Let It Be (song)

"Let It Be"
Single by The Beatles
B-side	"You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)"
Released	6 March 1970
Format	Vinyl record 7"
Recorded	Apple Studio 31 January 1969 EMI Studios 30 April 1969 4 January 1970
Genre	Rock, pop, gospel
Length	3:50 (7" version)
Label	Apple Records
Writer(s)	Lennon–McCartney
Producer	George Martin
Certification	2× Platinum (RIAA)
The Beatles singles chronology
"Something" / "Come Together" (1969) "Let It Be" / "You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)" (1970) "The Long and Winding Road" / "For You Blue" (US-1970) — "Yesterday" (UK-1976)

"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
12 tracks Side one "Two of Us" "Dig a Pony" "Across the Universe" "I Me Mine" "Dig It" "Let It Be" "Maggie Mae" Side two "I've Got a Feeling" "One After 909" "The Long and Winding Road" "For You Blue" "Get Back"

"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, but credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was their final single before McCartney announced his departure from the band (by that time, Lennon had already left). 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.

In 1987, the song was recorded by charity supergroup Ferry Aid (which included McCartney). It reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart for three weeks and reached the top ten in many other European countries.

Composition and recording

See also: Jim and Mary McCartney

McCartney said he had the idea of "Let It Be" after he had a dream 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. He 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'." 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."

The first rehearsal of "Let It Be" took place at Twickenham Film Studios on 3 January 1969, where the group had, the previous day, begun what would become the Let It Be film. During this stage of the film they were 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 attempt with the other Beatles was made on 8 January. Work continued on the song throughout the month. Multi-track recordings commenced on 23 January at Apple Studios.

The master take was recorded on 31 January 1969, as part of the 'Apple studio performance' for the project. McCartney played Blüthner piano, Lennon played six-string electric bass, Billy Preston played organ, and George Harrison and Ringo Starr assumed their conventional roles on guitar and drums. 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. The film performance of "Let It Be" has never been officially released as an audio recording. The lyrics in the two versions differ a little in the last verse. The studio version has Shine until tomorrow...there will be an answer whereas the film version has shine until tomorrow...there will be no sorrow.

On 30 April 1969, Harrison overdubbed a new guitar solo on the best take from 31 January that year. 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.

Single version

The single used the same cover photographs 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. 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 the 4 January overdub can be heard faintly during the final verse. Martin mixed the orchestration very low in this version.

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. This version features the "more stinging" 4 January 1970 guitar solo, no backing vocals (except during the first chorus), a delay effect on Ringo's high-hat, and more prominent orchestration. 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'." 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.

Anthology version

An early version of the song also appears on Anthology 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. John: OK. Paul: This'll-this is gonna knock you out, boy.

”

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!" (This is a reference to the no-overdub policy that The Beatles had adopted for the Get Back project—'tracking' refers to double tracking the vocals on a recording.) 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 version has a standard A minor chord in the piano at the first beat of measure two in the last verse (on the lyric 'mother'); other versions have a more complex harmonisation. 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. The song's running time on Let It Be... Naked is 3:52.

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. He used the same mix on 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.

Piano theme

Main 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

"Let It Be" is widely considered to be one of the greatest songs of all timeIn 2004, it was ranked number 20 on Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".. In 2010, the magazine placed the song at #8 on the Beatles' 100 Greatest Songs. Allmusic said it was one of "the Beatles' most popular and finest ballads". 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."

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?" (This is a similar quote to Lewisohn's "The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions" (p. 170) 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".

”

As MacDonald explained, Lennon is wrong about "Bridge over Troubled Water" being McCartney's inspiration: Although Simon & Garfunkel's ballad charted just ahead of "Let It Be", "Let It Be" was recorded approximately six months before "Bridge over Troubled Water" was written and a full year before the latter was released.

Awards

"Let It Be" won Academy Awards in 1971 in Original Song Score category as a part of documentary film Let It Be. It also won Grammy Awards for "Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special".

Live performances

Although the song is performed regularly during McCartney's performances, there are a few notable performances.

• On 13 July 1985, McCartney performed "Let It Be" as the closing act of the Live Aid charity concert in front of an estimated global television audience exceeding one billion people. It was beset by technical difficulties when his microphone was turned off for the first two minutes of his piano performance, making it difficult for television viewers and impossible for those in the stadium to hear him. As a result, previous performers David Bowie, Bob Geldof, Alison Moyet, and Pete Townshend returned to the stage to back him up. He later jokingly thought about changing the lyrics to "There will be some feedback, let it be". He re-recorded his vocals afterwards for future home video releases.
• 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.
• In 2003, McCartney performed a private rendition for Russian President Vladimir Putin—in the Kremlin—before McCartney played a concert in Red Square.
• On July 18 2008, McCartney performed Let It Be with Billy Joel and his band to close the final concert at Shea Stadium in Queens, NY before it was demolished. This was especially fitting given that the Beatles' first live performance in the U.S. had taken place at Shea Stadium in 1964.
• On 4 June 2012, McCartney performed the song as part of his set during the Concert for the Queen, celebrating the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.

