Valotte

Lennon wrote this in 1983 at a French chateau called the Manor de Valotte. That's where he got the title.

The album was dedicated to "My mother Cynthia and to my Father." Julian is John Lennon's first son. His mother is Cynthia Lennon, who John was married to before Yoko (they had a son named Sean). Julian sounds a lot like his dad, and a lot of people were surprised to learn it was not a John Lennon song when they first heard it.

This was Julian's first single in the US and his second in the UK. He had another hit with "Much Too Late For Goodbyes."

Julian recorded this at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios, which at the time was located along the Tennessee River in Sheffield, Alabama. According to Jimmy Johnson, who was one of the studio owners and played guitar on the sessions, Lennon's lyric "Sitting on a pebble by the river playing guitar" was inspired by his time there. Muscle Shoals is a tranquil place where artists could record in relative seclusion with some of the best musicians in the world available to back them up. Rod Stewart, Aretha Franklin, The Rolling Stones, Wilson Pickett and Paul Simon all recorded in the Muscle Shoals area.

The album was mixed at The Hit Factory recording studio in New York City on the same console John Lennon used to record the album Double Fantasy.