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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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The Beatles’ “Black Album” from “Boyhood”

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Behind the Scenes With the Beatles on the Set of “Help!”

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The Song Paul McCartney Wrote for Rod Stewart

Rod Stewart responded to an offhand comment by Paul McCartney to get the former Beatle to write “Mine for Me” for him.

Lately, I’ve been digging deeper into Rod Stewart’s back catalog. As someone first exposed to Stewart in the late 1970s when he was making songs like “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?” and “Hot Legs,” which I did not particularly care for, I’ve found a lot more to love in his earlier and in his later work.

Is it possible for someone as famous as Rod Stewart actually to be underrated and underappreciated? At least in the U.S. for those of us who first knew him in the late 1970s, I think there is a case to be made that he is not given enough credit for both writing and performing great songs.

I’ve also been listening to the Beatles lately. So maybe that is why when I heard Stewart’s recording of “Mine for Me,” I immediately hit replay several times. Then, I had to look up who wrote it. While it is a somewhat simple song with a smart turn of the phrase, it also is a brilliant pop song. And few write better songs than Paul McCartney, who with his wife Linda McCartney wrote “Mine for Me” specifically for Rod Stewart.

There is a little story behind the creation of the song. During a press conference, McCartney made a comment that he would write a song if asked by any friend, such as Rod Stewart. And Stewart heard about the comment and called McCartney to accept the offer.

After the McCartneys wrote it, Stewart recorded the song. It appears on his 1974 album Smiler. In November 1974, Stewart released the song as a single and it made it into the top 100.

There are rumors about a demo recording by Paul and Linda. And Paul and Linda took the stage with Stewart and the Faces to sing the song on November 27, 1974 at the Lewisham Odeon in London. The performance reportedly appeared on an episode of the late-night music show The Midnight Special on April 25, 1975. And a short clip, which you may see at this link, was used for a promo for Stewart’s album.

One can hear how the lyrics of “Mine for Me” work for a rock star like Stewart. In the song, the singer is being tempted by another woman. But he tells her that he has a true love elsewhere and there is nobody like the woman who is “mine for me.”

While some may point out a problem with calling a person the possessive “mine,” the song really has a big heart. At least one writer has noted that McCartney probably had his life-long true love and cowriter Linda in mind while penning the words.

In a couple of hours I’ll be drivin’ home to the one I love;
So save your breath sweet painted lady it won’t be me;
Over the mountain and under the sea,
They’ll never be another one like mine for me.

Rod Stewart sings the song live in the video below. Although Paul McCartney does not appear in person, his catchy song with beautiful lyrics join the great voice of Rod Stewart to create a classic song. Check it out. If you have never heard the song before, I guarantee it will be going through your head the rest of the day.

Despite the catchy nature of the song and the fact that it was a minor hit in the U.S., others have not covered the song. At this time, somewhat surprisingly, there does even not appear to be any amateur covers of the song on YouTube either. So we only have Rod Stewart’s version of this minor McCartney classic, which is not a bad thing at all.

What is your favorite Paul McCartney song not recorded by Paul or the Beatles? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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.

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

New Beatles ‘A Day in the Life’ Video

The Beatles’ “Black Album” from “Boyhood”

All I’ve Got Is a Photograph

Hear the Beatles Sing Without Music on “Abbey Road” Medley

Behind the Scenes With the Beatles on the Set of “Help!”

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“MTV Unplugged” Begins

McCartney MTV Unplugged

The first episode of MTV Unplugged made its television debut on Sunday, November 26, 1989. The series would eventually feature many classic episodes and recordings, such as four years later with the November 18, 1993 show featuring Nirvana.

But back in 1989, the show had not established a reputation so the performers on the first episode were not superstars. The show featured Squeeze, Syd Straw, Elliot Easton (of the Cars), and Jules Shear.

Below Shear, Straw, Chris Difford, Glenn Tilbrook, and Elliot Easton come together to cover The Monkees during that first show. Check out “I’m a Believer” from the very first episode of MTV Unplugged.

Many credit Paul McCartney with helping make MTV Unplugged a popular show that would attract major artists. During the second season, after his appearance, he released a recording of the show, Unplugged – The Official Bootleg, which went on to be quite successful.

MTV Unplugged aired regularly between 1989 and 1999. The show appeared less frequently during most of the next decade usually called MTV Unplugged No. 2.0.

Since 2009, MTV has occasionally run the show as a special, sometimes in online-only versions. But for those of us who were around during the decade that was the show’s heyday, it was an important cultural touchstone of that time.

What is your favorite episode of MTV Unplugged? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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Paul McCartney & Members of Nirvana: “Cut Me Some Slack”

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

The Song Paul McCartney Wrote for Rod Stewart

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

Paul McCartney & Bruce Springsteen: “I Saw Her Standing There”

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Paul McCartney & Bruce Springsteen: “I Saw Her Standing There”

On Friday, September 15, 2017, Paul McCartney welcomed Bruce Springsteen on stage. The two then ripped into the Beatles’ “I Saw Her Standing There.” McCartney performed at Madison Square Garden in the midst of a run of eight shows in four different locations in the New York area.

E Street Band member Steven Van Zandt also joined the pair on stage, providing a stellar guitar solo. McCartney had so much fun on the song, he then had everyone play “I Saw Her Standing There” a second time.

Below, check out Paul McCartney and Bruce Springsteen on the Beatles classic.