Whether they were kicking back with an old Hamburg rocker, arsing about with ‘Two Of Us’ in comedy voices, jamming along to Yoko’s impressions of childbirth or deciding if songs that would last generations should be dedicated to pomegranates, The Beatles barely stopped playing throughout the Get Back sessions. Over 400 songs were performed during those few weeks captured for the ‘Let It Be’ film and dusted off by Peter Jackson for his seven-hour Disney+ documentary The Beatles: Get Back, including reworkings of the very first Lennon/McCartney co-writes and a whole heap of songs that would end up on ‘Abbey Road’ or become classics of their individual solo careers. Here’s every (recognisable) song they play in the documentary.
‘On The Road To Marrakesh/Child Of Nature’ (1969)
Lennon
An early version of Lennon’s solo classic ‘Jealous Guy’ with several differing titles, first heard as John’s warm-up song on day one of sessions.
‘Everybody’s Got Soul’ (1969)
Lennon/McCartney
A Lennon song, improvised by the band on day one but never completed.
‘Don’t Let Me Down’ (1970)
Lennon/McCartney
Bluesy Lennon track, a love song to Yoko, which would eventually make the final cut of ‘Let It Be’ and the b-side to ‘Get Back’. Over the course of the sessions they’d try it in the style of Elvis, Johnny Cash, Little Richard and with Paul shouting “plop-plop-plop!” over the top.
‘I’ve Got A Feeling’ (1970)
Lennon/McCartney
More blues, also bound for the finished record, combining McCartney’s main song with a previously recorded Lennon song called ‘Everybody Had A Hard Year’. Or “everybody had a hard on… except for me and my monkey,” as Paul calls it. One later rehearsal is interrupted by John enthusiastically reciting Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘I Had A Dream’ speech.
‘Johnny B Goode’ (1959)
Berry
Chuck Berry’s legendary roadhouse rocker and a Hamburg favourite, given a cursory twangle at Twickenham.
‘Quinn The Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)’ (1968)
Dylan
McCartney gives Manfred Mann’s Dylan-penned 1968 hit a brief high-pitched rendering.
‘I Shall Be Released’ (1968)
Dylan
Warming to the Dylan theme, The Beatles would have heard Bob’s prison lament on The Band’s 1968 album ‘Music From Big Pink’.
‘Two Of Us’ (1970)
Lennon/McCartney
The intimate folk opener of ‘Let It Be’, something of an Everly Brothers tribute, begins life as a Wings-friendly groove rocker with a chorus of “you and me, Henry Cooper” in the film before evolving – via versions in Dylan, Jamaican, upper class, Scottish, comedy Elvis and ventriloquist accents – into its far more subtle acoustic form. The lyric sheet reads “A Quarrymen original”.
‘Tea For Two’ (1924)
Youmans/Caesar
A Broadway hit of the ‘20s, given some swing by Paul at the piano as he and a tap-dancing Ringo wait for the others to show up on day two.
‘Taking A Trip To Carolina’ (1969)
Starkey
A steamboat piano ditty Ringo had been working on at home, given a cheery 20-second preview for Paul and George’s amusement.
‘Just Fun’ (1950s)
Lennon/McCartney
Lacking new songs, a number of tunes from John and Paul’s teenage writing sessions were revisited briefly for possible inclusion, including this skiffle throwaway.
‘Because I Know You Love Me So’ (1950s)
Lennon/McCartney
A country and western number from the same bag of discarded ‘50s pre-Beatles compositions. “I don’t think that ever got there, did it?” Paul chuckles.
‘Thinking Of Linking’ (1950s)
McCartney
We get barely a snippet of this early McCartney tune, but it sounds as if it might have been a southern blues homage.
‘Won’t You Please Say Goodbye’ (1950s)
Lennon/McCartney
Another rhythm and blues slow-burner from the archives, resembling an early run at ‘Baby’s In Black’.
‘One After 909’ (1970)
Lennon/McCartney
The one track from John and Paul’s skiffle rock past which sparks some interest – “I wrote that when I was about 15,” says John, and it finally gets its day in the sun on ‘Let It Be’.
‘Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da’ (1968)
Lennon/McCartney
Blowing off steam, the band run through a comedy take of Paul’s reggae conga, with John singing the chorus as “Oh by gum”.
