Paul began with the spark of an idea that resulted in the song “Get Back” on January 7th, 1969, the fourth day of rehearsal for the Beatle's latest project at Twickenham Film Studios. This session began around 11 am with Paul, George, and Ringo present, John arriving a little later. While waiting alone, Paul sat at the piano and ran through newer compositions such as “Golden Slumbers,” “Carry That Weight,” “The Long And Winding Road,” and, after George and Ringo arrived, “She Came In Through The Bathroom Window.”
After an impromptu played version of “Lady Madonna,” as well as the Isley's Brothers' “Shout,” Paul improvised an exercise on bass guitar. While he ad-libbed vocalizations and chord changes, George joined in and strummed some open chords on his electric guitar. The song started developing in Paul's mind while the cameras were rolling until three more versions of this embryonic version of “Get Back” took shape with George and Ringo on this day.
The second run-through featured Paul on bass and mumbled vocals, George on electric guitar, and Ringo singing with Paul on the newly invented chorus that comprised the words, “Get back, get back, get back to where you once belonged.” Apparently, Jackie Lomax's recently released single “Sour Milk Sea” was on Paul's mind, resulting in these lyrics popping into his mind. Paul added more lyrics about someone being “a woman, but she was another man,” and someone having “it coming, but she gets it while she can,” eventually remaining in the finished song.
With George moving to electric guitar with wah-wah pedal and Ringo on drums, the song started to develop further. Ringo played a standard rock beat while Paul acknowledged Jackie Lomax's inspiration by exclaiming “C'mon Jackie” and attempting to imitate this English vocalist during the second chorus of this rough rehearsal. The “she was another man” and “gets it while she can” lyrics are retained here, these words now being solidified in Paul's mind. Surprisingly, although inspiration was high with this new composition and rehearsal, they instead worked extensively on songs like “I've Got A Feeling” and “Maxwell's Silver Hammer” once John arrived on that day.
Two days later, January 9th, 1969, at Twickenham Studios, The Beatles returned to hash out four renditions of the unfinished “Get Back.” After all four Beatles put in a lot of work on the songs “Let It Be” and “For You Blue,” among others, they began rough jams based around the “get back” theme, which introduced the first time Lennon became acquainted with it.
The verse lyrics were still ad-libbed at this point. Still, bits of a rough storyline started to emerge, such as references to California and Arizona sung here and there in the first couple of renditions performed this day. Incidentally, local news items concerning Parliament member Enoch Powell's beliefs that too many nonwhite citizens of the British Empire were immigrating to England and taking away limited jobs had been discussed by The Beatles in depth. Since Paul struggled to piece together coherent lyrics to this song, John humorously proposed this subject matter's infusion into the lyrics to create a political satire.
“Don't want no black man...!” Lennon demonstrates, which Paul countered with “Don't dig no Pakistanis taking all the people's jobs.” Paul then directs his band-mates into another rendition of the song, screaming “Get Back!” repeatedly in a voice that mocks the hatred behind Enoch Powell's public statements. Verses of this version include Paul singing “lots of Puerto Ricans,” “All the folks around sit by, he a Mohican living in the USA,” and singing his earlier idea “Don't dig no Pakistanis taking all the people's jobs.” The song finishes with Paul screaming out maniacally in a way that reminds one of how John concluded the final moments of his hit “Cold Turkey” to simulate his withdrawal from heroin. Since John's song was recorded later that same year, it's easy to conclude that this early rendition of “Get Back” may have been remembered and thereby his inspiration, if only subliminally.
After this was out of their systems, they returned to a more serious rehearsal of “Get Back,” with the principal characters Joe and Theresa being introduced for the first time. A little later that day, however, Enoch Powell's beliefs were once again the subject of an ad-libbed song, this being referred to in bootleg releases as “Commonwealth.” With Harold Wilson and Edward Heath once again referenced in the lyrics of a Beatles song (see “Taxman”), Paul begins by mimicking the recent British hit “Israelites” by Desmond Dekker with its reggae beat and distinctive vocalization. As the song transcends into a more typical 12-bar pattern as heard in early Elvis recordings, John adds to the fun of the occasion by suggesting to end each chorus with the line “The commonwealth is much too common for me.”
The following day at Twickenham, January 10th, 1969, saw the most substantial work on “Get Back” yet. Paul rehearsed the song himself on a piano before the others arrived and were ready for work, as was his habit during these sessions, but then he showed himself eager to solidify a band arrangement for the tune. He instructed them to begin the song with a crashing chord (not unlike “A Hard Day's Night”) followed by a drum fill from Ringo before the first verse began. This intro's practice is featured on the “Fly On The Wall” bonus disc contained with the 2003 released “Let It Be...Naked” album.
