Let It Be (song)
| "Let It Be" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
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| Single by The Beatles | ||||
| B-side | "You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)" | |||
| Released | 6 March 1970 | |||
| Format | Vinyl record 7" | |||
| Recorded | Apple Studios 31 January 1969 EMI Studios, Abbey Road 30 April 1969 4 January 1970 |
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| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 3:50 | |||
| Label | Apple Records | |||
| Writer(s) | Lennon/McCartney | |||
| Producer | George Martin | |||
| Certification | 2x Platinum (RIAA)[1] | |||
| The Beatles singles chronology | ||||
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| "Let It Be" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Song by The Beatles from the album Let It Be | ||||
| Released | 8 May 1970 | |||
| Length | 4:03 | |||
| Label | Apple Records | |||
| Producer | Phil Spector | |||
| Let It Be track listing | ||||
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"Let It Be" is a song by The Beatles, released in March 1970 as a single, and (in an alternate mix) as the title track of their album Let It Be. It was written by Paul McCartney[2][3] and credited to Lennon/McCartney.
The single reached number one in Australia, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland and the United States and number two in the United Kingdom. It was the final single released by The Beatles before McCartney announced his departure from the band. Both the Let It Be album and the US single "The Long and Winding Road" were released after McCartney's announced departure from and subsequent break-up of the group.
"Let It Be" holds the number one spot on "The Fans' Top 10" poll included in The 100 Best Beatles Songs: An Informed Fan's Guide by Stephen J. Spignesi and Michael Lewis. The song is number three in the 100 Best Beatles Songs list, only behind "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "A Day In The Life," which is number one.
Contents |
Composition and recording
McCartney said he had the idea of "Let It Be" after a dream he had about his mother during the tense period surrounding the sessions for The Beatles (the "White Album"). McCartney explained that his mother—who died of cancer when McCartney was fourteen—was the inspiration for the "Mother Mary" lyric.[4][5] McCartney later said, "It was great to visit with her again. I felt very blessed to have that dream. So that got me writing 'Let It Be'."[6][7] He also said in a later interview about the dream that his mother had told him, "It will be all right, just let it be."[8]
The first rehearsal of "Let It Be" took place at Twickenham Film Studios on 3 January 1969, where the Beatles had the previous day begun what would become the Let It Be film. During this stage of the film the group was only recording on the mono decks used for syncing to the film cameras, and were not making multi-track recordings for release. A single take was recorded, with just McCartney on piano and vocals. The first group attempt was made on 8 January. Work continued on the song throughout the month. Multi-track recordings commenced on 23 January at Apple Studios.[9]
The master take was recorded on 31 January 1969, as part of the 'Apple studio performance' for the project. McCartney played piano (a Blüthner Flügel from Leipzig), Lennon played bass, Billy Preston played organ and George Harrison and Ringo Starr assumed their conventional roles on guitar and drums.[10] This was one of two performances of the song that day. The first version, designated take 27-A, would serve as the basis for all officially released versions of the song. The other version, take 27-B, was performed as part of the 'live studio performance', along with "Two of Us" and "The Long and Winding Road". This performance, in which Lennon and Harrison harmonised with McCartney's lead vocal and Harrison contributed a subdued guitar solo, can be seen in the film Let It Be.
On 30 April 1969, Harrison overdubbed a new guitar solo on the best take from 31 January that year.[11] He overdubbed another solo on 4 January 1970. The first overdub solo was used for the original single release, and the second overdub solo was used for the original album release. Some fans mistakenly believe that there were two versions of the basic track—based mostly on the different guitar solos, but also on some other differences in overdubs and mixes.[12]
Version history
Single version
The single used the same cover photograph as the Let It Be album, and was originally released on 6 March 1970, backed by "You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)", with a production credit for George Martin. This version includes orchestration and backing vocals overdubbed on 4 January 1970—under the supervision of Martin and McCartney—with backing vocals that included the only known contribution by Linda McCartney to a Beatles song.[12][13] It was during this same session that Harrison recorded the second overdubbed guitar solo. The intention at one point was to have the two overdub solos playing together. This idea was dropped for the final mix of the single, and only the 30 April solo was used, although in practice the 4 January overdub can be heard faintly during the final verse. Martin mixed the orchestration very low in this version.[12]
The single mix was included on the 1967–1970 compilation album. Original pressings erroneously show the running time of 4:01 (from the Let It Be album), and not the single version's running time of 3:52. This version was also included on 20 Greatest Hits, Past Masters Volume 2, and 1.
