Now and Then (Beatles song)

"Now and Then"
Single by the Beatles
from the album 1967–1970 (2023 edition)[1]
A-side"Love Me Do" (double A-side)
Released2 November 2023
Recorded1966, 1969, c. 1977, 1995, 2021–2022[a]
Studio
Genre
Length4:08[7]
LabelApple
Songwriter(s)Original composition (Lennon)
Beatles version (Lennon, McCartney, Harrison, Starr)
Producer(s)
The Beatles singles chronology
"Real Love"
(1996) 		"Now and Then" / "Love Me Do"
(2023)
Music video
"Now and Then" on YouTube

"Now and Then" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, released on 2 November 2023. Dubbed "the last Beatles song", it appeared on a double A-side single, paired with a new stereo remix of the band's first single, "Love Me Do" (1962), with the two serving as "bookends" to the band's history.[8] Both songs were included on the expanded re-issues of the 1973 compilations 1962–1966 and 1967–1970, released on 10 November 2023.[9]

"Now and Then" originated as a ballad that John Lennon wrote and recorded around 1977 as a solo home demo but left unfinished. After Lennon's death in 1980, the song was considered as a potential third Beatles reunion single for their 1995–1996 retrospective project The Beatles Anthology, following "Free as a Bird" and "Real Love", both based on two other Lennon demos of the same names. Instead, due to production difficulties, it was shelved for nearly three decades, until it was completed by his surviving bandmates Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, using overdubs and guitar tracks by George Harrison (who died in 2001) from the abandoned 1995 sessions.[10]

The final version features additional lyrics by McCartney.[4] Lennon's voice was extracted from the demo using the machine-learning-assisted audio restoration technology commissioned by Peter Jackson for his 2021 documentary The Beatles: Get Back.[11] Jackson also directed the music video for "Now and Then".[12] The song received widespread acclaim from critics, who felt it was a worthy finale for the Beatles. It topped the charts in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Austria, and reached the top ten in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States. It is the only Beatles UK number-one single not attributed to the Lennon–McCartney songwriting partnership. The song was first performed live by McCartney on 1 October 2024 as part of his Got Back tour at the Estadio Centenario of Montevideo.[13][14] "Now and Then" has been nominated in the 67th Annual Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Best Rock Performance.

  1. ^ Aniftos, Rania (26 October 2023). "The Beatles' Last Song 'Now & Then': Release Date & Details". Billboard. Archived from the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  2. ^ Hurwitz, Matt (9 February 2024). "The Creation of The Beatles' Last Song and the Rebirth of Red and Blue". Sound and Vision. AVTech Media Americas. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Badman2001 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (30 October 2023). "The untold story behind the last Beatles song". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 30 October 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  5. ^ Denis, Kyle (2 November 2023). "The Final Beatles Song Is Here: Stream It Now". Billboard. Archived from the original on 3 November 2023. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  6. ^ McCormick, Neil (2 November 2023). "The Beatles, Now and Then, review: a loving but dreary attempt to recapture the magic". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 3 November 2023. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  7. ^ "The Beatles - Now And Then (Official Audio)". 2 November 2023. Archived from the original on 5 November 2023. Retrieved 5 November 2023 – via YouTube.
  8. ^ "The Last Beatles Songs". TheBeatles.com. Archived from the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  9. ^ "The Beatles' 'Last Song,' 'Now and Then,' Is Set for Release, Along With Expanded, Remix-Filled 'Red' and 'Blue' Hits Collections". Variety. 26 October 2023. 26 October 2023. Archived from the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  10. ^ Evans, Greg (22 June 2023). "Paul McCartney On Upcoming AI-Assisted Beatles Record: "It's All Real And We All Play On It"". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 11 August 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  11. ^ Stormo, Roger (2 September 2022). "MAL software saved "Revolver" mix". The Daily Beatle. Archived from the original on 2 November 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  12. ^ "Peter Jackson Talks About Making The Beatles' Last Music Video | The Beatles". TheBeatles.com. 31 October 2023. Archived from the original on 31 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  13. ^ "Watch Paul McCartney Debut 'New' Beatles Song 'Now and Then' in Concert". Rolling Stone. 2 October 2024.
  14. ^ Monterrubio, Por Uriel (2 October 2024). "Paul McCartney debutó en vivo "Now And Then", la última canción de The Beatles durante su paso por Uruguay". infobae (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2 October 2024.


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