“Get Back” was practiced a total of 22 times on this day, three vocal verses being sketched out preliminarily at this point but not solidified. George was delegated to perform one guitar solo, to which another chorus was performed immediately afterward. Ringo then adding in another two measure drum solo before the third verse takes place. Lyrically, the “Sweet Lorreta...but was another man” verse was in place at this point, although it appeared as the first verse. The second verse wasn't complete yet but did include the line about “California grass,” as we've become familiar with in the first verse. The third verse about “Pakistanis living in a council flat,” as detailed above, was in place at this time.
It is clear that they were narrowing down what the final arrangement would be, this being a fast-moving rocker at this point with a standard 4/4 drum beat from Ringo and a wah-wah guitar solo from George. One version performed on this day has John singing lead vocals in unison with Paul, suitably recapturing their early rock'n'roll days with apparent enthusiasm from all involved.
However, it appears that George was not sharing the camaraderie of the others on this day because, sometime during their lunch break, George announced that he was leaving The Beatles for good and walked out. The others continued with the rehearsal after his lunchtime departure, Yoko Ono sitting in George's seat screaming out vocals at one point. However, no other noteworthy progress was made on this day.
January 13th, 1969 was another rehearsal day for The Beatles at Twickenham, but without George. They spent most of the time talking instead of rehearsing, John not particularly enthused about George continuing with the group and suggesting that they should all pursue solo careers. Paul took the position of rallying everyone together, promoting the idea of concentrating less on details and more on doing the best they can as musicians, George included. They did 15 Get Back run-throughs on this day as a trio, John taking on the role of lead guitarist in George's absence. More refinements were made lyrically, like discussions about Loretta's last name being batted around. John suggested “Meatball,” but Paul favored either “Marsh” or “Marvin.” The timing of Ringo's drum breaks habitually disoriented his band-mates, while John added guitar fills in the open spaces where no vocals were present and provided solos that were not very coherent, borrowing from Dale Hawkins's version of “Suzie Q.” Obviously, George Harrison was missed.
After negotiations with George, he decided to rejoin The Beatles, continuing the rehearsals for the current project but with some conditions. One condition was changing the cold Twickenham Studios' rehearsal location to their newly acquired Apple Studios on Savile Row, London. Another was Billy Preston's inclusion for the remainder of the project, a keyboardist that they had met back in 1962 during their shared appearance with Little Richard and whom George had recently gotten reacquainted with.
During the session on January 23rd, 1969, at Apple Studios, The Beatles with Billy Preston solidified Ringo's galloping drum pattern for the arrangement of “Get Back,” George's chopping guitar pattern John's guitar solo work and backing vocals also taking shape considerably. The third verse about “Pakistanis” was omitted at this point, this being replaced by a keyboard solo from Billy Preston and a second guitar solo from John. Although a "Beatles break" and coda was yet to materialize, the final arrangement as we know it was getting close.
Forty-three rehearsals of “Get Back” were performed on this day, at least ten attempted as official recordings with George Martin as producer. “What are you calling this," the producer called out before the first official take; Paul answered, "Sh*t.” “'Sh*t' take one,” George Martin designated before the tapes started rolling. A young Alan Parsons made his debut as tape operator on this day. His long-standing career as engineer, producer, and musician began by witnessing The Beatles formalize the song “Get Back” before his eyes.
On the following day at Apple Studios, January 24th, 1969, The Beatles ran through “Get Back” a total of 21 times, some performed before Billy Preston's mid-afternoon arrival. Thereafter, they ran through a rendition where John missed his cue to begin his first guitar solo, which prompted Paul to exclaim, “Yeah...or should I say 'No.'” Another version started off at a very rapid pace and developed into a medley with “Little Demon” by Screamin' Jay Hawkins and three Chuck Berry songs, namely “Maybelline,” “You Can't Catch Me,” and “Brown Eyed Handsome Man.”
One new development in the arrangement is the experimented inclusion of a coda after the song's conclusion, with different lengths reprises. In fact, some of the renditions rehearsed on this day show them going into back-to-back versions of the song with many spirited vocal improvisations from Paul. The final version of the day has Paul exclaiming, “Go Home!... It's Passed Seven!... Go Home!...I've Got An Appointment!... Get A Job!... Go Home, Yank!”