‘Midnight Special’ (1923)
Traditional
Country blues jailhouse rocker first officially recorded by Dave ‘Pistol Pete’ Cutrell. Beatles kinda killing time at this point.
‘What Do You Want To Make Those Eyes At Me For?’ (1916)
McCarthy/Johnson/Monaco
Showtune turned into a doo-wop hit for Emile Ford And The Checkmates in 1959 and Shakin’ Stevens in 1987, delivered in drunk crooner style by the Fabs.
‘The Harry Lime Theme From The Third Man’ (1949)
Karas
Lennon leads the band through the spy noir theme instrumental, at the end of which George gets an electric shock from his microphone. Aaaand that’ll be lunch.
‘Gimme Some Truth’ (1971)
Lennon
A moment when the viewer really starts to wonder how great ‘Let It Be’ could have been, Lennon offers one of his greatest solo numbers to the band, previously rehearsed with McCartney and largely mumbled besides a few lines, including “money for rope” and “freaked out, yellow-bellied son of Gary Cooper”.
‘All Things Must Pass’ (1970)
Harrison
“There’s no solo or anything complicated,” says George, proffering his own shoulda-been-a-Beatles classic, ultimately destined for his solo debut of the same name despite The Beatles’ version being a thing of no little beauty.
‘Every Little Thing’ (1964)
Lennon/McCartney
George riffs on the 1964 track from ‘Beatles For Sale’ as an example of an “oldie but goldie” they could play at the start of the TV special rather than give the audience nothing but new songs.
‘I’m So Tired’ (1968)
Lennon/McCartney
Paul has a crack at Lennon’s narcoleptic ‘White Album’ track, reflecting the fatigue already setting in.
‘You Wear Your Women Out’ (1969)
Lennon/McCartney/Harrison/ Starkey
An improvised blues jam – a few seconds are featured in Get Back.
‘My Imagination’ (1969)
Lennon/McCartney/ Harrison/ Starkey
Further improvisation delivered this bout of McCartney primal scream therapy, psych-rock style.
‘Get Back’ (1969)
Lennon/McCartney
Arguably the most magical moment of the series, Paul writes ‘Get Back’ in a couple of minutes on camera in front of a clapping Ringo and yawning George, thumping chords and mumbling lyrics until it comes together like a magic eye picture. Early in its life the track almost turns into an easy-to-misread satire of Enoch Powell’s anti-immigration nationalism and briefly, part-way through episode two, is retitled ‘Shit’.
‘She Came In Through The Bathroom Window’ (1969)
Lennon/McCartney
First sung by Paul as he’s imagining the band doing the final gig while being carted out of the Houses Of Parliament by the police, this key moment from the Abbey Road medley goes through the obligatory funny-voice version at Twickenham before coming together (sorry) properly during the Apple HQ sessions.
‘When I’m Sixty-Four’ (1967)
Lennon/McCartney
For a few seconds, McCartney turns his rinky-dink slice of pensioner pop into a grandiose spoken-word showstopper. Then stops.
‘Maxwell’s Silver Hammer’ (1969)
Lennon/McCartney
McCartney’s music hall serial killer anthem gets a knockabout rendition with whistles aplenty and personal assistant Mal Evans on hammer and anvil.
‘Across The Universe’ (1969)
Lennon/McCartney
A Lennon masterpiece originating from a sleepless night, post-row with his first wife Cynthia, in 1967, this transcendental cosmic ode was first recorded in 1968 and ended up on a World Wildlife Fund album curated by Spike Milligan. At Twickenham, The Beatles played the album to remind themselves how it went. A George Formby version later ensues.
‘Rock And Roll Music’ (1957)
Berry
A Hamburg mainstay and the opening song of The Beatles final tour in 1966, revisited roughshod to let off steam on ‘Let It Be’.
‘I Me Mine’ (1970)
Harrison
On camera, George explains how his key ‘Let It Be’ waltz-rocker was inspired by the ballroom scene of a sci-fi TV show he’d watched the previous night. “I don’t care if you don’t want it,” he tells John, “it’ll go in my musical.” John and Yoko end up waltzing around the studio to it.
