Let It Be (song)
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| "Let It Be" | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Single by The Beatles | ||
| Released | 6 March 1970 | |
| Format | vinyl record 7" | |
| Recorded | 31 January, 30 April 1969 & 4 January 1970 | |
| Genre | Rock | |
| Length | 3:50 (single) 4:01 (album) |
|
| Label | Apple Records | |
| Producer(s) | George Martin and Chris Thomas (single version) Produced for disc by Phil Spector (album version) |
|
| Chart positions | ||
| The Beatles singles chronology | ||
| "Something"/"Come Together" (1969) |
"Let It Be" (1970) |
"Yesterday" (UK-1974) --- "The Long and Winding Road" (US-1970) |
| 'Let It Be' track listing | ||
| "Dig It" (5) |
"Let It Be" (6) |
"Maggie Mae" (7) |
"Let It Be" is a song written by Paul McCartney (credited to Lennon/McCartney), released by The Beatles as a single in March 1970 and later the same year as the title track of their album Let It Be. The single reached #1 in the U.S. and #2 in the UK. In 2004, it was ranked number 20 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.
Contents |
[edit] Inspiration
McCartney said he wrote "Let It Be",[1] inspired by a dream he had during the tense period surrounding the Get Back/Let It Be sessions. He dreamt of his mother, and the "Mother Mary" lyric refers to her[1] (Mary (Mohin) McCartney).[2] She died of cancer when McCartney was 14.[3][4] He 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'."[1]
[edit] Recording and version history
The master take was recorded on 31 January 1969 as part of the 'Apple studio performance' for the project Get Back.[5] McCartney played the piano (a Blüthner Flügel from Leipzig/former East Germany), Lennon played the bass, Billy Preston played the organ and George Harrison and Ringo Starr assumed their conventional roles. McCartney's lead vocal was backed by Lennon and Harrison (as seen in the film Let It Be). The master take included a subdued guitar solo by Harrison (as can also be heard in the Let It Be film).
On 30 April 1969, Harrison overdubbed a new guitar solo on the best take from 29 January.[6] Harrison 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 believed 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.[7]
There are four recordings of the song that have been 'officially' released.
[edit] Single version
It was originally released as a single on 6 March 1970, backed by "You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)" and produced by George Martin. This version includes orchestration and backing vocals overdubbed on 4 January 1970 under the supervision of McCartney,[7] The backing vocals include the only known contribution by Linda McCartney to a Beatles song.[8] the same session where Harrison recorded the second overdub guitar solo. The intention at one point was to have the two overdub solos playing together, but this idea was dropped for the final mix of the single and only the 30 April solo was used (although the 4 January overdub can he heard faintly during the final verse). Martin mixed the orchestration very low in this mix.[7]
The single version was included on the 1967-1970 compilation album. Original pressings erroneously show the album version's running time of 4:01, not the single version's running time of 3:50.
[edit] Album version
On 26 March 1970, Phil Spector remixed the song for the album Let It Be.[9] This version features the "more stinging" 4 January 1970 guitar solo and more prominent orchestration.[10]. There are three lines in the last chorus of the song as the "There will be an answer" line is sung twice instead of once as on the single.
[edit] Anthology version
An early version of the song also appears on the third Anthology volume 3.
[edit] Let It Be… Naked version
Finally, another retooled version of the song appears on the 2003 album Let It Be… Naked. Starr's drumming was augmented by overdubbed tom rolls and shaker added by Phil Spector on the album version. Starr disliked this mix, so Let It Be… Naked features his original drumming. The guitar solo used in this version was taken from the subsequent take as seen in the film Let It Be.
[edit] 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.[11] He used the same mix in a 5 January 1970 attempt to compile an acceptable version of the LP. Again, this version of the LP was never released.[12]
[edit] Critical assessments
Critical reception for "Let It Be" has been mostly positive. It has been covered by many performers, as described below. In 2004, it was ranked number 20 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.[13] The All Music Guide said it was one of "the Beatles' most popular and finest ballads".[14] Ian MacDonald provides a dissenting opinion, writing that the song "achieved a popularity well out of proportion to its artistic weight" and its "'Hey Jude' without the musical and emotional release."[15] Comparisons to "Hey Jude" are understandable given the surface-level similarities between the songs.
John Lennon was not fond of "Let It Be." Prior to a take during the 31 January 1969 recording session, he asked, "Are we supposed to giggle in the solo?"[5][16] In his 1980 Playboy interview, he disavowed any involvement with composing the song. He said, "That's Paul. What can you say? Nothing to do with the Beatles. It could've been Wings. I think it was inspired by "Bridge Over Troubled Waters." That's my feeling, although I have nothing to go on. I know he wanted to write a "Bridge Over Troubled Waters."[17] As Ian MacDonald explains, Lennon is probably wrong about "Bridge Over Troubled Water" being McCartney's inspiration: "Let It Be" was recorded approximately a year before "Bridge Over Trouble Water" was released.[15] According to the All Music Guide, Simon and Garfunkel performed the song live in 1969 prior to releasing it,[18] but it seems unlikely McCartney would have heard it before the recording session on 31 January.
[edit] The "final" song
This song was played during Linda McCartney's funeral in 1998, and has been played at many other funerals.
[edit] Cover versions
- Less than a year after The Beatles' original release, Joan Baez included "Let It Be" on her 1971 album Blessed Are.... She also released the song as a single. A stirring version also appears on her live album Diamonds & Rust in the Bullring.
- Floyd Cramer recorded an instrumental version of "Let It Be", used on his Floyd Cramer with the Music City Pops album.
- Singer-songwriter Bill Withers covered "Let It Be" on his 1971 debut album Just As I Am.