Thirty-two renditions of “Get Back” were recorded on January 27th, 1969, at Apple Studios, most of them being officially recorded by George Martin and engineers Glyn Johns and Alan Parsons. Before the tapes began rolling, The Beatles and Billy Preston ran through the song a few times for rehearsal purposes, eventually becoming confident that they were ready to record the definitive version. One fast tempo rendition was done with Paul singing the first verse in mock Japanese but including the phrase “sock it to me,” a residual from their current obsession with the American TV show “Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In,” which had been referenced many times in the January 1969 rehearsals and recording sessions.
The tapes then began rolling, many good takes being recorded. After a roughly estimated "take 9,” which may in actuality have been "take 18,” Paul's exclamation “nearly” is caught on tape, suggesting that they were getting close. McCartney's vocal hijinks on this day may be an indication of his being under the influence of some substance or another. Still, the knowledge that a releasable take was recorded on this day indicates that this ended up being a good idea in the long run.
After varying guitar solos from John and slight tempo alterations from Ringo, this was a suitable atmosphere for an acceptable master take. On the coda of one rendition, Paul sang, “it's five o'clock, your mother's got your tea on, take your cap off, sit down, you're bloody not coming in.” On another take, the coda included Paul's ad-lib “one, two, three o'clock, four o'clock rock” from Bill Haley's 'Rock Around The Clock.” Nonetheless, the definitive single and album version was eventually recorded on this day.
Just before this performance began, John humorously remarked, “Sweet Loretta Fart (pronounced in a Liverpudlian accent) she thought she was a cleaner, but she was a frying pan...picks with his fingers.” This vocal segment, along with extraneous studio sounds, was included on the released soundtrack album. The take that followed this statement ended up becoming the basis for both the single and album, although the rehearsed coda was not played due to Ringo forgetting to come back in after the break near the song's conclusion. After Paul sings his iconic “oooh,” George states, “We missed that end, didn't we?”
Although this flubbed ending propelled them into multiple new recorded versions of the song, the take mentioned above was ultimately deemed the best. One of the later recordings included a rendition donning pseudo-German lyrics throughout, acknowledging the Jackie Lomax influence with the phrase, “Yeah, that's good, Jackie,” with a final verse in mock French. While very entertaining and eventually gracing various bootleg releases, it was evident that they had previously recorded the definitive version of the song on this day and celebrated that event in a rather unconventional way.
The next day, January 28th, 1969, was the 17th day of rehearsals for the entire "Let It Be" project, along with George Martin present on this day as well as Glyn Johns and Alan Parsons. The Beatles further refined many of their new songs on this day at Apple Studios and spent time on a newly written Harrison composition entitled “Something,” its composer asking for lyrical suggestions from his band-mates but to no avail. However, this turned out to be a productive session, recording the released rendition of “Don't Let Me Down” on this day minus some simple overdubs incorporated into the mix later.
One other accomplishment of this day was the coda of “Get Back,” which was mistakenly omitted from the previous day's best take. The Beatles ran through this song seven more times, Lennon's guitar solos and Preston's piano solo being fully solidified at this point. One of these takes was deemed unsuitable because of Paul's flubbed line in the first verse (“Jojo was at home in Tucson, Arizona”) and Ringo's continuing slow tempo. “Slow it down, Loretta,” Paul sings during the final solo as a reaction to the drummer's playing. We hear Paul's clever rhyme “low neck sweater / get back Loretta” repeatedly during this version's coda, the singer obviously fixated on the lyrical flow of these lines.
A later rendition recorded on this day scored a good tempo and was instrumentally performed exceptionally well, except for a sour note from an open string ringing out on John's guitar as he began his first solo. This by itself may have prompted Paul to become vocally playful for the remainder of the song, his exaggerated exclamations being evidence that he didn't think this take would be suitable for a finished version.
He was half right and half wrong. It was decided that, while the rendition mentioned above from the previous day would be used for the body of the song, the first 35 seconds of the coda from this day's version would be edited on and faded out to form the released single a couple of months or so later. In fact, a further 41-second segment of this coda would be used as the track “Get Back (reprise)” on both aborted versions of the proposed “Get Back” album (as we'll discuss below) as well as the closing segment of the “Let It Be” movie.
This entire coda was 1:22 in length, Paul excitedly ad-libbing lines such as “get back / get together...we gotta get together...ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah...put on your high heel sweater!” John also jumps in on the fun by singing “get back” and other assorted vocal sounds before ending the coda with the chilling rhyme “Shoot me when I'm evil / shoot me when I'm good / shoot me when I'm hungry / shoot me when I'm...”
One final rendition on this day was particularly unfruitful, first because of Paul coming in late vocally on the first verse. John's second guitar solo labored almost entirely on the first note being repeated endlessly, breaking away eventually but obviously not something that would grace any released version. Ringo didn't come back in for a coda to this version, understandably reasoning that this take wasn't worth the effort to do so.
