Get Back
On the 7th of January 1969, Paul McCartney began shaping a melody during unstructured jamming sessions at Twickenham Studios. He played his Höfner bass while developing the primary riff that would become the song's backbone. McCartney later rewrote lyrics from George Harrison's earlier composition Sour Milk Sea into the phrase Get back to where you once belonged. By the 9th of January, he presented a more developed version to the group with the Sweet Loretta verse nearly complete. The band improvised various temporary lyrics during these rehearsals, including what became known as the No Pakistanis version. This early iteration parodied anti-immigrant views held by Enoch Powell, an MP whose Rivers of Blood speech had recently gained media attention. McCartney described the process in a press release stating they made it up out of thin air and recorded it at Apple Studios. John Lennon later called the track a potboiler rewrite of Lady Madonna in a 1980 Playboy interview.
Billy Preston joined the Beatles on keyboards on the 22nd of January 1969 after arriving in England for television appearances. The group recorded about ten takes of the song on the 23rd of January using Preston's Fender Rhodes electric piano. They made a concerted effort to perfect the track on the 27th of January, recording approximately fourteen takes. Take eleven emerged as the best performance because it was musically tight without mistakes though it lacked the restart coda. George Harrison noted on the session tape that they missed the ending which appears on the Let It Be... Naked album. On the 28th of January the band attempted to recapture the previous day's quality while adding the coda to multiple new takes. Producer George Martin created a mono mix in Room 4 of EMI studios on the 4th of April but McCartney remained unhappy with the result. He and Glyn Johns worked at Olympic Studios on the 7th of April to produce new remixes for the single release. The final edit combined the best main part from the 27th of January with the best coda ending from the 28th of January.
The Beatles performed Get Back three times during their rooftop concert on the roof of Apple Studios in Savile Row London on the 30th of January 1969. During the third performance police interrupted the group after receiving complaints from nearby office workers. Mal Evans turned off Lennon and Harrison's amplifiers only for Harrison to switch them back insisting they finish the song. McCartney joked about the situation saying You have been playing on the roofs again and that is no good. The third rooftop performance remains available on Anthology 3 as the last song of the Beatles' final live performance. At the end of the final take McCartney thanked Maureen Starkey by saying Thanks Mo while Lennon added I hope we passed the audition. Phil Spector later edited these comments into the studio version released on the Let It Be album creating a different impression than the single.
Apple Records released Get Back as a single on the 11th of April 1969 paired with Don't Let Me Down on the B-side. The single entered the UK charts at number one on the 23rd of April holding that position for six weeks. In the United States it hit number two on the Billboard Hot 100 chart ending the week of May 10 before reaching number one. This became the band's seventeenth number one matching Elvis Presley's previous record. The single credited The Beatles with Billy Preston making it the only Beatles release to include another artist's name. A chamber reverb effect runs throughout the single version which includes a coda after a false ending. Phil Spector created an album mix for Let It Be in 1970 that omitted this reverb and replaced the coda with rooftop dialogue. The Naked version from 2003 removed both the coda and framing dialogue returning closer to the original take from January 27.
Get Back reached number one in multiple countries including the United Kingdom, the United States, Ireland, Canada, New Zealand, France, West Germany, Mexico, Norway, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, and Australia. It was the Beatles' first single to debut on the UK singles chart at number one though eight earlier releases had topped the NME chart. The song spent seventeen weeks in the UK charts beginning its run on April 23. In the US it remained on the Billboard Hot 100 for twelve weeks starting the week ending May 10. Year-end charts placed Get Back at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number fourteen on Cash Box in 1969. The track also ranked number one on the Canadian charts and number five on the Italian Musica e Dischi list. Apple Records launched a print ad campaign showing the band with the slogan The Beatles as Nature Intended to promote the release.
Universal Music released Take 8 from the recording sessions to promote the 50th anniversary of Let It Be and the 2021 documentary miniseries. This version features McCartney ad-libbing a spoken word section over the bridge beginning with It is five o'clock your mother has got your tea on. A newly mixed version produced by George Martin and his son Giles appeared on the Love album in 2006 incorporating elements from other Beatles songs. The 2003 Naked remix removed the coda and framing dialogue while fading immediately before the final whoo. McCartney performed the song live during his Super Bowl halftime show in 2005 and later on the Late Show with David Letterman in July 2009. He also played it as an encore on Saturday Night Live in December 2010 though the broadcast was partially cut off due to time constraints. The Foo Fighters joined McCartney for a performance at the 2021 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.
Rod Stewart covered Get Back for the 1976 musical documentary All This and World War II reaching number eleven on the UK chart. Billy Preston recorded his own version for the 1978 film Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band peaking at number eighty-six on the Billboard Hot 100. Hirohiko Araki used the song as inspiration for Jonathan Joestar in his 1987 manga series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. Joseph Joestar appears listening to the track on his Walkman in the third part of the series titled Stardust Crusaders. NBC used a cover of the song in February 2010 commercials promoting Jay Leno's return to The Tonight Show. The 2007 film Across the Universe named its principal character Jojo after lyrics from the Beatles composition. McCartney performed the song live during his 1989-1990 World Tour releasing it on the Tripping the Live Fantastic album.
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Common questions
When did Paul McCartney begin shaping the melody for Get Back?
Paul McCartney began shaping the melody for Get Back on the 7th of January 1969 during unstructured jamming sessions at Twickenham Studios. He played his Höfner bass while developing the primary riff that would become the song's backbone.
Who joined The Beatles as a keyboardist for the Get Back recording sessions?
Billy Preston joined The Beatles on keyboards on the 22nd of January 1969 after arriving in England for television appearances. The group recorded about ten takes of the song on the 23rd of January using Preston's Fender Rhodes electric piano.
Where did The Beatles perform their final live concert featuring Get Back?
The Beatles performed Get Back three times during their rooftop concert on the roof of Apple Studios in Savile Row London on the 30th of January 1969. Police interrupted the group after receiving complaints from nearby office workers but the performance remains available on Anthology 3.
What date was Get Back released as a single by Apple Records?
Apple Records released Get Back as a single on the 11th of April 1969 paired with Don't Let Me Down on the B-side. The single entered the UK charts at number one on the 23rd of April holding that position for six weeks.
Why is the Get Back single unique among all Beatles releases regarding artist credits?
The single credited The Beatles with Billy Preston making it the only Beatles release to include another artist's name. A chamber reverb effect runs throughout the single version which includes a coda after a false ending.