- Former Fleetwood Mac guitarist and vocalist Danny Kirwan recorded a version of "Let It Be" for his 1976 album Midnight in San Juan (released in the USA under the name Danny Kirwan). The song was also released as a single in the USA.
- Leo Sayer covered the song for the 1976 ephemeral musical documentary All This and World War II.
- Charity ensemble Ferry Aid (in the wake of the Zeebrugge ferry disaster), featuring McCartney amongst others, recorded a version which reached #1 on the UK singles chart in March 1987.
- The Canadian singer-songwriter Allison Crowe covered "Let It Be" on her 2004 album Tidings.
- The American singer Aretha Franklin covered "Let It Be" on the album Come Together, A Soul/Jazz Tribute to the Beatles.
- Ray Charles covered "Let It Be" on his 1977 album True to Life.
- British duo Journey South released a cover of "Let It Be" on their debut album Journey South.
- Australian rock musician Nick Cave recorded a cover of the song for the soundtrack to the 2001 film I Am Sam.
- Pianist/keyboardist Bradley Joseph introduced his instrumental arrangement of "Let It Be" on his 2005 album For the Love of It.
- Joe Cocker performed a slower, simpler version of the song.
- The song was translated into Hebrew and played by Naomi Shemer, the composer of "Yerushalayim Shel Zahav".
- British soul singer Beverley Knight has covered the song live several times, and included a recording as a b-side to her 2006 single "Piece of My Heart".
- Lara Veronin, the main vocalist of the Taiwanese group Nan Quan Mama, performed a shortened live acoustic version to promote their album on GTV in June 2006.
- The boy band B5 released a version of "Let It Be" on their self-titled debut album.
- A cover version of "Let It Be" was released on Johnny Maestro & The Brooklyn Bridge's 2002 Album "Peace on Earth".
- "Let It Be" is featured in a viral internet video chronicling the history of pop music using just four chords. A Brief History of Pop Music - In Four Chords
- Slash peformed part of "Let It Be" with a guitar when Guns N' Roses peformed in Argentina in 1993.
- Canadian artist Anne Murray included a version on her 1999 album, What a Wonderful World.
- Mexican singer Johnny Laboriel sings a version in Spanish named "Me Ayudo"
- Tennessee Ernie Ford also covered Let It Be.His version was released on the Capitol/Special Markets label album Great Songs of The Beatles.
[edit] Parodies and cultural references
- The children's television show Sesame Street parodied "Let It Be" with the song "Letter B".
- The parody band Beatallica did a version called "The Thing That Should Not Let It Be", which also parodied the Metallica song "The Thing That Should Not Be".
- The Minneapolis-based alternative rock band The Replacements named their seminal 1984 release Let It Be after this song. The now-defunct Let It Be Records in downtown Minneapolis is named for the Replacements album, not the Beatles song.
- The French group Les Bidochons parodied "Let It Be" with "Les Petites Bites" (The Littles Cocks).
- An episode of the children's television series Hannah Montana is titled "Debt It Be".
- The Streets used "Let It Be" as a backing beat to a song dedicated to his dead father, "Never Went To Church".
[edit] Single charts
| Preceded by "Bridge over Troubled Water" by Simon and Garfunkel |
Billboard Hot 100 number one single The Beatles version April 11, 1970 |
Succeeded by "ABC" by The Jackson 5 |
| Preceded by "Respectable" by Mel and Kim |
UK number one single (Ferry Aid version) March 29, 1987 |
Succeeded by "La Isla Bonita" by Madonna |
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c Barry Miles (1997). Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now. New York: Henry Holt & Company, 538. ISBN 0-8050-5249-6.
- ^ Bob Spitz (2005). The Beatles: The Biography. Boston: Little, Brown, 73, 75-76. ISBN 0-316-80352-9.
- ^ Bob Spitz (2005). The Beatles: The Biography, 88-90.
- ^ The Beatles (2000). The Beatles Anthology. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 19. ISBN 0-8118-2684-8.
- ^ a b Mark Lewisohn (1988). The Beatles Recording Sessions. New York: Harmony Books, 170. ISBN 0-517-57066-1.
- ^ Mark Lewisohn (1988). The Beatles Recording Sessions, 175.
- ^ a b c Mark Lewisohn (1988). The Beatles Recording Sessions, 195.
- ^ Mark Lewisohn (1996). The Complete Beatles Chronicle. Chancellor Press. ISBN 0-7607-0327-2.
- ^ Mark Lewisohn (1988). The Beatles Recording Sessions, 198.
- ^ Mark Lewisohn (1988). The Beatles Recording Sessions, 195, 198.
- ^ Mark Lewisohn (1988). The Beatles Recording Sessions, 176.
- ^ Mark Lewisohn (1988). The Beatles Recording Sessions, 196.
- ^ The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Retrieved on February 28, 2007.
- ^ AMG Review of Let It Be. Retrieved on February 28, 2007.
- ^ a b Ian MacDonald (1994). Revolution in the Head: the Beatles' Records and the Sixties. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 270. ISBN 0-8050-2780-7.
- ^ Ian MacDonald (1994). Revolution in the Head, 270. Similar quote to Lewisohn, p. 170, but says "during the solo" not "in the solo" as quoted here.
- ^ David Sheff (interviewer) (2000). All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono. New York: St. Martin's Press, 202. ISBN 0-312-25464-4.
- ^ AMG Review of Bridge over Troubled Water. Retrieved on February 28, 2007.
Categories: Non-standard Extra tracklisting templates | Number-one singles in the United Kingdom | 1970 songs | 1970 singles | Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles | Number-one singles in Germany | The Beatles songs | Paul McCartney songs | Apple Records singles | Joan Baez songs | Songs produced by George Martin | Number-one singles in Australia