Album version
On 26 March 1970, Phil Spector remixed the song for the Let It Be album.[14] This version features the "more stinging" 4 January 1970 guitar solo, no backing vocals (except during the first chorus), an echo effect on Ringo's cymbals, and more prominent orchestration.[15] The other guitar solo can be heard faintly through the right speaker, as the original was planned. The final chorus has three "let it be..." lines, as the "there will be an answer" line is repeated twice (instead of once as on the single) before the "whisper words of wisdom" line to close the song. On the album, as the preceding song "Dig It" ends, Lennon is heard saying in a falsetto voice, mimicking Gracie Fields: "That was 'Can You Dig It' by Georgie Wood, and now we'd like to do 'Hark, the Angels Come'," and then giggles. Allen Klein brought in Spector to mix the album without telling McCartney or asking for his agreement, because McCartney had not signed Klein's management contract.[16] McCartney has complained many times that he was not happy with Spector's production of the recording.
Film version
Another version (Take 27-B, as noted above) appears in the Let It Be film. In this version, McCartney makes several improvisations on piano, placing fill-in notes and sometimes substituting long notes for several short notes. As with the album version, McCartney repeats the "there will be an answer" line in the chorus. Unlike the album version, however, he does this during the second chorus, not the final chorus. During the final verse and final chorus, McCartney also substitutes the lines "speaking words of wisdom" and "there will be an answer," replacing them with "there will be no sorrow." This version also uses Ringo's more simplified drumming, but has a more sophisticated guitar solo played by Harrison. The film version, which has never been officially released on record, has a running time of 4:01.
Anthology version
An early version of the song also appears on Anthology 3 (Volume 3) which was released on 28 October 1996. This version, Take 1, was recorded on 25 January 1969. It is a much more simplified version, as McCartney had still not written the final verse yet ("And when the night is cloudy...I wake up to the sound of music..."). Instead, the first verse is simply repeated. The song also features studio talk between Lennon and McCartney prior to another take:
| “ | John: Are we supposed to giggle in the solo? Paul: Yeah. |
” |
Also, following the end of the recording, John can be heard saying, "I think that was rather grand. I'd take one home with me. OK let's track it. (Gasps) You bounder, you cheat!" The running time of the "Anthology" version is 4:05.
Let It Be... Naked version
Still another version of the song appeared on the Let It Be... Naked album in 2003. This is the only version which does not have a mistake in the piano part. The first beat of measure two in the last verse on all previous versions on the lyric 'mother', Paul plays a wrong chord. In this version the correct A minor chord is played. Starr disliked Spector's version where his drumming was augmented by Spector's "tape-delay-effect" to his hi-hats during the song's second verse and added shakers, so Let It Be... Naked features his original "stripped-down-approach" drumming. Also departed were the tom-tom overdub rolls, heard after the guitar solo during the third verse. The guitar solo used in this version—similar to the single version—was taken from the subsequent take as seen in the film "Let It Be". Starr also commented that after the release of Naked, he would now have to listen to McCartney saying, "I told you so", when talking about Spector's production.[17] The song's running time on Let It Be... Naked is 3:52.[18]
Live versions
McCartney released live performances of the song in 1990, on Tripping the Live Fantastic (as well as its abridged Tripping the Live Fantastic: Highlights! version), and in 2002, on Back in the U.S. The former was performed in Miami, and the latter in New York City. On Tripping the Live Fantastic, following the second verse, McCartney sings the chorus line only once, rather than twice, as he had done in most previous versions. On Back in the US, he sings the chorus line twice again. Both versions also feature heavier guitar solos and a shorter singing rhythm.
Unused mixes
Glyn Johns mixed the song on 28 May 1969 as he finished the mixing for the Get Back album. This version was never released.[19] He used the same mix in a 5 January 1970, which was an attempt to compile an acceptable version of the LP. Again, this version of the LP was never officially released.[20] Both versions, however, have made their way onto bootlegs over the years usually along with bootlegged versions of Johns' two attempts at mixing the Get Back Sessions into a cohesive whole. The Get Back version is different from the album release version as it contains alternate harmony vocals by George and John.
Piano theme
The piano introduces the song, through a series of chords in the right hand over single notes in the left hand.
