The Fab Four: getting back to the Beatles
The Beatles release their "final new song" with a little help from AI
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The Beatles are regarded as the most famous band in the world. The four lads from Liverpool revolutionized popular music, and in the 10 years they performed as a group were responsible for creating some of the most innovative and ground-breaking hits ever recorded.
With John Lennon's tragic murder in 1980, and George Harrisons death in 2001, we thought we'd heard the last of the Beatles—in terms of new music, at least. However, on November 2, 2023, a new song was released featuring all four of the band members. 'Now and Then' is a track that was written by John Lennon, who recorded a rough demo on a cassette tape labeled 'For Paul' prior to his death. Yoko Ono gave that tape to Paul McCartney in 1994. The surviving band members tried to finish the song using Lennon's voice from the tape, but with the technology at the time it was simply impossible. In recent years, AI technology has made such advances that they were successfully able to isolate Lennon's vocals, mix in guitar recordings from a session with the late George Harrison in 1995, and add in new parts recorded by Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr.
In a making-of documentary that accompanied the release of the song, Ringo Starr commented, "It was the closest we’ll ever come to having him back in the room," referring to Lennon. McCartney addressed their mixed feelings about making full songs from Lennon's demos. "Is it something we shouldn’t do? Every time I thought like that I thought, wait a minute, let’s say I had a chance to ask John: ‘Hey John, would you like us to finish this last song of yours?’ I’m telling you, I know the answer would have been: ‘Yeah!’”
'Now and Then' certainly packs an emotional punch. The moody piano ballad was written by Lennon in the late 1970s and it's unlikely the lyrics were a lament for his lost bandmates, but listening to his words in 2023 it's impossible not to feel their simple poignance. The chorus goes, "Now and then I miss you / Now and then I want you to be there for me.”
While we're feeling nostalgic, why not find out more about John, Paul, George, and Ringo? Click on for some fascinating facts about one of the most popular bands of all time.
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