‘Stand By Me’ (1961)
King/Lieber/Stoller
The timeless Ben E. King classic, delivered by McCartney in operatic style at Twickenham.
‘Baa, Baa, Black Sheep’ (circa 1744)
Traditional
Mumbled in passing, under his breath, by Ringo.
‘You Win Again’ (1952)
Williams
Hank Williams clip-cloppy evergreen reduced to a comedic drawl at the piano by John while Glyn Johns goes for a cigarette break.
‘Another Day’ (1971)
McCartney
What would become Paul’s airy pop debut solo single was tinkled out alone at the piano while he waiting for the rest of the band to arrive one morning.
‘The Long And Winding Road’ (1970)
Lennon/McCartney
“It’s sort of like The Wizard Of Oz,” personal assistant Mal Evans tells Paul as he writes down the lyrics to his ‘Let It Be’ showstopper. Destined to be recorded on the final day at Apple Studios and then schmaltzed to the max by Phil Spector for the finished album.
‘Golden Slumbers’ (1970)
Lennon/McCartney
While he’s at it, he also runs through an early version of ‘Abbey Road’’s lilting lullaby for Mal. “I should be ready for a ‘Songs For Swinging Lovers’ album soon,” he quips.
‘Carry That Weight’ (1969)
Lennon/McCartney
Still alone at the piano as George arrives, delayed by breakfast, Paul also knocks through a “comedy” cowboy blues track destined to become the most rousing moment of the ‘Abbey Road’ medley.
‘The Castle/Palace Of The King Of The Birds’ (1969)
Lennon/McCartney
An intricate and delicate, almost prog-like instrumental that Paul tries out with George taking to the drums. He’d later record it for his ‘Rupert The Bear’ album in 1978 but it remained unreleased.
‘Commonwealth’ (1969)
Lennon/McCartney
Reading about Enoch Powell’s anti-immigration rhetoric in the newspapers, Paul leads the band in a satirical, Elvis-aping rock ’n’ roll improvisation in which Powell himself is deported by prime minister Ted Heath and the protagonist leaves the UK for fairer climes only to find that “the Commonwealth is much too common for me”.
‘Enoch Powell’ (1969)
Lennon/McCartney
Brief ‘50s blues snippet whereby Paul tries to continue the theme for a few seconds.
‘Honey Hush’ (1953)
Turner
Big Joe Turner’s blues tune was covered by Beatles favourite Chuck Berry in 1965 and, after an energised thrash through in Get Back, Paul would also record it on the 1999 covers album ‘Run Devil Run’.
‘Suzy Parker’ (1969)
Lennon/McCartney/Harrison/Starkey
Another not-entirely-serious blues jam, emerging from a take on ‘Don’t Let Me Down’ and notable for John’s line: “Everybody gets well hung”.
‘House Of The Rising Sun’ (circa 17th Century)
Traditional
There is a house in New Orleans, not that you’d know about it from John’s wordless comedy take on the traditional folk tune made famous by The Animals.
‘Mama, You Been On My Mind’ (1964)
Dylan
Recorded for Dylan’s fourth album ‘Another Side Of Bob Dylan’, this artful acoustic ode languished unreleased until 1991. George had heard it though, and performed a subtle rendition as John looked on in admiration.
‘Shakin’ In The Sixties’ (1969)
Lennon
A raucous improv from John with the lyrics “shakin’ in the ’60s with a book bought by Dick James”.
‘Let It Be’ (1970)
Lennon/McCartney
Written during ‘White Album’ sessions, inspired by a dream Paul had had about his mother, ‘Let It Be’ was first played between takes of ‘Piggies’ in 1968 and rehearsed properly by The Beatles early in the ‘Let It Be’ sessions. Names suggested before “mother Mary” included Bloody Mary and Captain Marvel.
‘Carolina Moon’ (1924)
Burke/Davis
As Paul flicks through a catalogue of songs recently purchased by Dick James for Northern Songs, he croons out a line from this ‘20s tune which was a hit for Connie Francis in 1958.
‘Jam’ (1969)
Lennon/McCartney/Starkey/Ono
After George leaves the band on the seventh day at Twickenham, the remaining members let out their frustrations in a brutal noise jam, with Paul on drums and Yoko primal screaming from George’s seat.