Critical assessments
Critical reception for "Let It Be" has been positive.[21] In 2004, it was ranked number 20 on Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".[22] In 2010, the magazine placed the song at #8 on The Beatles 100 Greatest Songs.[23] Allmusic said it was one of "The Beatles' most popular and finest ballads".[24] Ian MacDonald had a dissenting opinion, writing that the song "achieved a popularity well out of proportion to its artistic weight" and that it was "'Hey Jude', without the musical and emotional release."[25]
John Lennon also commented on "Let It Be". Prior to a take during the 31 January 1969 recording session, he asked, "Are we supposed to giggle in the solo?"[10][25] (This is a similar quote to Lewisohn's "The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions" (p170) but Lennon says "during the solo" not "in the solo" as quoted here.) In Lennon's Playboy interview in 1980, he disavowed any involvement with composing the song.
| “ | That's Paul. What can you say? Nothing to do with the Beatles. It could've been Wings. I don't know what he's thinking when he writes "Let It Be". I think it was inspired by "Bridge over Troubled Waters" [sic]. That's my feeling, although I have nothing to go on. I know that he wanted to write a "Bridge over Troubled Waters" [sic].[3] | ” |
As MacDonald explained, Lennon is wrong about "Bridge over Troubled Water" being McCartney's inspiration: "Let It Be" was recorded approximately a year before 'Bridge over Troubled Water' was released,[25] and half a year before the latter was written.
Interestingly, "Let It Be" knocked "Bridge over Troubled Water" out of the top spot as the Billboard Hot 100 number-one single in the United States on 11 April 1970.
Live performances
Although the song is performed regularly during McCartney's performances, there are a few notable performances.
- McCartney performed the song in December 1979 at the Hammersmith Odeon, as part of the Concerts for the People of Kampuchea. It was a joint performance between Rockestra and the last live performance of Wings. It was also one of the few times Wings ever performed the song live, as it had only been added to the band's concert repertoire for the previous tour.
- McCartney performed the song at the London Live Aid concert in 1985.
- Along with a 700-strong congregation, McCartney, Harrison, and Starr sang "Let It Be" during a memorial service for Linda McCartney at St Martin-in-the-Fields church in Trafalgar Square, in 1998.[26]
- In 2003, McCartney performed a private rendition for Russian President Vladimir Putin—in the Kremlin—before McCartney played a concert in Red Square.[27]
- McCartney performed the song at Shea Stadium during a Billy Joel concert, the Last Play at Shea, which was the last concert at the stadium.
Personnel
- Paul McCartney – lead and backing vocals, piano, maracas
- John Lennon – Fender Bass VI, backing vocals
- George Harrison – lead guitar, backing vocals
- Ringo Starr – drums
- Billy Preston – organ, electric piano
- Linda McCartney – backing vocals (on single release only)
- Uncredited – two trumpets, two trombones, tenor saxophone, cellos
Singles charts
- The Beatles:[28]
- Release: 6 March 1970
- Tracks: 7" Single (Apple) Let It Be b/w You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)
- Producer: George Martin and Chris Thomas
- UK chart position: #2
- US chart position: #1 (2 weeks)
- US adult contemporary chart: #1 (4 weeks)[29]
| Preceded by "Bridge over Troubled Water" by Simon and Garfunkel |
Billboard Hot 100 number-one single 11 April 1970 |
Succeeded by "ABC" by The Jackson Five |
| Preceded by Bridge over Troubled Water" by Simon and Garfunkel |
Billboard Easy Listening Singles number-one single (The Beatles version) April 11, 1970 (4 weeks) |
Succeeded by "For the Love of Him" by Bobbi Martin |
Selected cover versions
"Let It Be" has been covered numerous times by various artists, but this is just a short selection:[30]
- The first recording of the song to be released (even before the Beatles' version) was a cover by Aretha Franklin, in January 1970, on the album This Girl's in Love with You, along with her cover of "Eleanor Rigby".[31]
- Gladys Knight and the Pips released a version of the song on the tribute album, Motown Sings The Beatles.[8]
- Ike & Tina Turner recorded a version, featuring largely re-written lyrics, for their 1971 album Workin' Together.
- Singer-songwriter Bill Withers covered "Let It Be" on his 1971 debut album, Just As I Am.