On January 29th, 1969, The Beatles decided that their proposed live performance would be on the roof of their Apple building on Savile Row in London during lunchtime the next day, January 30th. That being the case, the group convened once again at Apple Studios, which was in the basement of that very building, for the primary purpose of rehearsing the songs that they would be performing live on the rooftop the following day. After this was accomplished, Billy Preston not arriving until later that day, they ran through other songs that needed to be rehearsed for inclusion in what eventually became the “Let It Be” film. Since a firm decision on which Harrison song would be included in this project, various George songs were rehearsed on this day, “For You Blue” and eventually “I Me Mine” fitting the bill.
The one quick rehearsal of “Get Back” without Billy Preston was done, which was very loose but suitable to solidify that it was ready for the live performance. John sang Billy Preston's keyboard solo (“get-ang, get-ang, get-ang...”), and Paul encourages John's proficiency as lead guitarist by exclaiming “yeah” midway through his first solo. They apparently felt confident that they would nail it just fine the next day.
On January 30th, 1969, the following day was the eventful day of The Beatles' final live performance, Billy Preston on electric piano complimenting the musical landscape. “Get Back” was touched on and/or performed a total of five times during this 42-minute performance. The first was a rehearsal that began with John playing his solo, the others joining in for the following chorus with both Paul and John harmonizing. This version was simply a test for the recording equipment, adjustments being made thereafter to ensure everything was in order.
The second version of “Get Back,” the first complete song of this day, ended with Paul stating, “Looks like Ted Dexter has scored another!” This was in response to the polite applause that followed this song's conclusion, which was much more subdued than what they had become accustomed to in the stadiums and concert halls of 1965 and 1966. Instead, it reminded McCartney of the reaction to cricket matches, Ted Dexter being a celebrated English cricketer of the early 1960s. John then retorted, “Thank you very much...another request from Martin and Luther,” revisiting their BBC radio performances from 1963 where they would play requests from listeners. Producer/engineer Glyn John then asks, “Any more voice from the Fenders?” This inquiry is concerning whether they need to turn up their amplifiers or not. “Yeah, we'll cut,” he then instructs to regroup in preparation for their next song, which turns out to be a third rendition of “Get Back.” The “Let It Be” film includes a strategically edited version of the second and third versions of the song performed on this day.
This third version was complete, the intention being to create the perfect performance. Paul chuckles slightly, however, after John flubs his lead guitar flourish during the second verse. After the break, Paul ad-libs, “Aaaah, get back home, never more to roam” and, after the final awkward conclusion and subsequent applause from those nearby, John states, “Oh, brother...had a request for Daisy, Morris, and Tommy,” continuing the early BBC radio joke from the previous performance.
After multiple takes of four other performed Beatles songs, John mistakenly counted off a fourth take of “Get Back,” Ringo immediately joined. However, this was halted because a second live rendition of “Don't Let Me Down” required another attempt. This brief snippet can be considered the fourth appearance of the song "Get Back" on the rooftop that day.
After they finished "Don't Let Me Down," the show's 40-minute mark, uniformed constables arrived at the Apple building, so the Beatles began their fifth and final attempt at the song “Get Back.” The policemen entered the premises and made their way to the roof, convincing Beatles assistant Mal Evans to shut off both John and George's amplifiers at the beginning of the first chorus. George turned his amp back on by the start of the first solo section of the song, Mal relenting to turn John's back on by the solo's fourth measure. They all must have known that this rendition would not be the definitive version. Still, they carry on regardless, knowing that they may very well be making music history, the authorities attempting to squelch their impromptu performance.
Paul excitedly repeats his “high heel shoes / low neck sweater / get back Loretta” line with their enthusiasm high during John's second guitar solo. When the coda kicked in, with the police still milling about and the downbeat of the song temporarily lost, Paul exclaims, “you've been out too long, Loretta, you've been playing on the roofs again, and that's no good, 'cause you know your mommy doesn't like that, ah, she get's angry, she's gonna have you arrested, get back.”
With that, their 42-minute concert was now over; Paul reacts with “Thanks Mo,” in recognition of Maureen Starkey's loud “yeah-ee-yeah” cheer at its conclusion. Off microphone, John then quips, “I'd like to say 'thank you' on behalf of the group and ourselves, and I hoped we passed the audition.” The above comments from both Paul and John appear on both the released “Let It Be” soundtrack album and film. As it happened, this was the very last song of the very last concert performance by The Beatles.
