Credit: Far Out / Apple Corps LTD
Of all the albums The Beatles made, their final LP, Let It Be, was certainly their most tumultuous.
While putting it together, the band split up, got back together, got a new producer, split up, and then got back together again. Most other bands would completely crumble under these circumstances, and the album would remain the stuff of rumour; however, the Fab Four aren’t any other band. They got through these recording sessions, no matter how hard it might have been, and the result is one of the greatest pieces of music ever put together.
The album was successful as soon as it was released, but its success didn’t linger in 1970. The album continues to inspire people in the musical world, gets crowds of strangers rushing to dance floors, and remains the perfect fodder for any good sing-along. It might have originally been made decades ago, but Let It Be has had a lot more lives than one.
As the anniversary of its release comes around, it’s only right that we celebrate the excellent album, not just how it was made and when it came out, but how it continues to move everyone within earshot to this day.
Credit: Far Out / Apple Corps LTDA timeline of the many lives of The Beatles:
Credit: Far Out / YouTube StillThe Rooftop Concert
The plan for the Fab Four’s comeback performance as a live act was originally far bigger and more comprehensive than a simple stint on the top of a roof. Ideas even floated around about having it at the Palladium or the Sahara in Vegas, until someone (likely Glyn Johns or Michael Lindsay-Hogg) turned to the rest and said, “Why not have it on the roof?”
A handful of the performances, including ‘I’ve Got a Feeling’, ‘One After 909’ and ‘Dig a Pony’, eventually made it onto the Let It Be record, while the footage was famously included in the 1970 docufilm of the same name, marking a considerably extraordinary moment in history that no one will ever be able to replicate.
Credit: Far Out / AlamyThe making of
From January 1969 to January 1970, a lot happened during the making of Let It Be, including George Harrison temporarily leaving the band and writing an iconic one-liner in his diary about it, Billy Preston joining the group in the studio to attempt to smooth tensions, John Lennon officially leaving the band but telling no one outside of their circle about it, and the remaining members reconvening in the studio to finish off what they’d started.
All of these moments ultimately culminated in the group’s official break-up in April 1970, when Paul McCartney orchestrated a press release Q&A announcement, signalling the official end of The Beatles. When asked why, McCartney said, “Personal differences, business differences, musical differences, but most of all because I have a better time with my family.”
Credit: Far Out / Album CoverRelease and commercial performance
A month after the band’s split, Let It Be was released, topping the album charts in both the US and the UK. However, despite its immediate success and longstanding legacy, reactions upon release were mixed, with a strong handful exploring all the ways why it was, without a doubt, the Fab Four’s worst album.
That said, those misguided opinions are neither here nor there, considering how kind the hands of time have been on this particular slice of golddust, and any writer who spouted nonsense about any material from the Liverpudlian quartet being anything less than average probably looks back now and wholeheartedly regrets it.
Credit: Far Out / Heinrich KlaffsJoan Baez covers ‘Let It Be’
Joan Baez is the kind of person who could take any song and somehow make it even more beautiful. After all, she had a heavy hand in helping to bolster the career and reputation of Bob Dylan, and it’s all because she took his songs and helped people to connect with them on a deeper, more emotional level.
In 1971, she included her cover of ‘Let It Be’ on her record Blessed Are…, which also featured covers of songs by the Band, The Rolling Stones, and more. However, given how fresh ‘Let It Be’ was at the time, her cover felt especially poignant, signalling not only the end of The Beatles but also the end of counterculture.
Credit: Far Out / AlamyRay Charles covers ‘Let It Be’
There are many covers of ‘Let It Be’ to choose from when deciding on the best cover, but something about Ray Charles’ version seems to transcend above the rest. A beautiful stripped-down version that maintains all the emotional vulnerability of the original, Charles’ is certainly up there when it comes to keeping the magic alive.
For these reasons, it also did a good job at keeping McCartney’s original vision intact, making you feel as though you’re experiencing that same sense of nostalgia and yearning for someone or something that McCartney felt at the time.
Credit: Raph Pour-HashemiPaul McCartney performs ‘Let It Be’ at Glastonbury
When Paul McCartney performed ‘Let It Be’ at Glastonbury Festival in 2022, people reacted the same way they do when our beloved Macca does any Beatles covers: stopped, listened, and let themselves be transported back to somewhere special.
What is perhaps the most hard-hitting aspect of McCartney’s renditions is that he never seems to be phoning it in. He always pours his heart and soul into his performances, holding the entire weight of times gone by often in just his voice alone.
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