Tag: John lennon

The Latest and Last Beatles Song: “Now and Then”

The last surviving Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr use recordings of John Lennon and George Harrison to create the final Beatles record, “Now and Then.”

The Beatles have released what will be their final song, “Now and Then.” The surviving Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr finalized the track using old recording of John Lennon and George Harrison.

McCartney and Starr explain the origins of the song in the short documentary below. The track originated after John Lennon’s widow Yoko Ono gave the surviving Beatles three recordings of songs written by Lennon before he was killed. McCartney, Starr, and Harrison used two of the three songs earlier. They had created new Beatles songs in the 1990s to along along with the Anthology documentary about the Beatles. Those two songs were “Free As A Bird” and “Real Love.”

The third Lennon song that McCartney, Starr, and Harrison tried to turn into a Beatles song in the 1990s was “Now and Then.” But this Beatles track was not completed at that time, perhaps partly or mainly due to George Harrison’s disdain for the song. Or, according to McCartney’s more recent version of events, the song was not finished due to technical and time constraints. One of the challenges was that Lennon’s demo recording did not have a clear enough separation between his voice and the piano.

But a jump in time has made the new track possible. Director Peter Jackson, in creating the Beatles documentary about the making of the Let It Be (1970) album, The Beatles: Get Back (2021), used a new technology. It allowed him to separate out the voices of the Fab Four in the original film footage from that session. This technology would also allow the Beatles to separate out John Lennon’s voice from the piano on “Now and Then.”

Then, producer Giles Martin, son of Beatles producer George Martin, added in guitar parts that George Harrison had created when the three Beatles worked on the song in the 1990s. Ringo Starr recorded a new drum track, while McCartney added bass and other instruments, including a slide guitar track as a tribute to Harrison. McCartney’s voice joins Lennon’s voice in the background during the song, and McCartney also added the line “always to return to me” in the lyrics.

Now and then,
I miss you;
Oh, now and then,
I want you to be there for me,
Always to return to me.

And so, we have what is likely the last Beatles song we will ever have created by the four actual Beatles. While it may not be a match for some of their masterpieces, it is great to hear John singing with the other lads again. Check out the official video for “Now and Then.” The video mixes old footage of the four Beatles with today’s Paul and Ringo, leading the viewer to imagine them all together again. It might even bring a few tears to your eyes.

What do you think of the new song? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Elton John’s Tribute to John Lennon: Where is the Garden of the “Empty Garden”?

    The “empty garden” of Elton John’s tribute to John Lennon originated from the location where the two had once performed together.

    Elton John Empty Garden

    John Lennon was killed on December 8, 1980. In 1981, Elton John recorded a tribute song to Lennon that was released in 1982. John had been good friends with Lennon and initially balked at the idea of a tribute song. But he changed his mind upon seeing Bernie Taupin’s lyrics for “Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny).”

    I had loved the song since its release. Although I was a little kid when the Beatles broke up, the Beatles had always been a part of my musical life. And in 1980 when I had just started college, Lennon’s death was a memorable marker in my life. I know it is a cliché, but I still remember where I was when I heard the news and who was with me.

    The “Garden” is a Real Place

    The lyrics to “Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)” incorporate images of a garden left behind by its keeper. Only recently, though, have I understood where Elton John’s and Bernie Taupin’s idea for the garden images originated. Their choice gives the song deeper meaning.

    In the 2007 performance below from Madison Square Garden for Elton John’s 60th birthday concert, John explains the reference the “Garden” reference. He notes that the venue is the only place appropriate for the song, and it is the only place where he plays the song.

    Upon hearing his comments, one better better understands the reference to an “empty garden.” Elton John and John Lennon had performed together at Madison Square Garden in 1974. It was one of Lennon’s final public performances.

    Thus, when John sings about the “empty garden,” he imagines the emptiness of the great New York City performance venue without Lennon. From there, Taupin’s lyrics use the image to describe a living garden.

    Since that performance, though, John has has not limited the song’s performance to Madison Square Garden. He has performed the song in many other locations.

    The lyrics also make other clever references to Lennon. The chorus question of “can’t you come out to play” refers to Lennon’s song written for the Beatles, “Dear Prudence.” The opening line of that song asks “Dear Prudence, won’t you come out to play?”

    “Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)” is far from Elton John’s best-known song. It is not even his most popular tribute song. He is more known for “Candle in the Wind,” his song for Marilyn Monroe that was later altered for Princess Diana. But “Empty Garden” remains one of his most heartfelt songs.

    Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Ringo Starr Records a John Lennon Song (with a little help from Paul McCartney)

    On Ringo Starr’s new album What’s My Name, he includes a recording of one of the last songs written by John Lennon, “Grow Old With Me.” The touching track also features another Beatle, Paul McCartney, playing bass and singing backing vocals.

    Ringo Starr recently explained to Billboard how Jack Douglas, who produced Lennon’s Double Fantasy, approached him about a tape of demos Lennon had made in Bermuda in 1980. Starr said that listening to the tape was “very emotional” for him. And it was on that tape he found one song that Lennon had never released, “Grow Old With Me.”

    So Starr called McCartney, who agreed to help out. One final additional touch was that Douglas added a string section to the song. And unknown to Starr, Douglas added a brief musical riff from George Harrison’s “Here Comes the Sun” (listen closely at around the 1:40 mark). Thus was created a bit of a Beatles reunion of sorts.

    The lyric video below for Starr’s recording of “Grow Old With Me” includes Lennon’s handwriting to help display the lyrics. Check it out.

    The recording touched Starr. As he explained to Billboard, “It moved me. I did my best and it’s very me, but you know, [Lennon] wrote those words and he’d written songs for me before, so I thought, ‘No, I’m gonna do it.'”

    If you listen closely, in addition to the Harrison reference in the music, you may hear Starr’s message to Lennon. At around the 3:02 mark, you can hear in the background, Starr saying, “God bless you, John.”

    John Lennon and Yoko Ono originally planned to include “Grow Old With Me” on Double Fantasy (1980). But the song was not ready when they wanted to release the album, so they saved it for what they hoped would be their next album.

    Lennon’s demo of “Grow Old With Me” with Ono was released after his death. Lennon’s version appears on the 2010 posthumous album, Milk and Honey. You may hear Lennon’s version below.

    Ringo Starr‘s album What’s My Name was released on October 25, 2019.

    What do you think of Ringo Starr’s take on “Grow Old With Me”? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    “All You Need Is Love” Worldwide Broadcast

    Beatles Our World
    On June 25, 1967, the first live, world-wide satellite program was broadcast to an estimated 350 million people around the world. The “Our World” global broadcast ran for a little more than two hours and featured representatives from around the world.  Fourteen countries provided material (after the Soviet Union and six other Eastern Bloc countries pulled out apparently in response to Western nations’ response to the Six Day War).

    “All You Need is Love”

    The Beatles, the biggest music act of the time, represented Great Britain and the BBC.  The band performed “All You Need Is Love” with a little help from some friends.

    The song was written specifically for the “Our World” broadcast.  After the Beatles signed the contract in May for the show, John Lennon wrote “All You Need Is Love” for the broadcast.  Then, the band recorded a rhythm track and some backing vocals. The song was especially powerful considering the Vietnam War was a major issue at the time.

    The Beatles performance of “All You Need Is Love” from Studio Two at Abbey Road Studio included The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Graham Nash, and Marianne Faithfull singing along in the audience. According to The Beatles Bible website, Lennon recorded additional vocals after the broadcast.

    The entire Beatles performance of “All You Need is Love’ is not currently available on YouTube, but you may check out a portion of the Beatles segment below.

    The original broadcast appeared in black and white, but the above video is from 1995’s The Beatles Anthology special, which colorized parts of this segment, using color photographs taken at the event.

    Playing for Change

    The “Our World” performance is not the only time “All You Need Is Love” went around the world. Although not done with the technological marvel of a live broadcast, Playing for Change put together kids from around the world singing the song about love and harmony.

    Check out the Playing for Change version of “All You Need is Love.”


    What is your favorite part of “All You Need Is Love”? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Sgt Pepper Documentary

    Sgt Pepper

    A new documentary celebrates the classic 1967 Beatles album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The film, It Was 50 Years Ago Today! The Beatles: Sgt Pepper & Beyond, focuses on the 12 months around the recording of the album.

    The movie, directed by Alan G. Parker, features archival video and interviews with people like John Lennon’s sister Julia and former Beatles drummer Pete Best. Check out the trailer for the movie.

    It Was 50 Years Ago Today! The Beatles: Sgt Pepper & Beyond will be in U.K. theaters on May 26, 2017 followed by release on DVD later in the summer.

    Also, as part of the celebration of the anniversary of the album, a new box set special edition is being released of the album featuring 34 bonus tracks of outtakes.

    For more about Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, check out the video of “Things You Didn’t Know” about the album below.

    Leave your two cents in the comments.

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