Historical Overview: The Let It Be Sessions
Despite a flurry of creative activity in 1968, including side projects and experimental ventures, the Beatles entered 1969 under growing internal and managerial strain. John Lennon released the provocative Two Virgins with Yoko Ono, while George Harrison explored Indian music on his solo debut Wonderwall Music. As a group, however, they struggled to manage their increasingly unwieldy Apple enterprise. Following Brian Epstein’s death in 1967, the Beatles attempted to run their own affairs. One of their most ambitious post-Epstein ventures was Apple Corps Ltd., a multimedia company envisioned to support music, art, film, fashion, and other creative projects. Established in early 1968, Apple was intended to serve as both a business venture and a cultural movement, allowing the Beatles to channel their fame and fortune into artistic innovation while helping young, unknown talent find a platform.
Without strong organizational structure or experienced leadership, Apple quickly descended into financial and managerial chaos. The company’s idealistic “open door” policy brought a constant stream of hopeful artists and projects, many of which were unviable. Employees lacked clear roles, departments operated chaotically, and extravagant spending went largely unchecked. Overwhelmed, the Beatles increasingly disagreed on how to manage the situation. The question of leadership ultimately deepened existing fractures within the group.
John Lennon, frustrated with Apple’s dysfunction and emboldened by his partnership with Yoko Ono, pushed for Allen Klein, a hard-nosed New York manager known for renegotiating record contracts to favor his clients. Klein had previously worked with Sam Cooke and the Rolling Stones. Although Mick Jagger advised caution, Lennon remained enthusiastic. Ringo Starr and George Harrison eventually sided with Lennon, while Paul McCartney insisted on Lee Eastman, his father-in-law and an established entertainment lawyer, for a more transparent and ethical approach. The disagreement became a flashpoint. With John, George, and Ringo backing Klein, Paul refused to sign the new contract, setting off a chain of legal and personal tensions that would simmer for the rest of the band’s career. Klein did manage to restructure Apple’s finances and reduce some excesses, but his arrival marked a decisive split in the band’s unity.
Meanwhile, each Beatle pursued personal projects. Paul and Linda McCartney married in March 1969 in a small London ceremony. John and Yoko wed in Gibraltar the same month and immediately launched their first Bed-In for Peace in Amsterdam, turning their honeymoon into a platform for anti-war activism. Journalists filed in as the couple remained in bed for a week, dressed in white pajamas and surrounded by signs reading “Hair Peace” and “Bed Peace.” In April, they expanded their conceptual work with “Bagism,” holding a press conference fully enclosed in a large cloth bag to encourage communication free from visual prejudice.
By mid-1969, it was increasingly clear that the Beatles were no longer functioning as a unified band. Differences in business philosophy, lifestyle, and artistic direction were widening, and the seeds of their breakup were evident. In an effort to restore unity, Paul suggested live performances and a new film project documenting the recording of a new album. Sessions began in a large London studio, but the cold, uninviting environment and long hours produced little material, and frustration grew. The project was eventually put on hold, later evolving into the Abbey Road and Let It Be albums and the Let It Be film, which captured both the band’s creative process and internal tensions.
Despite the discord, Abbey Road, released in 1969, demonstrated the band’s enduring musical excellence. The album, recorded at EMI’s London studio, showcased George Harrison’s maturation as a songwriter. While the White Album had shown promise, “Something” and “Here Comes the Sun” elevated Harrison to a level comparable to Lennon and McCartney. “Something” features sophisticated harmonic progressions and tempo shifts that deepen its emotional impact, quickly becoming a standard covered by countless artists. “Here Comes the Sun” employs subtle metric changes and shifting accents, creating a bright, optimistic tone. Both tracks remain among the album’s most beloved.
John Lennon explored both avant-garde experimentation with Yoko Ono and traditional rock and roll. “Come Together” opens the album with a bluesy, rock-inflected groove, while “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” builds tension through layered riffs and electronic effects, ending abruptly in dead silence.
Abbey Road closes with a medley that stitches shorter pieces into a continuous suite. It begins with Paul McCartney’s “You Never Give Me Your Money,” moves into John Lennon’s dreamy “Sun King,” and continues with McCartney’s lullaby-like “Golden Slumbers” flowing into the full-band “Carry That Weight.” The medley culminates with “The End,” featuring Ringo Starr’s drum solo and alternating guitar solos from Paul, George, and John, celebrating themes of love, reconciliation, and unity while offering a poignant farewell.
Abbey Road became the Beatles’ best-selling album, topping charts for 11 weeks. Though the band released more material afterward, including singles and reissues, they never again recorded a full album together.
n April 1970, Let It Be was released alongside a documentary film. Although most recordings were completed in 1969, the Beatles had largely disengaged from the project. Producer Phil Spector reworked the sessions, applying his signature “Wall of Sound” approach, most notably on “The Long and Winding Road,” a decision that Paul McCartney openly criticized. Decades later, McCartney initiated Let It Be… Naked, seeking to restore the stripped-down, live-to-tape aesthetic the band had originally intended. This version largely features newly mixed tracks from the Let It Be sessions, omits most of Spector’s embellishments, and removes the incidental studio chatter included on the original album, presenting a more direct and unadorned portrait of the Beatles’ final recordings.
These sessions revealed a band still capable of brilliance but increasingly fractured. Members rarely played together in the same studio, with John even absent from tracks like “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” due to a car accident in July 1969 that left Yoko Ono bedridden. Despite these difficulties, the recordings demonstrate each Beatle in peak form, capturing both their individual strengths and the complex dynamics that would ultimately end their collaboration.