iTunes adds 16 Lennon solo albums

The list of Beatles-related music available for download on iTunes expanded significantly Tuesday with the addition of 16 of John Lennon’s solo albums to the website’s catalog.

The titles cover all of Lennon’s EMI-Capitol albums, including his first post-Beatles album, “John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band,” plus “Imagine,” “Walls and Bridges” and “Milk and Honey,” as well as the “Anthology” and “Working Class Hero” compilations. These albums were put up for download on other download services in 2005, but for the first month, bonus video content exclusive to iTunes will be included for those who download the albums there.

The announcement comes barely three months after Paul McCartney’s solo works entered the digital domain, and it put Lennon’s music online a few weeks ahead of Ringo Starr’s, which goes up Aug. 28. An EMI spokeswoman said Tuesday that there is no word on when George Harrison’s solo works will go digital. The Beatles’ group recordings have not been licensed for digital downloading.

-- Randy Lewis