Six days later, on February 5th, 1969, engineers Glyn Johns and Alan Parsons (and possibly George Martin) gathered at Apple Studios to create stereo mixes of the five songs that the group performed for the city. Two stereo mixes of different performances of “Get Back” occurred, yet neither has ever been released. It appears that at this point, The Beatles didn't quite know what to do with this performance, as legendary as it was.
“Remember that idea you had about putting together an album? There are the tapes. Go and do it!” In early March of 1969, it is reported that John and Paul had instructed engineer Glyn Johns to forage through the plethora of tapes they had recorded in January of 1969 to construct a new Beatles album. Glyn Johns took this request seriously and, on March 10th, 1969, transported these tapes to Olympic Sound Studios in London to begin assembling the next Beatles LP.
Thirteen stereo mixes of January 1969 Beatles songs were prepared on this day. Two of these were of the song “Get Back,” one being the full version minus the coda they neglected to play (as detailed above) recorded on January 27th,1969, at Apple Studios. The second mix of “Get Back” created on this day is presumably of a section of the coda that was recorded on January 28th to be used as “Get Back (reprise)” on Glyn Johns' proposed “Get Back” album. No mono mixes took place due to mono records phased out of the marketplace by 1969.
Glyn Johns continued to create stereo mixes for this proposed album for the next three days. However, since it had been a long seven-and-a-half month since “Hey Jude,” The Beatles' last single, had been released, there was a dire need for a follow-up. Therefore, engineer Jeff Jarratt was commissioned to EMI Studios to create a mix of the song that was decided to be the next Beatles single, “Get Back.” It has been suggested that producer George Martin oversaw the proceedings on this day, but this has not been verified. Four mono mixes were created on this day, the fourth undoubtedly being deemed the best, acetate discs being cut directly afterward.
One of these acetate discs got in the hands of British disc jockeys John Peel and Alan Freeman, who proceeded to play the song on the air on April 6th, 1969. They had also received official information that this new Beatles single would be rush-released five days later on April 11th, this also being announced on their program. Paul McCartney had become aware of this broadcast and expressed concern that the mix of “Get Back” on this acetate disc wasn't good enough for official release. The edit of the main body of the song from January 27th and the coda from January 28th may not have been contained on this acetate disc as we've come to know it. To remedy this situation, Paul quickly booked studio time with Glyn Johns at Olympic Sound Studios the day after this radio broadcast, April 7th, 1969. Engineer Jerry Boys was present at the control board on this day, producer George Martin's presence not confirmed but possible.
“Only Paul came along,” Jerry Boys recalls about which Beatles were present on that day. He continues: “They'd already done a mono mix of 'Get Back' and had acetates cut and didn't like it. We tried it again, but it wasn't really happening any better, and when we went to compare the two, we hit a problem because Paul didn't have a tape of that first mix with him, just an acetate. He and Glyn were very concerned with how the new mix would sound like on a cheap record player. Purely by chance, I happened to have a cheap record player in the back of my car, which I'd brought along to Olympic to have someone repair. We had an acetate cut from the new mix, and then, using my record player, we were able to decide which of the two mixes was better. So the very first playing of the 'Get Back' single, which sold millions, was on my little player!”
Also done on this day was a new mono mix of “Don't Let Me Down,” which would be used as the new single B-side. Also created during this session were stereo mixes of both songs provided to Capitol in the US then issued as the second Beatles Apple single, the first issued in stereo. The mono mixes of these two songs were contained on the UK single, christened as the final mono single in their home country.
On May 28th, 1969, George Martin was recruited to oversee the master tape banding and compilation of the proposed “Get Back” album as an accompaniment to the recently released “Get Back” single. Glyn Johns, who was primarily responsible for creating the mixes for most of the tracks on this album, was also present and acting as engineer along with Steve Vaughan as 2nd engineer. George Harrison was also present on this day, being the only Beatle in the country at the time. This session, which began with creating a stereo mix of the song “Let It Be,” occurred in Studio One of Olympic Sound Studios.
The single version of “Get Back,” released about a month-and-a-half earlier, was included on this album as the final song of side one. In addition to this, the above mentioned “Get Back (reprise)” mix that was prepared by Glyn Johns on March 10th, 1969, was included as the final track of side two. As history reveals, this album was never released in this configuration because, despite George Harrison's approval, the other Beatles rejected it as too rough and unpolished.
With the filmed footage being prepared for release as a feature film in January of 1970, Glyn Johns was once again commissioned to assemble a new version of the “Get Back” album on January 5th, 1970, in Studio One of Olympic Sound Studios. The intention this time was to release this LP as a soundtrack album to accompany the movie, two additional songs being included therein because of their inclusion in the film, these being “Across The Universe” and the recently recorded “I Me Mine.” As before, however, the released single version of the song “Get Back” was in the running order as well as the previously mixed “Get Back (reprise),” the latter rounding outside two once again.