Personnel

The Beatles

• Paul McCartney – lead and backing vocals, piano, maracas, bass (final takes)
• John Lennon – six-string bass (early and movie takes), backing vocal
• George Harrison – lead guitar, backing vocal
• Ringo Starr – drums

Additional musicians

• Linda McCartney – backing vocals (on single release only)
• Billy Preston – keyboards
• Uncredited performers – two trumpets, two trombones, tenor saxophone, cello

Singles charts

The Beatles:

• 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 Hot 100 chart position: #1 (2 weeks)
• US easy listening chart position: #1 (4 weeks)

Cover versions

"Let It Be" has been covered numerous times by various artists:

1970s

• 1969: Joe Cocker recorded "Let It Be" for his Joe Cocker! album. It wasn't included on the initial vinyl release but was later added to the CD version as a bonus track.
• 1970: 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".
• 1970: Clarence Carter recorded a cover version of the song for his album Patches.
• 1971: John Denver recorded a solo acoustic cover of "Let It Be" on his album Poems, Prayers, and Promises.
• Gladys Knight and the Pips released a version of the song on the tribute album Motown Sings The Beatles.
• 1971: Joan Baez included "Let It Be" on her 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.
• 1971: Bill Withers recorded a cover version of the song for his debut album Just as I Am.
• 1977: Ray Charles did a cover version of his album True to Life.
• 1976: Leo Sayer covered the song for the 1976 ephemeral musical documentary All This and World War II.

1990s

• 1991: Australian rock band Noiseworks covered the song on their 1991 album Love Versus Money.
• 1995: A second instrumental rendition is from saxophonist Nelson Rangell from a compilation album album (I Got No Kick Against) Modern Jazz - Celebration of the Songs of the Beatles.
• 1997: Canadian a capella band The Nylons covered the song in 1997 on their album Fabric of Life.

2000s

• 2000: English rock band Marillion covered the song for a 2000 webcast entitled A Piss-Up in a Brewery, which was later released on CD and DVD. "Let It Be" was omitted from the CD release.
• 2002: Lesley Garrett sang an operatic version on her 2002 album The Singer.
• 2002: Johnny Maestro & The Brooklyn Bridge covered the song on their 2002 album Peace On Earth and on 2007's Songs Of Inspiration.

• 2007: Dyme Def used a sample of the original Let it Be in a significantly different hip hop version, also called Let it Be, on their album, Space Music.
• 2008: American Idol Season 7 finalist Brooke White covered the song on the Top 12 Beatles week. A studio version of her performance was released on the iTunes Music Store as "Let It Be (American Idol Studio Version) - Single" in 2008. It was among the most downloaded singles of the season.
• 2009: Cherry Red Records (UK) release of The Cate Brothers' Born To Wander early demos includes a cover of Let It Be.http://www.cherryred.co.uk/broadside-exd.asp?id=826

2010s

• 2010: American Idol Season 8 winner Kris Allen did a version of this song on the ninth season of American Idol on 25 February 2010. This song was made available on iTunes for download, with all proceeds going toward disaster relief for the Haiti Earthquake. Katie Stevens performed it the same year.^{[citation needed]}
• 2011: The X Factor USA contestant Chris Rene merged Let It Be with a self-written song and performed it during the series. This song was made available on iTunes for download.
• 2012: The Voice contestant Terry McDermott covered the song for his Live Semifinal performance.
• 2012: The X Factor UK season nine runner-up Jahméne Douglas sang this song for his winner's single on December 9th.
• 2012: The X Factor USA season two contestant Fifth Harmony sang this song for their 5 Million dollar song on December 19th.

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. Retrieved 7 May 2010. 
• The Beatles (2000). Anthology. Chronicle Books. ISBN 0-8118-2684-8. 
• Calkin, Graham (2000). "Let It Be". Retrieved 9 December 2009. 
• "Gold & Platinum Searchable Database - The Beatles Platinum Singles". RIAA. 2009. Retrieved 9 July 2009. 
• "Let It Be". The Beatles Bible. 2007. Retrieved 15 October 2007. 
• "Let It Be". Second Hand Songs. 2007. Retrieved 21 October 2007. 
• "Let It Be". Sold on Song. 2009. Retrieved 10 April 2009. 
• Let It Be... Naked (Album notes). Apple Records. 2003.
• Levine, Robert (14 December 2003). "Letting 'Let It Be' Be: McCartney Wins". New York Times. 
• 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. 8 June 1998. 
• 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 1-84413-828-3. 
• "McCartney plays Red Square". BBC News. 24 May 2003. 
• Miles, Barry (1997). Many Years From Now. Vintage-Random House. ISBN 0-7493-8658-4. 
• "Overview of The Singer". Allmusic. 2009. Retrieved 9 December 2009. 
• Pollack, Alan W. (1995). "Let It Be". Notes on Series. Retrieved 10 July 2008. 
• "The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. 9 December 2004. Archived from the original on 26 June 2008. 
• "The RS 100 Greatest Beatles Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. 30 August 2010. 
• 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. Retrieved 10 April 2009. 
• Wexler, Jerry (2007). Rare and Unreleased Recordings from the Golden Reign of the Queen of Soul (booklet).
• Whitburn, Joel (1996). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits (6th ed.). 

Preceded by " Bridge Over Troubled Water " by Simon And Garfunkel

Billboard Hot 100 number-one single April 11, 1970 (2 weeks)

Succeeded by "ABC" by The Jackson Five

External links

• Alan W. Pollack's Notes on "Let It Be"