Flashback: The Beatles release "Let It Be"
It was on 37 years ago (March 16th, 1970) that the Beatles released "Let It Be," their final single in America prior to officially breaking up. The track was actually over a year old, having been recorded on January 31st, 1969, during the group's ill-fated "Get Back" sessions which were originally conceived as a TV special chronicling the Beatles' stage comeback. The sessions instead became the Let It Be movie, which chronicled the disintegration of the Fab Four.
The song, along with its companion piece "The Long And Winding Road," was written by Paul McCartney in late 1968 near the end of the Beatles' White Album sessions. McCartney began writing the song after waking from a dream featuring his mother, Mary, who had died when McCartney was 14.
McCartney recalled the song in his 1997 official biography Many Years From Now, saying , "Mother Mary makes it a quasi-religious thing, so you can take it that way. I don't mind. I'm quite happy if people want to use it to shore up their faith. I think it's great to have faith of any sort, particularly in the world we live in... Looking back on the Beatles' work I'm glad that most of it was a positive force... they're such symbols of optimism and hopefulness."
The song featured McCartney on piano and lead vocal, John Lennon on bass and backing vocal, George Harrison on lead guitar and backing vocal, Ringo Starr on drums, and Billy Preston on organ. Later, in April 1969, Macca overdubbed an electric piano, additional percussion, and vocals with his wife Linda and Apple recording artist Mary Hopkin.
Two months after the song was released as a single, a version of the song remixed by producer Phil Spector, featuring a horn section and a different Harrison guitar solo, was issued on the Let It Be album.
The single's B-side was "You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)," which featured a backing track recorded in May 1967 during the Magical Mystery Tour sessions with the late Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones playing saxophone. Lennon and McCartney added their vocals in April 1969.
"Let It Be" ended Simon & Garfunkel's six-week-run at Number One with "Bridge Over Troubled Water," and on April 11th, 1970, the day after Macca announced he was leaving the Beatles, "Let It Be" topped the chart for the first of two weeks.
Although the Beatles' record label continued to release compilation albums and issue singles throughout the '70s, including the follow-up Number One single "The Long And Winding Road," "Let It Be" stands as the last official single release before the band broke up.
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The song, along with its companion piece "The Long And Winding Road," was written by Paul McCartney in late 1968 near the end of the Beatles' White Album sessions. McCartney began writing the song after waking from a dream featuring his mother, Mary, who had died when McCartney was 14.
McCartney recalled the song in his 1997 official biography Many Years From Now, saying , "Mother Mary makes it a quasi-religious thing, so you can take it that way. I don't mind. I'm quite happy if people want to use it to shore up their faith. I think it's great to have faith of any sort, particularly in the world we live in... Looking back on the Beatles' work I'm glad that most of it was a positive force... they're such symbols of optimism and hopefulness."
The song featured McCartney on piano and lead vocal, John Lennon on bass and backing vocal, George Harrison on lead guitar and backing vocal, Ringo Starr on drums, and Billy Preston on organ. Later, in April 1969, Macca overdubbed an electric piano, additional percussion, and vocals with his wife Linda and Apple recording artist Mary Hopkin.
Two months after the song was released as a single, a version of the song remixed by producer Phil Spector, featuring a horn section and a different Harrison guitar solo, was issued on the Let It Be album.
The single's B-side was "You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)," which featured a backing track recorded in May 1967 during the Magical Mystery Tour sessions with the late Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones playing saxophone. Lennon and McCartney added their vocals in April 1969.
"Let It Be" ended Simon & Garfunkel's six-week-run at Number One with "Bridge Over Troubled Water," and on April 11th, 1970, the day after Macca announced he was leaving the Beatles, "Let It Be" topped the chart for the first of two weeks.
Although the Beatles' record label continued to release compilation albums and issue singles throughout the '70s, including the follow-up Number One single "The Long And Winding Road," "Let It Be" stands as the last official single release before the band broke up.
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