Let It Be

McCartney wrote and sang it, and it is credited to Lennon-McCartney. He has said the idea came from a dream of his mother Mary, who died of cancer in 1956 when he was 14. Mal Evans gave a different account, and McCartney sang "Brother Malcolm" in place of "Mother Mary" in a rehearsal on 19 September 1968.

The master take was recorded on 31 January 1969 at Apple Studio. McCartney played a Bluthner piano, Billy Preston played Hammond organ, and Lennon played six-string bass, later replaced by McCartney's own part. Harrison overdubbed one guitar solo on 30 April 1969 and another on 4 January 1970. The first was used on the single and the second on the album. The orchestra and backing vocals were added on 4 January 1970, including the only known contribution by Linda McCartney to a Beatles song.

Two versions

The single, released on 6 March 1970 and backed with "You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)", carries a George Martin production credit. Phil Spector remixed the song on 26 March 1970 for the album, with the second solo, fewer backing vocals and more prominent orchestration. On the Billboard Hot 100 it debuted at number 6, the highest debut at that time, and reached number one for two weeks in April 1970. The song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2004.

McCartney sent a demo to Jerry Wexler, who passed it to Aretha Franklin, whose version came out in January 1970. Lennon said in a 1980 interview that it had nothing to do with the Beatles.