Episode 40 – Beatles ’70 pt1

It’s 1970! As a changed and frantic world looked to the fresh, new decade with careful optimism, the dream of The Beatles remained on life support following John Lennon’s private exit from the group several months prior in the run-up to the release of Abbey Road. Still, on January 3rd a new Beatles recording session took place at number two studio, EMI. George, Paul and Ringo were back in the studio to record George’s I Me Mine for the upcoming release of the Get Back project as an LP and feature film. This session, which also included overdubs on Paul’s Let It Be, would go down in history as the final recording session to feature three or more Beatles. Absent was John Lennon, whose solo pursuits offered up a polished and successful new single on February 20th: Instant Karma! Unlike its predecessor Cold Turkey, this new rocker filled with hope and an anthemic chorus showed the world that even without his bandmates, Lennon would be a musical force to be reckoned with in the 1970’s. Ringo, meanwhile, was still knee deep in recording his first solo LP of crooner standards as well as a catchy little tune by George, the temporarily titled Got To Pay Your Dues. While Beatle-esq tunes under non-Beatle banners rang from the rafters of the new year, Paul McCartney was noticeably absent - retreating to his farm in Scotland and focusing on his new family...and a new homemade solo project of his own.