The Beatles’ Song ‘Let It Be’: A Classic Revived by Paul McCartney and Dolly Parton

The Beatles song Let It Be is an absolute classic. A duet version by Paul McCartney and Dolly Parton now gives the song a new lease of life. However, Beatle John Lennon was never a fan of the song.

“This single is very special to me. I am assisted by Paul McCartney, who wrote the song,” says Parton when announcing that she Let It Be released as a single on Friday 18 August. In addition to McCartney, Beatle Ringo Starr, Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac and Peter Frampton also participate. The song appears as a single from Parton’s 49th album Rockstarwhich is full of covers and duets.

Parton’s single is released some 55 years after McCartney wrote the song. Let It Be was created in 1968 after a dream. McCartney, who wrote the song on his own, dreamed about his mother dying when he was fourteen years old. In this dream she used the words ‘let it be’. The mother Mary who is thus sung about is not the Christian figure of the Virgin Mary, but Mary McCartney.

The song came about during a busy period for The Beatles; they were in the middle of shooting at the time The White Album. Various versions were recorded and produced over the months. The album version is by Phil Spector and George Martin is responsible for the single version. In the movie Let It Be another recording can be heard. The album Let It Bewhich contains the song, was not released until 1970, shortly after the band announced that it was splitting up.

Tensions in the last Beatles years

The final years of The Beatles, which officially broke up in 1970, were plagued by creative differences, especially between McCartney and Lennon. It’s no secret that Lennon wasn’t a huge fan of some of McCartney’s songs. For example, according to engineer Geoff Emerick, he once stormed out of the studio out of dissatisfaction during a recording of the song Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da that McCartney wrote. Lennon would even use the phrase “granny shithave referenced McCartney’s songs.

Lennon did not actively co-write Let It Be, but gets credit for it because it’s registered under his and McCartney’s partnership. The Beatle, who died in 1980, gave an interview just before his death in which he clearly stated that he was not behind the song.

“That’s Paul. What can you say? It has nothing to do with The Beatles,” Lennon said about it Let It Be. “It could have been from Wings (McCartney’s band, ed.). I don’t know what he was thinking when he Let It Be wrote.”

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At the top of all sorts of lists

Lennon may not have been a fan of the song, plenty of people could and do Let It Be do appreciate. The song becomes a big hit in 1970 in several countries; in the Netherlands it takes first place in the charts.

And the success doesn’t stop there. The song regularly appears in lists of the most beautiful songs of all time. The song has never been in the Top 2000 of Radio 2 not been in the top 100. And with Dolly Parton’s spin on the song, even more people will probably be reached.

2023-08-18 09:40:00
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