Main Writer:Â McCartney
Recorded:Â January 25, 26 and 31, April 30, 1969; January 4, 1970
Released:Â March 11, 1970
14 weeks; no. 1
About The Song
Drawing inspiration from the soulful essence of Aretha Franklin, Paul McCartney initiated the composition of “Let It Be” in 1968, while immersed in the White Album recording sessions. (Interestingly, Aretha’s rendition of the song was unveiled before the Beatles’ version.) McCartney’s introductory lines – “When I find myself in times of trouble/Mother Mary comes to me” – were born from a dream in which his late mother, Mary, provided solace, assuring him that everything would eventually resolve itself. McCartney mentioned, “I’m not certain if she used the exact words ‘Let it be,’ but that was the essence of her counsel.”
During this period, the Beatles were grappling with their own set of difficulties. Originally, a month of on-camera rehearsal and live recording was intended to rekindle the band’s energy and return them to their beat-combo origins. (They had relegated George Martin to the background, with John Lennon asserting, “We want this to be an authentic album; I don’t want any of your production stuff.”) Regrettably, the experience proved to be arduous, escalating from petty disputes in previous albums to outright animosity. Lennon, in particular, wasn’t particularly enamored with “Let It Be”; he playfully questioned the song’s sincerity in the studio, asking, “Are we supposed to chuckle during the solo?” Nonetheless, the band dedicated several days to crafting the song, with the core track being recorded at Apple Studios on January 31st, 1969.
Upon completing the filming sessions for the day, the Beatles entrusted a substantial volume of tapes to engineer Glyn Johns to compile into an album tentatively dubbed “Get Back.” George Harrison, dissatisfied with his solo in the chosen version of “Let It Be,” opted for a fresh take, utilizing a rotating Leslie organ speaker to achieve its distinctive warbling tone, which ultimately made it into the single release.
In the early days of 1970 – nearly a year after the initial recording – McCartney, Harrison, and Starr convened to perform refinements on a few songs, including “Let It Be.” (Lennon, who had effectively distanced himself from the Beatles after the recording of “Abbey Road,” was in Denmark with Yoko Ono.) McCartney replaced John’s bass part with his own, Harrison contributed another guitar solo (the one utilized in the album mix), a brass section orchestrated by Martin was incorporated, and Harrison, along with Paul and Linda McCartney, provided backing vocals.
Lennon had been impressed with producer Phil Spector’s work on his “Instant Karma!” single. In March 1970, he and Beatles manager Allen Klein enlisted Spector to work on the tapes from January 1969. Lennon remarked, “He was given the worst bunch of poorly recorded material with a wretched vibe, and he managed to transform it into something.” Spector handled the LP mix of the title track (after the single had already been released) and is credited as the producer, although it’s mixed from the same tape as the single. McCartney later expressed that Spector’s version “sounded awful.”
Johns, however, preferred his more straightforward mix of the song, the one before “Spector had his way with it.” Spector referred to the atmosphere among the band members as a “battlefield” and believed that he had done the best he could given the circumstances. He said, “If it turns out bad, I’ll get the blame for it. If it’s a success, it’s the Beatles.”
“Let It Be” was officially released on March 11th, 1970. A month later, on April 10th, McCartney chose the moment of his inaugural solo album’s release to announce the dissolution of the Beatles.