- John Denver included a version of "Let It Be" on his 1971 album, Poems, Prayers, and Promises.
- Joan Baez included "Let It Be" on her 1971 album, Blessed Are..., and released the song as a single. The song also appears on her live album, Diamonds & Rust in the Bullring, and she performed it at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970, as captured in the film, Message to Love.[8] The song remains a staple of Baez' concerts.
- Leo Sayer covered the song for the 1976 ephemeral musical documentary, All This and World War II.[8]
- Ray Charles covered it on his 1977 album, True to Life.
- The Ethiopians covered it in traditional reggae style on their 1977 album, Slave Call.
- Former Fleetwood Mac guitarist and vocalist, Danny Kirwan recorded a version for his 1976 album Midnight in San Juan.
- Charity ensemble Ferry Aid—in the wake of the Zeebrugge ferry disaster—recorded a version (featuring Paul McCartney) which reached #1 on the UK singles chart in March 1987.
- In 1995, Meat Loaf covered the song on his single, "Not a Dry Eye in the House", which the single reached up to #7 in the UK.
- Collin Raye recorded a version in 1995 for the Beatles tribute album Come Together: America Salutes The Beatles.
- Nick Cave recorded a cover of the song for the soundtrack to the 2001 film, I Am Sam.
- Lesley Garrett sang an operatic version on her 2002 album, The Singer.[32]
- The song is featured in the film Across the Universe, sung by Carol Woods, Timothy Mitchum and a gospel choir.
- Eric Burdon recorded it, probably in the early 1980s, it was bootlegged and released on 27 February 2008 on the album "Ultimate Rarities Vol. 2".
- Shawn Lane and Paul Gilbert performed an eight-minute rendition of the song at the NAMM 1993 show.
- Chevy Chase did a version on his 1980 album, with Alvin & The Chipmunks style vocals.
- Brooke White, the fifth place finalist on the seventh season of American Idol performed the song during the Lennon/McCartney week.
- Jennifer Hudson, with The Roots, performed the song on 22 January 2010, as a part of the Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief telethon.
- Katie Stevens, from season nine of American Idol performed the song during the Lennon/McCartney week.
- Artfully Beatles, a NAC/Jazz fusion group lucently performed a cover of Let It Be from their album, "The 25th Anniversary Salute To The Beatles, Volume 1."[33][34]
- A second instrumental rendition is from saxophonist Nelson Rangell from a Various Artists album "(I Got No Kick Against) Modern Jazz - Celebration of the Songs of the Beatles."[35][36]
Kris Allen version
| "Let It Be" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Kris Allen | ||||
| Released | 26 February 2010 | |||
| Format | Digital download | |||
| Recorded | 2010 | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 3:09 | |||
| Label | Jive | |||
| Kris Allen singles chronology | ||||
|
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Kris Allen did a version of this song on the ninth season of American Idol, on 25 February 2010, during eliminations. This song was later made available on iTunes for download, with all proceeds going toward disaster relief for the Haiti Earthquake. On the chart week of 6 March 2010, "Let It Be" made a debut at #63 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart based on sales of the digital single. It had sales of 86,000 in the US.[37]
Notes
- ↑ RIAA 2009.
- ↑ MacDonald 2005, p. 337.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Sheff 2000, p. 202.
- ↑ Miles 1997, p. 20.
- ↑ Spitz 2005, pp. 73–76.
- ↑ Spitz 2005, pp. 88–90.
- ↑ The Beatles 2000, p. 19.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Sold on Song 2009.
- ↑ The Beatles Bible 2007.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Lewisohn 1988, p. 170.
- ↑ Lewisohn 1988, p. 175.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Lewisohn 1988, p. 195.
- ↑ Lewisohn 1996.
- ↑ Lewisohn 1988, p. 198.
- ↑ Lewisohn 1988, pp. 195–198.
- ↑ Spitz 2005, p. 851.
- ↑ The Observer Music Monthly 2003.
- ↑ Apple Records 2003.
- ↑ Lewisohn 1988, p. 176.
- ↑ Lewisohn 1988, p. 196.
- ↑ Levine 2003.
- ↑ Rolling Stone 2004.
- ↑ Rolling Stone 2010.
- ↑ Unterberger 2009.
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 MacDonald 1994, p. 270.
- ↑ CNN 1998.
- ↑ BBC News 2003.
- ↑ Calkin 2000.
