Released 50 years ago on May 8, the Beatles’ Let It Be album has become synonymous with the group’s disbandment. Worse yet, the LP is often viewed as a late, unwelcome blemish on an otherwise stellar musical career.
But in truth, it was anything of the sort. Indeed, if you’re searching for inspiration in these COVID-conflicted times, look no further than the improbable comeback story associated with Let It Be. Not only did the Beatles overcome their doldrums, they emerged from their interpersonal disarray in fine style, punching out several classic songs in the bargain.
More than one commentator in the sport world has observed that the greatest teams possess an innate capacity for staging come-from-behind wins, for wrenching victory from the jaws of defeat. When it comes to rock 'n' roll, the Beatles were no different. In the space of a single month in January 1969, they went from worst to first, to borrow yet another metaphor. The idea behind Let It Be, which was originally known as the Get Back project, was for the Beatles to "get back" to their roots, to return to the heart and soul of their music without resorting to studio wizardry to capture their sound.
With American director Michael Lindsay-Hogg in tow, the band imagined a two-hour television program that would showcase the Beatles rehearsing their new material for the first hour and then performing it before an audience in some exotic location for the second hour. The Get Back project would be their triumphant return to the stage for the first time since their last concert at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park in August 1966.
But in truth, the stage-wary Beatles could hardly stomach the concept. Amid rising tensions, on 10 January, guitarist George Harrison abruptly quit the band. Eventually, the other musicians coaxed him into returning to the fold with the caveat that they would abandon the idea of some faraway concert.
He also demanded that they abandon the antiseptic Twickenham Studios soundstage for their newfangled basement digs at Apple Corps, the band’s all-purpose production company.
And that’s when the magic happened. Working at their Savile Row office building from 21 January through the end of that fateful month, the Beatles slowly but surely found their footing. Day after day, their focus improved until they had polished up arrangements for a spate of top-drawer tunes, including Don’t Let Me Down, Get Back, Two of Us, I’ve Got a Feeling, Let It Be and The Long and Winding Road. On January 30, they even managed to perform their famous Rooftop Concert atop the Apple office building. With a wintry wind whipping above London’s garment district, they played a remarkable, high-octane set. In the final days of that incredible month, the Beatles had laid down one well-honed track after another.
They had rediscovered their mettle in the nick of time and, implausible as it must have seemed at the time, managed to eke out several unforgettable entries in popular music’s evolving songbook. A year later, thanks to Phil Spector’s post-production efforts, the results of their labours were deemed ready for release. And though it would unleash decades of controversy over the producer’s aesthetic choices, the album that came to be known as Let It Be would perform handsomely in the marketplace, topping the charts around the world and benefiting from three number-one songs in the form of Get Back, Let It Be, and The Long and Winding Road. They had rediscovered their mettle in the nick of time and, implausible as it must have seemed at the time, managed to eke out several unforgettable entries in popular music’s evolving songbook. A year later, thanks to Phil Spector’s post-production efforts, the results of their labours were deemed ready for release. And though it would unleash decades of controversy over the producer’s aesthetic choices, the album that came to be known as Let It Be would perform handsomely in the marketplace, topping the charts around the world and benefiting from three number-one songs in the form of Get Back, Let It Be, and The Long and Winding Road.
These past few months have foisted unexpected despair upon literally thousands of families across the world. In many ways, our future has never seemed more uncertain than it does in the present moment, as we attempt to plot our own path back to where we once belonged. But like the Beatles, we are blessed with the stuff of greatness. We can do this. Kenneth Womack, PhD, is the author of a two-volume study on the life and work of producer Sir George Martin. His latest book, Solid State: The Story of Abbey Road and the End of the Beatles, was published in October 2019 for the album’s 50th anniversary, and his forthcoming book, John Lennon, 1980: The Last Days in the Life, will be published in October 2020. You can learn more about his work at kennethwomack.com Watch beatlesstory.com today for a special guest presentation on Let It Be by Kenneth Womack.
Liverpool Echo Magazine.
May 8th, 2020
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