With the movie's release further delayed, an executive decision was made to recruit legendary American producer Phil Spector to assemble the soundtrack album for the “Let It Be” film (as it was now re-titled) in any way that he chose to. On his third day of mixing for the album, March 26th, 1970, he and engineers Peter Bown and Roger Ferris entered Room 4 of EMI Studios to create new mixes to four Beatles songs, “Get Back” one of them.
Going back to the original take from the January 27th, 1969 Apple Studios session tape from the released single, Spector decided to include John's ad-lib “Sweet Loretta Fart...” vocalizations, as well as other brief dialog and instrument sounds that preceded the perfected take, as the introduction to his new mix of “Get Back.” In the spirit of the overall impromptu feel of the project that he was instructed to include, Spector crossfaded this spontaneous chatter and sounds that were caught on tape with the beginning measures of the actual song. Since the coda was mistakenly omitted from this actual performance, Spector felt obliged to leave it as it was and not edit in a coda from the January 18th session as fans were used to hearing from the released single. Five Get Back stereo mixes developed, mixes three and five edited together to create “remix stereo 3,” which appeared on the released soundtrack album.
On March 27th, 1970, the following day saw Phil Spector back in Room 4 of EMI Studios for further work on the soundtrack album, this time with engineers Mike Sheady and Roger Ferris. After creating a stereo mix for the track that had become known as “Dig It,” they took to assembling eight bits of recorded dialog for random insertion into the album. One of these miscellaneous bits was chosen to be crossfaded with the ending of the song “Get Back,” thus closing the entire album. As the song concluded, Spector decided to crossfade this with the closing moments of the rooftop performance, this including the applause from onlookers, Paul thanking Maureen Starkey for her cheering John's comedic “...hope we passed the audition” phrase.
George Martin and engineer Geoff Emerick pulled out the master tape of the rooftop concert of January 30th, 1969, sometime in 1996 to prepare a new mix of “Get Back” to be included on the compilation album “Anthology 3.” They decided to create a mix of the final rooftop performance of the song, this being the last song The Beatles ever performed live, complete with evidence of police presence and Paul's lyrical ad-lib about being “arrested” for “playing on the roofs again.”
Then, sometime in 2003, the engineering team of Paul Hicks, Guy Massey, and Allan Rouse pulled out the master tape of “Get Back” from January 27th, 1969, to create a vibrant new mix of the same take that appeared on the single and soundtrack album. This unique mix appeared on the album “Let It Be...Naked” released that year. As Phil Spector had done for the soundtrack album, this new 2003 mix ended just as the actual performance did back then, minus the coda with Paul's ad-lib "your momma's waiting for you..." vocal line. Many Beatles fans believed the engineering team cut this performance short because its coda was missing. Still, in actuality, they presented the ultimate “Get Back” performance precisely how the musicians played it on that day.
An additional CD was contained in the “Let It Be...Naked” package entitled “Fly On The Wall,” which had candid dialog and musical excerpts from their January 1969 rehearsals for the project. Two bits of “Get Back” rehearsals were included therein, the first being a 15-second segment of the group rehearsing the proposed crashing introduction to the song from January 10th, an eventually dropped idea. The second excerpt of “Get Back” was of Paul singing through a verse and chorus of the song while playing acoustic guitar in a more subdued tempo while John fiddled around on slide guitar. This 32-second segment may very well have been performed at Apple Studios on January 25th, the same day that The Beatles recorded “For You Blue,” with John playing the Hofner lap-steel guitar already present in the studio.
George Martin returned to the master tape of "Get Back" once more sometime between 2004 and 2006 with his son Giles Martin to create a new mash-up version for inclusion on the album "Love." The intro of the song was extended to incorporate various elements of other Beatles tracks, such as the introductory chord of "A Hard Day's Night" and multiple sounds from "Sgt. Pepper (Reprise)," "A Day In The Life," and "The End" throughout the track, while the second verse is removed entirely.