- ↑ Whitburn 1996.
- ↑ Second Hand Songs 2007.
- ↑ Wexler 2007, p. 13.
- ↑ Allmusic 2009.
- ↑ Artfully Beatles from Answers.com
- ↑ Vol.1 - Artfully Beatles from AOL Music
- ↑ Let It Be - Nelson Rangell from Amazon
- ↑ Nelson Rangell - (I Got No Kick Against) Modern Jazz - Celebration of the Songs of the Beatles from Last.fm
- ↑ "Idol track sales: Kris Allen passes a million; Danny Gokey, John Legend see huge gains". USA Today. 10 March 2010. http://content.usatoday.com/communities/idolchatter/post/2010/03/idol-track-sales-danny-gokey-john-legend-see-huge-gains-kris-allen-passes-a-million/1#more. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
References
- (DVD) The Beatles Anthology, Episode 8. EMI. 2003. Event occurs at 0:53:40.
- "The Beatles, Let it Be... Naked". The Observer Music Monthly (London). 19 October 2003. http://observer.guardian.co.uk/omm/10bestcds/story/0,,1062879,00.html. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
- The Beatles (2000). Anthology. Chronicle Books. ISBN 0-8118-2684-8.
- Calkin, Graham (2000). "Let It Be". http://www.jpgr.co.uk/r5833.html. Retrieved 9 December 2009.
- "Gold & Platinum Searchable Database - The Beatles Platinum Singles". RIAA. 2009. http://riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=&artist=The%20Beatles&format=SINGLE&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=Platinum&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2009&sort=Artist&perPage=25. Retrieved 9 July 2009.
- "Let It Be". The Beatles Bible. 2007. http://www.beatlesbible.com/songs/let-it-be/2/. Retrieved 15 October 2007.
- "Let It Be". Second Hand Songs. 2007. http://www.secondhandsongs.com/song/2767.html. Retrieved 21 October 2007.
- "Let It Be". Sold on Song. 2009. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/soldonsong/songlibrary/covers/letitbe.shtml. Retrieved 10 April 2009.
- (2003) Album notes for Let It Be... Naked by The Beatles. Apple Records.
- Levine, Robert (14 December 2003). "Letting 'Let It Be' Be: McCartney Wins". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/14/arts/music/14LEVI.html?ex=1386738000&en=3daebd9799749d55&ei=5007&partner=USERLAND.
- Lewisohn, Mark (1988). The Beatles Recording Sessions. New York: Harmony Books. ISBN 0-517-57066-1.
- Lewisohn, Mark (1996). The Complete Beatles Chronicle. Chancellor Press. ISBN 0-7607-0327-2.
- "Linda McCartney farewell celebrates her passions". CNN. 08 June 1998. http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/Music/9806/08/mccartney.memorial.update/index.html.
- MacDonald, Ian (1994). Revolution in the Head: the Beatles' Records and the Sixties. New York: Henry Holt and Company. ISBN 0-8050-2780-7.
- MacDonald, Ian (2005). Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties (Second Revised ed.). London: Pimlico (Rand). ISBN 1-844-13828-3.
- "McCartney plays Red Square". BBC News. 24 May 2003. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/2935244.stm.
- Miles, Barry (1997). Many Years From Now. Vintage-Random House. ISBN 0-7493-8658-4.
- "Overview of The Singer". Allmusic. 2009. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:0xfexzljldke~T0. Retrieved 9 December 2009.
- Pollack, Alan W. (1995). "Let It Be". Notes on Series. http://www.icce.rug.nl/~soundscapes/DATABASES/AWP/lib.shtml. Retrieved 10 July 2008.
- "The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. 9 December 2004. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/500songs.
- "The RS 100 Greatest Beatles Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. 30 August 2010. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/photos/28431/194023/2.
- Sheff, David (2000). All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono (Paperback). St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN 0-312-25464-4.
- Spitz, Bob (2005). The Beatles. Little Brown. ISBN 0-316-80352-9.
- Unterberger, Richie (2009). "Review of "Let It Be"". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=33:e2jv7ipng76r. Retrieved 10 April 2009.
- Wexler, Jerry (2007). Album notes for Rare and Unreleased Recordings from the Golden Reign of the Queen of Soul by Aretha Franklin [booklet].
- Whitburn, Joel (1996). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits (6th ed.).
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