| Paul McCartney wrote this. It was inspired by
his mother, Mary, who died when he was 14. Many people thought "Mother
Mary" was a biblical reference when they heard it. |
| Since this was The Beatles last album, it made
an appropriate statement about leaving problems behind and moving on
in life. The album was supposed to convey an entirely different
message. It was going to be called "Get Back," and they were going
to record it in front of an audience on live TV, with another TV
special showing them practicing the songs in the studio. It was
going to be The Beatles getting back to their roots and playing
unadorned live music instead of struggling in the studio like they
did for The White Album. When they started putting the album
together, it became clear the project wouldn't work and George
Harrison left the sessions. When he returned, they abandoned the
live idea and decided to use the TV footage as their last movie.
While the movie was being edited, The Beatles recorded and released
Abbey Road, then broke up. Eventually, Phil Spector was given
the tapes and asked to produce the album, which was released months
after The Beatles broke up. By then, it was clear "Let It Be" would
be a better name than "Get Back." |
| McCartney had a dream one night when he was
paranoid and anxious. He saw his mom who had been dead for ten years
or so; she came to him in his time of trouble, speaking words of
wisdom. This brought him much peace when he needed it. It was this
sweet dream that got him to begin writing the song. |
| John Lennon hated this song because of it's
apparent Christian overtones. He made the comment before recording
it, "And now we'd like to do Hark The Angels Come." Lennon saw to it
that "Maggie Mae," a song about a Liverpool prostitute, followed it
on the album. (thanks, Mike - Mountlake Terrace, WA. U.S.A, for
above 2) |
| It was John Lennon who wanted Phil Spector to
produce the album. Spector worked on Lennon's "Instant Karma" and
was known for his bombastic "Wall Of Sound" style. McCartney hated
Spector's production, and in 2003 he pushed to have the album
remixed and released without Spector's influence. The result was
Let It Be... Naked, which eliminated most of Spector's work and
is much closer to what The Beatles intended for the album. |
| George Harrison played a different guitar solo
in the single and album versions. |
| Aretha Franklin covered this on her album
This Girl's In Love With You, which was released before The
Beatles version came out. She also covered The Beatles "Eleanor
Rigby" on that album. |
| In April 1987, this was released as a charity
single in aid of the The Sun newspaper's Zeebrugge ferry disaster
fund. Featuring Paul McCartney, Mark Knopfler, Kate Bush, Boy George
and many others, it was called "Ferry Aid" and spent 3 weeks at #1
in the UK. (thanks, Vishal - Delhi, India) |
| Sesame Street used this with the title
changed to "Letter B." The lyrics were changed to list words that
begin with B. |
| This was the first Beatles song released in
The Soviet Union. The single made it there in 1972. |
| In 2001, McCartney helped organize the "Concert
For New York," to benefit victims of The World Trade Center disaster.
He closed the show with this, inviting the other acts and some New
York cops and firefighters on stage to sing with him. |
| The album had the largest initial sales in US
record history up to that time: 3.7 million advance orders. (thanks,
bertrand - Paris, France) |
