A Day in the Life Blog

The Get Back/Let It Be sessions included Get Back and Two Of Us, along with a number of other cover versions.

The Beatles settled on the delicate folk-rock arrangement for Two Of Us. One take was included on the 1996 collection Anthology 3, and an alternative one was chosen by Glyn Johns for one of the unreleased Get Back albums.

Another Anthology 3 song, Teddy Boy, was taken in part from this day's recordings. The version on the album was an edit of takes from January 24th & 28th, with the segment featuring John Lennon's barn-dance calls coming from this day. The song was also mixed by Glyn Johns for inclusion on Get Back, although it was eventually re-recorded by Paul McCartney for his 1970 debut album McCartney.

Another song attempted on this day was Every Night and Hot As Sun. He also played three versions of There You Are, Eddie, which was never released by him nor The Beatles; the song was written in December the previous year for Beatles biographer Hunter Davies, while McCartney was staying at his home in Portugal.

Source: The Beatles Complete Chronicles/Mark Lewisohn

The Beatles (with Billy Preston) in the recording studio (Apple Studios, London). They record ten takes of Get Back. The tape operator for this session is Alan Parsons.

Billy Preston improved the shape of the song - but John Lennon was yet to develop his guitar solo and the galloping rhythm of the final version was not yet in place. And....Paul McCartney decided that Get Back would be complete with just two verses.

One of the takes was chosen by Glyn Johns for the first iteration of the Get Back album, which was rejected for release by The Beatles. This album was eventually circulated as Kum Back, one of the first Beatles bootleg collections.

Although work on Get Back dominated the day, The Beatles also spent some time on Oh! Darling, which was eventually held over for Abbey Road. Ringo Starr also played a piano version of Octopus's Garden, which was later developed further than the three-chord arrangement he had at this time.

Performances of Please Please Me and Help! both lasted less than a minute. Please Please Me was given a new, mostly atonal, melody, and Help! was performed with a slow swing rhythm.

No more successful was a version of Eddie Cochran's Twenty Flight Rock, one of the songs with which McCartney impressed Lennon by performing on the day they first met, 6 July 1957. Unfortunately, 12 years later McCartney was unable to remember all the lyrics, although The Beatles nonetheless managed a fairly spirited performance.

Billy Preston had been invited to Apple by George Harrison. Preston had first met The Beatles in Hamburg in the early 1960s, and was in London playing with Ray Charles.

His presence improved the mood for the day. He played piano and keyboards which helped flesh out the sound considerably.

Three songs on this day - Don't Let Me Down, I've Got A Feeling and Dig A Pony were included on 1996's Anthology 3.

This version of I've Got A Feeling, plus different ones of Dig A Pony and Don't Let Me Down, were selected for Glyn Johns' first Get Back album, which was rejected for release by The Beatles. Also included were Rocker, a Beatles jam in the style of Chuck Berry, and a cover version of The Drifters' Save The Last Dance For Me.

The only other notable attempt at a cover version from this day was A Taste Of Honey, first recorded by The Beatles in early 1963 for the Please Please Me album. On this day, however, the performance broke down almost before it even got going.

Source: The Complete Beatles Chronicles - Mark Lewisohn

The Beatles resumed work the Get Back/Let It Be sessions with the film crew present. This was the first formal day of work following George Harrison's temporary departure from the group, and saw them relocate from Twickenham Film Studios to the group's own Apple Studios, in the basement of their headquarters in Savile Row, London.

Harrison had agreed to rejoin The Beatles on January 15th, though not without certain conditions being met. He insisted that they work at Apple Studios, and made it clear that he would leave for good unless the notion of a live show before an audience was abandoned. He did, however, agree to be filmed making an album, and for a potential live performance in some form.

The Beatles had met the day before at Apple Studios to test the equipment installed by Alexis 'Magic Alex' Mardas. It was found to be unsatisfactory, and new kit was borrowed from EMI. This day's session didn't start until the afternoon, perhaps due to installation issues.

The Beatles had barely moved on following their week off. They still spent much time working on Dig A Pony, I've Got A Feeling and Don't Let Me Down, but their playing was often sloppy and aimless.

One of the takes of Dig A Pony was introduced by Lennon as "I Dig A Pigmy by Charles Hawtrey and the Deaf Aids. Phase one, in which Doris gets her oats." This was later used as the opening for the Let It Be, immediately before Two Of Us.

Paul McCartney brought a new song, Every Night, to the session. This was performed again on 24 January, but was eventually held over until his debut solo album McCartney. A song by Harrison, titled Window, Window, was introduced on this day and took shape on 24, 25 and 26 January. However, despite recording a solo demo over a year later, it was never released in his lifetime.

John Lennon played a new song idea, All I Want Is You, which was unrelated to Dig A Pony. He also revived Madman, a song previously played on 14 January, but it, too, was taken no further.

The only song from this day to have been officially released was a version of She Came In Through The Bathroom Window, which appeared on 1996's Anthology 3 (the date was incorrectly listed as 22 January in the album booklet), featuring Lennon on Fender Rhodes electric piano.

Source: The Complete Beatles Chronicle - Mark Lewisohn

The Beatles are in the new studio in the basement of their Apple headquarters on Savile Row, London recording "Don't Let Me Down".

The Beatles are taking a short break. Too much stress in the studio.

-Pete Best wins his defamation suit against The Beatles. He had sought eight million dollars, but won considerably less.

UK release of The Beatles' LP Yellow Submarine (Apple). The Beatles' tenth album. Songs: Yellow Submarine, Only a Northern Song, All Together Now, Hey Bulldog, It's All Too Much, All You Need Is Love, and one side of George Martin instrumental music from the film. Highest chart position: #3.

In today’s edition of Disc and Music Echo, John Lennon is quoted as saying that Apple is losing vast quantities of money, and that The Beatles are in danger of going bankrupt unless the situation is reversed.

The Beatles held a meeting today, and agreed to Harrison's demands to move the sessions from Twickenham to Apple's headquarters in Savile Row, London. These began a week later, on the 21st, in higher spirits and willing to continue with the Let It Be project.