‘John’ (1969)
Ono
While Lennon discusses getting Eric Clapton in to replace George, Yoko takes the opportunity to jump on the piano and improvise a one-word song about Lennon. A similar track with Lennon and Ono calling each other’s name, ‘John & Yoko’, would appear on ‘Wedding Album’ later in 1969.
‘It’s Only Make Believe’ (1958)
Nance/Twitty
Another tune covered in George’s absence, ‘It’s Only Make Believe’ was a chart-topper for country singer Conway Twitty in 1958.
‘You’re My World’ (1964)
Bindi/Paoli/Sigman
A hit for Cilla Black, bellowed briefly by Ringo when he’s first to arrive at Twickenham after the fractious weekend when George left the band.
‘Build Me Up Buttercup’ (1968)
D’Abo/Macaulay
Paul sings a chorus of the Foundations’ hit to ease the tension as he, Ringo and the crew discuss John’s dedication to Yoko over The Beatles.
‘Piano Piece (Bonding)’ (1969)
Lennon/McCartney
A jaunty ragtime frippery Paul plays while waiting for John to show up on day nine, as an example of the “old tunes” with “set chord patterns”.
‘Martha My Dear’ (1968)
Lennon/McCartney
Explaining his use of such patterns in his own writing, Paul also plays his classic ‘White Album’ ragtime tune.
‘I Bought A Piano The Other Day’ (1969)
Lennon/McCartney/Starkey
“Morning Paul,” hails Ringo, and the two launch straight into an off-the-cuff boogie-woogie improv together on the piano.
‘Woman’ (1969)
McCartney
Not Lennon’s Yoko ode from 10 years later but Paul’s 1966 song, written for Peter and Gordon under the pseudonym Bernard Webb. At Twickenham Paul played it as a comedy impression of the duo.
‘The Backseat Of My Car’ (1971)
McCartney
Still killing time in light-hearted mood, Paul runs through a song which would become one of his most revered solo tunes and emerge on his second album ‘Ram’.
‘Song Of Love’ (1969)
Lennon/McCartney
Inspired by the 1947 Katharine Hepburn film of the same name and Brahms’ ‘Hungarian Dance No. 4’, ‘Song Of Love’ was toyed with by Paul in comic falsetto during his stint at the piano that morning, and would eventually morph into the opening of ‘Maybe I’m Amazed’, the standout from his 1970 solo album ‘McCartney’.
‘Help!’ (1965)
Lennon/McCartney
Recited, deadpan, by a knackered John in a moment of downtime, with a snatch of ‘Tutti Frutti’ tacked on the end.
‘Mean Mr Mustard’ (1969)
Lennon/McCartney
What might have been mistaken for another time-filling novelty composition at Twickenham would end up as a key Lennon contribution to the ‘Abbey Road’ medley.
‘Madman’ (1969)
Lennon/McCartney
“There’s a madman a-comin’, gonna do you no harm/He’s wearing pink pyjamas ‘cause he comes from a farm.” A sister-piece to ‘Mean Mr Mustard’, ‘Madman’ remained unfinished.
‘Oh! Darling’ (1969)
Lennon/McCartney
Fifties crooner homage first demoed by Paul on the final day of shooting at Twickenham, before sessions move to Apple HQ. During one rehearsal of the song there, news arrived of Yoko’s divorce coming through allowing her to marry John. The song would eventually feature on ‘Abbey Road’, perfected by Paul coming into the studio early each day for one shot at it before his voice lost its morning roughness.
‘You Are My Sunshine’ (1940)
Davis
A warm-up tune for the Apple studio sessions, originally a major country hit for Jimmie Davis in 1941 and covered by more than 350 artists since, including Marge Simpson.
‘Forty Days’ (1955)
Berry
While Glyn Johns is readying the tape at Apple, the band riff on some classic tunes, starting with this raucous rock ’n’ roller.
‘New Orleans’ (1960)
Guida/Royster
They continue down memory lane with Gary U.S. Bond’s surf rock hit from 1960.
‘Queen Of The Hop’ (1958)
Harris
Seriously taking the piss now, Paul leads the band in an atonal mockery of Bobby Darrin’s classic.
