Sadly, the final year of the sixties would ultimately prove to be the final, official year in The Beatles’ short but glorious lifespan as a band. The revolutionary group that had dominated and defined this decade, while completely changing the path of popular music indefinitely, would not even see their existence extend into the new one. As the new year dawned, the group remained committed to the return-to-roots rock & roll sounds of The White Album, leading to the infamous rooftop concert, the aborted Get Back album sessions, and ultimately the creation of their masterful swan song, Abbey Road. But even when the Beatles were on the brink of conflict and destruction, they were fascinating at least, and brilliant at most. This sterling final batch of proper singles has all of the tension from those personal conflicts and artistic differences bubbling at the surface, all the while buoyed by the blooming individuality of each member’s unique POV, serving as intriguing previews of the diverse solo work that they’d each contribute to the 1970s’ canon of classics.
“Get Back” with Billy Preston (b/w “Don’t Let Me Down”), Apple, 1969
Songwriters: John Lennon and Paul McCartney
Producers: George Martin and Glyn Johns
#1 (US), #1 (UK), #1 (Canada)
The group’s return to their grittier rock roots gets a heavy dose of swampy blues thrown into the mix courtesy of one of John Lennon’s most prominent lead guitar contributions in the band’s history, as well as a delicious Rhodes piano showcase from R&B master Billy Preston (aka the only artist to ever score a formal feature billing on a Beatles track). Paul McCartney compliments this juicy sonic setting with a smooth-as-silk vocal performance that slowly but surely builds from cool & confident to all-out swaggering. The entire record strikes such a perfect interplay between a simmer and a boil that results in one of the rock lexicon’s most quietly intense moments. Even as they sat on the brink of implosion, their cohesion as a unit remained in supreme form here. Arguably, they would never sound quite this well-oiled as a unit ever again. There was still one final healthy dose of brilliance to follow with Abbey Road, but from here on out, they’re more the sum of four fantastic parts, rather than the result of one harmonious unit. Chart trivia alert: this song’s ascendance to the top of the Hot 100 matched the previous record of seventeen No. 1s held by Elvis Presley.
“The Ballad of John and Yoko” (b/w “Old Brown Shoe”), Apple, 1969
Songwriters: John Lennon and Paul McCartney
Producers: George Martin
#8 (US), #1 (UK)
“The Ballad of John and Yoko” has always felt a bit out-of-place in its role as a Beatles hit; mostly due to its identity as Lennon’s own personal documentation of his new marriage to Yoko Ono, and the controversy that it elicited from the public, not to mention from within the confines of the band. Further compounding this feeling is the fact that neither George Harrison or Ringo Starr participated in the recording, and McCartney’s assistance in completing the song surely must have felt more obligatory than anything, given his feelings of Yoko’s influence on the band’s future. Its harkening back to Lennon’s 1966 Jesus controversy, and its incorporation of a quirky and more individualistic folk-rock twang also make this feel more like John’s unofficial first solo single. Regardless, all of these elements are also the reason that it’s such a tasty, tantalizing single as well. The vocals find Lennon at his sardonic peak, and the infectious guitar licks are insatiably alluring. McCartney’s trembling piano playing and the bluesy rock & roll riff that gives the song its finale are fabulous bonuses.
“Something”/”Come Together”, Apple, 1969
Songwriters: George Harrison/John Lennon & Paul McCartney
Producers: George Martin
#1 (US), #4 (UK), #1 (Canada)
The Abbey Road album was such a buffet of classic performances that it’d be easy to argue that so many of the deep cuts were more deserving of the spotlight ultimately bestowed upon these two hits. If not of course for the indisputable fact that “Something” and “Come Together” not only reign as two of the band’s finest moments, but two of the greatest moments in the history of popular music. By this point, George Harrison had more than proven that he was on the same compositional level as Lennon & McCartney, and “Something” only further solidified that notion as all three verged on the precipice of solo stardom. It’s simply one of the greatest love songs in history, and every element of the record from the poetic lyrics to the sweeping arrangements to the passionate vocals are pure perfection. It’s a masterfully golden moment from one of the all-time great artists. “Come Together” meanwhile is something altogether different, but just as gloriously legendary. It boldly marries the group’s notoriously trippy affection for mysterious psychedelic messages with their vibrant classic rock sound that had re-grounded the band and connected them back to their gritty origins in the Cavern Club. At the risk of sounding too simplistic, Lennon and McCartney just sound absolutely bad-ass throughout “Together”; its truly their final, triumphant moment in their iconic legacy as a duo. These two tracks became standards the instant they were released, and their influence remains as notable today as it did nearly six decades later. If the greatest band of all time had to meet an earlier-than-expected end, at least they did it in the remarkable fashion worthy of their untouchable legacy.
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