The Beatles’ Legendary Journey: Unveiling Their Final Song “Now And Then”

Nov 6, 2023 musiccorners

The Beatles – Even though some of its members have passed away, the legendary band The Beatles has released their latest single, marking their last song titled “Now And Then.” For all you Superfriends out there, the official statement reveals that the song was written and sung by John Lennon, developed and worked on by Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, and finally completed by Paul and Ringo more than four decades later.

The story behind the song “Now And Then” begins in the late 1970s when John recorded a demo with vocals and piano at his home in the Dakota Building, New York. In 1994, his wife, Yoko Ono Lennon, handed over this recording to Paul, George, and Ringo, along with John’s demos for “Free As A Bird” and “Real Love.” Both of these songs were completed as new Beatles tracks and released as singles in 1995 and 1996, as part of The Beatles Anthology project.

At the same time, Paul, George, and Ringo recorded new parts and completed a rough mix for “Now And Then” with producer Jeff Lynne. However, technological limitations at the time prevented them from separating John’s vocals and piano to achieve the clear mix required to finish the song. Consequently, the “Now And Then” project was put on hold with the hope of revisiting it someday.

With the release of the documentary series “The Beatles: Get Back,” directed by Peter Jackson, Jackson’s team successfully demixed the mono soundtrack of the film and isolated the instruments, vocals, and individual voices in The Beatles’ conversations using WingNut Films’ MAL audio technology. Thanks to this technology, “Now And Then” could finally be worked on. Peter Jackson and his audio team, led by Emile de la Rey, applied the same technique to John’s original home recordings, preserving the clarity and integrity of his original vocal performance by separating it from the piano.

In 2022, Paul and Ringo began finishing the song. Besides John’s vocals, they included electric and acoustic guitars recorded in 1995 by George, added new drum parts by Ringo, and incorporated bass, guitar, and piano parts from Paul that matched John’s original performance.

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In Los Angeles, Paul oversaw a recording session at Capitol Studios for the melancholic Beatles string arrangements, written by Giles Martin, Paul, and Ben Foster. Paul and Giles also added a subtle final touch: background vocals from the original recordings of “Here, There And Everywhere,” “Eleanor Rigby,” and “Because,” seamlessly woven into the new song using techniques perfected during the production of the LOVE performance and album. The completed song was produced by Paul and Giles and later mixed by Spike Stent.