‘Gilly Gilly Ossenfeffer Katzenellen Bogen By The Sea’ (1954)
Hoffman/Manning
Chintzy ‘50s kids tune made famous in the UK by Max Bygraves. Surely Johns is ready by now?
‘Too Bad About Sorrow’ (1957)
Lennon/McCartney
According to McCartney’s old exercise books, this was the very first song he and John wrote together, although it falls apart after a few seconds in Get Back.
‘My Baby Left Me’ (1950)
Crudup
As Ringo heads out of the studio for a “medical”, Paul takes to the kit for a run through of an Arthur Crudup blues made famous by Elvis, and later recorded by Lennon during the ‘Rock ’n’ Roll’ sessions in 1973.
‘Hi-Heel Sneakers’ (1963)
Higginbotham
Ringo then sneaks back in to play Paul’s bass, badly, on a ragged version of Tommy Tucker’s blues number, a regular warm-up song during rehearsals.
‘Dig A Pony’ (1970)
Lennon/McCartney
Windswept Lennon blues with typically surreal lyrics, bound for the final album. “I’m going to have ‘roadhog’ instead of ‘skylight’,” he tells his bandmates, changing the words.
‘Hallelujah I Love Her So’ (1956)
Charles
A Ray Charles song that The Beatles played way back in their Quarrymen days, and then in Hamburg. Likely never as drunk as Lennon sounded doing it during the ‘Get Back’ sessions, mind.
‘Milk Cow Blues’ (1934)
Arnold
John certainly encapsulated the desperation of waking up one morning to find your cow done gone run away in his disjointed blues cover while everyone else tuned up.
‘Good Rockin’ Tonight’ (1947)
Brown
John garbles an acerbic version of another song made famous by Elvis, using lyrics from ‘Roll Over Beethoven’, while Paul recites paragraphs from the newspaper article about their split.
‘Shout!’ (1959)
Isley/Isley/Isley
The Isley Brothers and Lulu hit, renamed ‘Shag’ for a comedy Beatles cover.
‘You’re Gonna Lose That Girl’ (1965)
Lennon/McCartney
Renamed ‘You’re Gonna Shag That Girl’. You can see where they were going with this.
‘Some Other Guy’ (1962)
Lieber/Stoller/Barrett
Merseybeat standard covered numerous times by The Beatles at the Cavern – here John mutters a quick line from the chorus mid-tune-up.
‘Going Up The Country’ (1968)
Wilson
While John and George sing the praises of Fleetwood Mac, Paul strikes up a verse of Canned Heat’s Woodstock favourite.
‘A Taste Of Honey’ (1960)
Scott/Marlow
When Billy Preston drops in to the studio, only to find himself recruited to play keys on the album, the band strike up one of their old Hamburg favourites, recorded by The Beatles on ‘Please Please Me’.
‘Save The Last Dance For Me’ (1960)
Pomus/Shuman
While waiting for some tape to be changed, the band fill time with a drawl through The Drifters’ hit which originally featured Ben E King on vocals.
‘Cupcake Baby’ (1969)
Lennon
Improvised frippery from John between takes.
‘Freakout Jam’ (1969)
Lennon/McCartney/Ono
With Paul on drums, Billy Preston on keyboards and John shaking and wrestling feedback from his guitar with whatever comes to hand, Yoko wails along on an experimental freeform psych jam before the rest of the players turn up on day 14, which John suggests putting on the finished album. “I think you’re nuts, the both of you,” says Paul.
‘Twenty Flight Rock’ (1957)
Fairchild/Cochran
Eddie Cochran rock ’n’ roll standard played as Billy Preston grooves his way into the room.
‘Reach Out, I’ll Be There’ (1966)
Holland/Doxier/Holland
Mid-‘Get Back’, George notes a rhythmic similarity between it and the Four Tops classic, and the band slip easily from one to the other.
‘Please Please Me’ (1963)
Lennon/McCartney
During a spate of wheezy northern pub singer renditions of old Beatles hits including ‘Help!’, Lennon dips into The Beatles’ first number one hit in the UK.
‘School Day (Ring Ring Goes The Bell)’ (1957)
Berry
A burst of Berry’s schoolyard rock ’n’ roll romp is included from the Apple sessions, with Mal Evans on tambourine.
