The Final Beatles Song, "Now And Then," Has Dropped!

On November 2, The Beatles released “the last Beatles song.” This new recording, “Now and Then,” is a creation that builds upon an original 1970s John Lennon demo, incorporating subsequent contributions from the remaining three Beatles.

Crafting ” Now And Then “: Behind the Scenes

In a manner similar to the development of “Free as a Bird” and “Real Love” as part of the 1990s Beatles Anthology, “Now and Then” adopts a comparable approach. However, there’s a notable twist to this endeavor—Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and their team reportedly utilized artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance Lennon’s vocal, a technological innovation not available during the time of the Anthology project.

Paul McCartney initially revealed the existence of “Now and Then” in June. During a Radio 4’s Today interview, he referred to it as “the final Beatles record” and explained how AI played a pivotal role in “extracting” Lennon’s voice from the vintage demo recording to bring the song to completion, as reported by the BBC.Subsequently, in the same month, McCartney clarified the role of AI in the process. He stated, “We’ve seen some confusion and speculation about it. To be clear, nothing has been artificially or synthetically created. It’s all real, and we all play on it. We cleaned up some existing recordings—a process which has gone on for years. We hope you love it as much as we do.”

A music video for “Now and Then” is scheduled for release today, on Friday, November 3. (you can now watch it at the end of this page). Additionally, a mini-documentary about the song’s creation premiered on Wednesday, November 1, and can be watched below the track.

Why the Song Wasn’t Released in the 70s?

As described in a press release, the story of “Now and Then” originates in the late 1970s when John recorded a demo featuring vocals and piano at his residence in New York’s Dakota Building. In 1994, his wife, Yoko Ono Lennon, shared the recording with Paul, George, and Ringo, alongside John’s demos for “Free As A Bird” and “Real Love,” both of which were transformed into new Beatles songs and released as singles in 1995 and 1996 as part of The Beatles Anthology project.

During this time, Paul, George, and Ringo added new components and completed an initial mix of “Now and Then” with producer Jeff Lynne. Unfortunately, technological constraints at the time made it impossible to isolate John’s vocals and piano to achieve the clear, unadulterated mix required to finish the song. As a result, “Now and Then” was put on hold with the hope of revisiting it someday.

In 2022, Paul and Ringo revisited the song, meticulously piecing it together. Apart from John’s vocals, “Now and Then” features electric and acoustic guitar recordings from George in 1995, Ringo’s newly recorded drum section, and contributions from Paul on bass, guitar, and piano, closely aligned with John’s original performance. Paul also added a slide guitar solo inspired by George, and both he and Ringo provided backing vocals for the chorus.