Surprisingly, George Harrison was the first Beatle to re-record the song "Get Back." In actuality, during recording sessions in London sometime between September 1969 and May 1970 for R&B singer Doris Troy, producer George Harrison vocally ran through the song "Get Back" as a demonstration for the artist to hear. This song was chosen by Doris Troy for inclusion on her self-titled Apple album, the result ending up as the b-side of her second single from the album "Jacob's Ladder" in September of 1970. With a star-studded backing band that possibly included Ringo, Billy Preston, Eric Clapton, Steven Stills, Jim Gordon, and many others, George ad-libbed a vocal demo that has appeared in later years on various bootleg releases. Harrison pushes his way through the chorus a few times as well as the third verse, adding in whatever popped into his head at the moment. Prompted by assistant Mal Evans being present on that day in his usual gopher role, George states, "Mal got a mop and another glass of orange juice." Since George was in the habit of adding in lyrics of other songs (see "It's All Too Much"), he ends his vocal performance here with "Now we're not saying that we're all the best / and we're not trying to say that we're like the rest...make the load a little lighter."
The first live Paul McCartney recording of “Get Back” was done on March 13th, 1990, at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan, the results being released on both the “Tripping The Live Fantastic” and “Tripping The Live Fantastic: Highlights!” albums of that year. Next came his June 27th, 2007 performance of the song at Amoeba Music in Hollywood, California, available on both his albums “Amoeba Gig” and a British and Irish release entitled “Live In Los Angeles,” the latter produced in conjunction with “The Mail On Sunday” newspaper. Then came his performance at New York City's Citi Field in July of 2009, included on his “Good Evening New York City” album.
Song Structure and Style:
There are two main versions of “Get Back” that have become popular during The Beatles' career; the single release of 1969 and the album release of 1970. Both of them are known and cherished by music fans for different reasons but, however, the original single version contains the coda, which had been edited onto their raw recording. This being the case, the structure is longer than the album version and is more popular due to it topping the singles charts worldwide that year and also remaining a staple on classic radio stations up until today.
For this reason, our analysis will concentrate on the original single rendition, which follows the structure 'verse/ chorus/ solo verse/ chorus/ solo verse/ verse/ chorus/ solo verse/ chorus/ outro verse/ outro chorus' (or ababaababab). An instrumental intro is contained in both versions as well as two “Beatles breaks,” the first appearing after the second chorus and the second one after the fourth chorus, this second break ending the entire song on the album version. Random chatter and sounds begin and conclude the album version, not on the single version and therefore not stipulated in our analysis structure.
The four-measure introduction showcases Ringo's galloping snare beat as it and all the other live instruments fade up in volume to good effect. John and George's electric rhythm guitars chunk away in a style that accents the off beats while Paul thumps out eighth beats on one solitary note and Billy Preston quietly plays chords on electric piano. As the volume swells to the fourth measure, two crashing chords are played by everyone, Ringo's cymbals ringing out to usher in the first verse that follows.
A third cymbal crash appears on the downbeat of the first measure of the eight-measure first verse, Paul's lead vocal also beginning on this beat. Ringo's galloping snare beat continues here as it does throughout the entire song. Paul sings solo in this verse but is accentuated by John playing a rising-and-falling guitar lick in the two gaps left in between Paul's vocal phrases. Both George and Billy continue playing their instruments in a subdued fashion throughout the verse, while Paul keeps it simple on bass.
The following chorus is also eight measures in length, Paul still being the only vocalist throughout. John replaces his chunking rhythm guitar with an interesting lead guitar riff that he repeats eight times, one for each measure, altering his playing in the third and seventh measure with the changing of the song's chords. Ringo keeps his galloping snare beat going in the chorus but crashes his cymbals accordingly in the fourth measure to repeat what we heard in the fourth measure of the song's introduction. Paul, George, and Billy Preston also reprise the introduction with identical crashing chords. Then in measures five and six, everyone except John performs crashing chords on the “two-and” offbeat, Lennon continuing his guitar riff as if he doesn't even notice the jarring changes in the rhythm of the song. The final part of John's guitar riff in the eighth measure of the chorus is omitted here, only because he needs to properly position his fingers for the guitar solo he is about to perform immediately afterward. Just before he starts it, Paul encourages him by saying, “Get back, JoJo!”
Next comes a second verse devoted entirely to John's guitar solo; this verse also has eight measures in length. As a backdrop to his excellently performed solo is a subdued display from the other four musicians throughout except for what occurs in the fourth measure. The two jarring crashing chords heard in the fourth measure of the previously heard chorus are repeated here in this instrumental verse in both the fourth and eighth measures. Ringo's cymbals ring out appropriately each time. Paul is quite happy with how John performs his solo, exemplified with his exclamation “Go home!” in the sixth measure. This phrase is similar to the musical expression “bring it home,” as heard in popular 50's and 60's recordings.
