madison Square Garden show as the prize. "#9 Dream" was the second single. Harry Nilsson sang backing vocals on "Old Dirt Road", and Julian Lennon played drums on the closing "Ya Ya". The booklet credited Lennon under many aliases, among them Dr. Winston O'Boogie and Dad. The cover used drawings Lennon made as a child, with photographs by Bob Gruen.

The album reached number one on both the Billboard and Record World charts in the United States and was certified silver in the UK and gold in the US. It was the last album of self-penned material released under his own name during his lifetime.