‘Polythene Pam’ (1969)
Lennon/McCartney
John briefly works up the chord structure of a future ‘Abbey Road’ medley track with George in a spot of downtime.
‘Hey Majesty’ (1969)
Lennon/McCartney
While George experiments with a Hawaiian style slide guitar that has just been brought to the studio, Paul performs a falsetto rendition of the musical hall ditty that will end up as the ‘secret’ extra song at the end of ‘Abbey Road’.
‘Teddy Boy’ (1970)
McCartney
Written during The Beatles’ visit to Rishikesh in 1968, this folksy number is recorded several times for ‘Let It Be’, with John making do-si-do square dance comments through one version. It would end up on Paul’s first solo album ‘McCartney’.
‘Maggie Mae’ (Circa 18th century)
Traditional – arranged by Lennon/McCartney/Harrison/Starkey
A seafaring song of the 1700s originating in Liverpool, this tale of a sex worker robbing a sailor became popular in skiffle circles in the 1950s and a staple of Quarrymen sets. It made ‘Let It Be’ as a reflection of the wide-ranging nature of the sessions.
‘Fancy My Chances With You’ (1958)
Lennon/McCartney
Another of John and Paul’s earliest joint compositions, the song flows easily on from ‘Maggie Mae’. It was initially recorded in 1958 by Paul, George and John’s band Japage 3.
‘Dig It’ (1970)
Lennon/McCartney/Harrison/Starkey
A 12-bar blues jam which, on one of its five recordings, ran up to 15 minutes in the studio. Just 51 seconds of the jam made it onto ‘Let It Be’, but Get Back features over four minutes of the number, with Linda’s six-year-old daughter Heather singing along.
‘Dehra Dun’ (1968)
Harrison
Another Rishikesh composition, played in an idle moment – George would go on to record it for ‘All Things Must Pass’ but it would only find a release on the 50th anniversary box set.
‘Within You Without You’ (1967)
Harrison
George’s Indian flavoured ‘Sgt. Pepper…’ track, used to illustrate a conversation about Rishikesh.
‘Why Don’t We Do It In The Road?’ (1968)
Lennon/McCartney
Paul’s ‘White Album’ ode to dogging, used to illustrate footage from India of two monkeys having sex. To be fair, we might have started hallucinating by this point.
‘Act Naturally’ (1963)
Morrison/Russell
As George makes a psycho-spiritual point about how none of the band had truly discovered themselves at Rishikesh, John kicks into Buck Owens And The Buckaroos’ country tune recorded by The Beatles for ‘Help!’
‘Bye, Bye Love’ (1957)
Bryant/Bryant
John leads the band in a faithful brush through the 1957 track made famous by The Everley Brothers while Yoko paints along.
‘For You Blue’ (1970)
Harrison
With George Martin stuffing the piano full of newspaper to make it sound like George’s request for a “bad honky-tonk piano” and John on slide guitar, this 12-bar “four-take wonder” inspired by roots blues and George’s stay with Dylan and The Band in Woodstock wound up on ‘Let It Be’ and the b-side of ‘The Long And Winding Road’.
‘I Lost My Little Girl’ (1956/7)
McCartney
The first song Paul ever wrote on guitar, aged 14 or 15, just after his mother had died, ‘I Lost My Little Girl’ was his earliest performance piece, although John sings it in Get Back. In 1977, Paul started playing it live and it was eventually released on his 1991 ‘Unplugged’ album.
‘Window, Window’ (1969)
Harrison
A sweet, “silly” Dylan-esque acoustic ode to Pattie from George which first emerged in 1966 around ‘Revolver’. Playing it briefly during filming for ‘Let It Be’, he’d later demo it for Phil Spector for possible inclusion on ‘All Things Must Pass’ but it would remain unreleased. Second verse involves George going out to his shed “to check out the paint and the lead”.
‘Octopus’s Garden’ (1969)
Starkey
Ringo’s cheery underwater romp was premiered to the band towards the end of the sessions, where George helped him out with the linking pre-chorus section.