Next comes a second chorus, ten measures in length because of the addition of a “Beatles break” as described below. However, the first eight measures are quite similar to the first chorus, the crashing chord accents appearing here as well. John's focus this time is not on any guitar riffs as in the previous chorus but instead on lower harmony vocals to Paul's lead vocal, falling back to playing rhythm guitar during this chorus. I'd like to point out that Lennon is obviously thriving as an artist during their performance of this song, changing from rhythm to lead guitarist, playing intricate guitar riffs during some choruses, and throwing in a harmony vocal as well. During these sessions, he had been caught on tape saying that he thought of The Beatles as a durable rock'n'roll band that performed best during their formative years at the Cavern Club and in Hamburg. With “Get Back,” he was recapturing their celebrated past.
The added ninth and tenth measures consist of the first of two “Beatles breaks” in the song, this one keeping within the flow of the performance (unlike the second). With the crashing chord and ringing cymbal on the ninth measure's anticipated downbeat, Billy Preston's presence is felt for the first time, slow descending chords being the primary focus of these two measures. With the song's volume decreasing at this point, Ringo and Paul bring it back in the second half of the tenth measure. Ringo performs an innovative left-handed drum fill while Paul spurs Billy on for his upcoming solo by calling out, “Get back, Joe!”
Another instrumental verse then appears, eight measures in length and dominated by Billy Preston's excellent self-composed solo. The Beatles play energetically but as a rhythmic backdrop to allow their guest keyboardist shine bright. They add in the jarring chords from the fourth measure of the second chorus, both in the fourth and eighth measures. In the eighth measure, they all hit it a little harder due to it being a segue into the next verse, this one being the second and final vocal verse of the entire song.
This verse, also being eight measures in length, is nearly identical to the first vocal verse, John's guitar riffs and all. Other than different lyrics, the only other alteration from the first vocal verse is George mistakenly playing the two jarring chords in the eighth measure. This appears as a juxtaposition with John's intricate but ad-libbed lead guitar flourish. This is followed by another chorus, which is nearly identical to the first chorus instrumentally, ending with Paul's ad-lib "Get back, Loretta!" as encouragement for John's upcoming solo.
Another instrumental verse comes next, handled by John once again. Interestingly, Paul injects a high-pitched vocal “ooh” on the “two-and” offbeat of the first measure of this instrumental verse. His vocal hijinks are at an all-time high during the numerous takes of this song during these sessions. John's previous guitar solo is repeated here again but with various ad-libs to differentiate it from the previous one, the fourth, seventh, and eighth measures being substantially different. The other four musicians' instrumental backing is primarily a duplicate to John's first solo verse except for Ringo's crashing cymbals in measure eight bangs louder to bring in the climactic chorus that follows. Paul rallies everyone in for that chorus by exclaiming, “Go home!” in measure eight.
This fourth chorus brings everyone's playing to a fever pitch, the entire group performing at their loudest and with dynamic energy. This in itself may be why this take was chosen as "best" for release as the next Beatles single and thereafter for the soundtrack album. Paul's vocalization in this chorus is with fervor and intensity, mimicking all five musicians' power, Ringo's energetic drum work spurring everyone on. The accented crashing chords and cymbals of previous choruses are heard here, not only in measures five and six as before but in measures one and two as well. The two iconic power chords that were heard in the introduction of the song and in the fourth measure of the previous choruses are here replaced by a syncopated crashing chord on the “two-and” beat of measure four.
It can arguably be said that this fourth chorus is also ten measures in length as the second chorus was, complete with an abbreviated version of Billy Preston's descending electric piano riff as heard the first time around. However, due to this being the conclusion of this actual performance on January 27th, 1969, the song's meter is here lost for this second “Beatles break,” the only elements filling this gap unleash some indecipherable studio sounds and Paul's “Oooooh!”
Just when one would think that the performance was now complete (as it was in reality), Ringo brings it back in with another innovative left-handed drum fill directly from the song's January 28th, 1969 performance. We now hear a repeat of the final verse and chorus, which is primarily an identical performance but less intense. What does become the primary focus is Paul's vocal work, the verse comprising his now-iconic “high heel shoes...low neck sweater” improvisation, and a very dynamic ad-lib of the final chorus as the song fades out. Of note here is Paul adding the word “home” to his otherwise usual phrase “get back Loretta” during all other documented takes of the song during these late-January sessions. As the music begins to extend to another chorus on the single version, Paul's final vocalization is “JoJo,” this exact utterance also being heard during the fade-in on “Get Back (reprise)” from both proposed “Get Back" albums.
"I played solo on that," Lennon had stated in an interview when asked about the song "Get Back." "When Paul was feeling kindly, he would give me a solo. Maybe if he was feeling guilty that he had most of the A-sides or something, he'd give me a solo. I think George produces some beautiful guitar playing, but I think he's too hung up to really let go."
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