It’s difficult to pinpoint when The Beatles agreed to split up. Paul McCartney’s declaration of their split marked the moment when the band’s separation could be traced back. He did so with the release of his first solo album in 1970. The symptoms of a split had already begun to emerge in the months preceding the new year. It began with the band falling out over different business practices. Although the Beatles reunited for one more album, one of their filler songs marked their final time in the studio together.
Throughout the recording of the band’s intended return-to-roots album Get Back, every step of the process fell through. With the band falling out and beginning to fracture George Harrison decided to quit the band for a few weeks. While the band persuaded the guitarist to return, it would be a few weeks before they decided to put the record on hold in favor of something new.
When discussing the recording of what would become Abbey Road, producer George Martin recalled the band’s desire to return to their experimental roots, telling Anthology, “Paul said, ‘We want to make a record.'” ‘Would you like to manufacture it?’ And I answered, ‘Only if you let me record it the way we used to’. And he responded, ‘We want to do it’.”
Rather than go with to-the-point songs, nothing was off the table so long as it served the track. From the fundamental groove of John Lennon’s ‘Come Together’ to employing a synthesizer for the first time on George Harrison’s ‘Here Comes the Sun’. However, when the band began to focus on their careers, they saved one of their most ambitious records for last.
Lennon was already working on a song called ‘I Want You‘ while recording Get Back. As an exercise in minimalism, the group would all put their contributions on top of Lennon’s simple riff. Aside from their famous harmonies, McCartney’s outstanding bass playing and the inclusion of Harrison’s synthesizer produced a cacophony. At a certain point, Lennon requested breaking the tape. They then broke up the tape. While the song highlighted each band member playing to their strengths, all four of them worked together in the studio. They worked for the final time.
The band would then divide into distinct groups for the remainder of the session. When John Lennon revealed his intention to quit in September 1969, they assembled all new Beatles items solely with The Beatles in various permutations. Although further work was required to tune tracks like the medley that ends the album, the recordings for what would become Let It Be would be done without Lennon’s input, with Harrison’s ‘I Me Mine’. It became one of the final songs recorded with only McCartney, Harrison, and Ringo Starr.
Despite having their own vision for their solo careers, they collaborated only on bits and pieces. Star sometimes contributed his talents to McCartney’s recordings and Harrison assisted with Lennon’s solo efforts. Although the trio had the ‘Three Musketeers’ mindset when they walked into their first-ever record session for Please Please Me, they had all changed drastically by the end of the decade.