‘I Told You Before’ (1969)
Lennon/McCartney/Harrison/Starkey
An improvised jam instigated by George and Billy, which the band would return to several times over the later sessions. Linda’s daughter Heather gets involved too, delivering some convincing Yoko-style wordless wails.
‘Twist And Shout’ (1961)
Berns/Medley
A loose jam on the Top Notes’ hit recorded by The Beatles in 1963 swiftly turns into an upbeat ‘Dig It’ featuring Heather channelling Yoko again.
‘Blue Suede Shoes’ (1956)
Perkins
Elvis standard rattled out early in a rock ’n’ roll studio blowout. In Get Back, John and Paul do the jive along to it.
‘Shake, Rattle And Roll’ (1954)
Calhoun
Originally recorded by blues bawler Big Joe Turner, both Bill Haley And The Comets and Elvis had major hits with the track.
‘Kansas City’ (1952)
Lieber/Stoller
Another Hamburg favourite the band knew from Little Richard’s 1955 version, previously recorded for ‘Beatles For Sale’ in 1964 and revisited as the Apple Studio sessions neared an upbeat conclusion.
‘Miss Ann’ (1957)
Johnson/Penniman
Snaffled from Little Richard’s debut album, ‘Miss Ann’ was a slower-paced rocker covered by The Beatles around 1960-1.
‘Old Brown Shoe’ (1969)
Harrison
Written by George on piano rather than guitar, jaunty rocker ‘Old Brown Shoe’ would be released as the b-side to ‘The Ballad Of John And Yoko’ four months after the ‘Let It Be’ sessions. In the film, George plays the song solo, asking Preston what chords he’s playing. “Pianos are very difficult, aren’t they?” he says. On a later run, Preston plays stylophone.
‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ (1967)
Lennon/McCartney
Lennon’s psychedelic masterpiece, performed wistfully by Paul at the piano as John adds delicate guitar lines.
‘Take These Chains From My Heart’ (1952)
Rose/Heath
A Hank Williams number laid down at his last ever recording session, knocked out by Paul between takes of ‘Get Back’ until he’s reminded that twatting about on tape was costing two shillings a foot.
‘Water! Water!’ (1969)
Lennon/McCartney
A slo-mo version of ‘Get Back’ featuring Paul singing “Water! Water! Water!” in a bluesy baritone while John tackles the real lyrics.
‘Something’ (1969)
Harrison
George’s sublime ‘Abbey Road’ ballad originated from the ‘White Album’ sessions and was worked up during ‘Let It Be’, when working lyrics included “something in the way she moves attracts me like a pomegranate”.
‘Love Me Do’ (1962)
Lennon/McCartney
The Beatles’ debut single, played as a leisurely country drawl.
‘I Want You (She’s So Heavy)’ (1969)
Lennon/McCartney
A very psychedelic early version of the ‘Abbey Road’ track – another love song to Yoko – gets an airing towards the end of the sessions, titled ‘I Need You’. A raucous take featured John and Billy Preston singing Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘I Had A Dream’ speech over the track.
‘Half A Pound Of Greasepaint’ (1969)
Lennon/McCartney
A comedy music hall homage sung by Paul in imitation of Peter Cook.
‘Danny Boy (Londonderry Air)’ (1913)
Weatherly
John croons a line of the Traditional Irish tune following the performance of ‘One After 909’ on the rooftop.
‘God Save The Queen’ (circa 1744)
Traditional
After ‘Dig A Pony’ on the roof, John slips in the riff of the national anthem, possibly to appease her majesty’s constabulary downstairs in reception.
‘A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody’ (1919)
Berlin
As the police reach the roof, John launches into an a cappella rendition of Irving Berlin’s jazz standard between ‘I’ve Got A Feeling’ and ‘Don ‘t Let Me Down’.
‘Take This Hammer’ (circa 1915)
Traditional
Prison work song recorded by Lead Belly and used as a country warm-up for the final day of recording on ‘Let It Be’
‘Friendship’ (1940)
Porter
John and Paul put their inimitable spin on an old Judy Garland and Johnny Mercer song with the improvised line “If you’re ever in the shit, grab my tit.”
‘Run For Your Life’ (1965)
Lennon/McCartney
Also on the final day of recording, The Beatles revisit the ‘Rubber Soul’ closer in slow country style.
