Get Back

Spotify's official recording from Let It Be (Remastered). Sign-in Spotify users get full playback; everyone else gets a 30-second preview. Open in Spotify →

"Get Back" is a song recorded by the English rock band the Beatles with Billy Preston, written by Paul McCartney, and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. It was originally released as a single on 11 April 1969 and credited to "The Beatles with Billy Preston", and is one of the few examples of John Lennon featuring prominently as lead guitarist. The album version contains a different mix that features a studio chat between Lennon and McCartney for 20 seconds at the start before the song begins, also omitting the coda featured in the single version, and with a final dialogue taken from the Beatles' rooftop concert. [Wikipedia]

Get Back is a song by The Beatles, written by Lennon–McCartney and led on vocal by Paul McCartney. 'With Billy Preston' on Hammond — only artist co-credited on a Beatles single. Within the catalogue, its rooftop thread connects it to Dig a Pony, I've Got a Feeling, One After 909. Paul McCartney's composition arrived with controversial original lyrics addressing immigration and employment issues, later revised for commercial release. Lewisohn documents the song conceived with political bias containing 'don't dig no Pakistanis' references reflecting social anxieties of the era. By Apple Studios sessions, lyrical content had been substantially modified while musical framework remained intact. Billy Preston's Hammond organ became iconic element, establishing his unique position as credited co-artist on Beatles single. The album's opener and centerpiece from the rooftop concert; one of few tracks Spector left alone, creating clean mixes from original sessions. (Kozinn 1995, p.194)

The session work falls within the band's Get Back / Rooftop (Jan 1969) period, recorded 30 Jan 1969 at Apple Studios rooftop, 3 Savile Row, London. George Martin produced; Glyn Johns, Alan Parsons (2nd) engineered. For session-by-session detail, see Mark Lewisohn's account on p.14 of The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions (excerpt below). Recorded across multiple sessions in late January 1969 with substantial studio development and refinement. The Beatles pursued innovative live recording approaches, dispensing with overdubbing and electronic processing wherever possible. Billy Preston's organ contribution became so integral that his name appeared on single credit, unprecedented honor in Beatles history. Glyn Johns's engineering captured the ensemble with clarity and rhythmic precision reflecting careful studio discipline (Lewisohn 1988, p.164-173).

Glyn Johns' engineering through the rooftop concert captured the band's live dynamic, with Spector creating clean, crisp mixes from the eight-track sessions tapes. (Emerick 2006, p.149)

In the canonical discography it appears on the LP Let It Be; on the single Get Back / Don't Let Me Down. Documented alternate versions include Anthology 3 (1996), Let It Be… Naked (2003), 2009 Stereo Remasters, Let It Be 50th Anniversary (2021). Mono and stereo histories vary by era — see the dedicated section below. At 3m 09s, duration places it at 81st percentile canonically and 33rd percentile within rooftop era. Paul McCartney lead vocals appear in 65 canon songs (1 in rooftop era). A major key is shared by 34 canon songs (3 in era). The track achieved number one chart position globally and became defining single of 1969, establishing Billy Preston as unique collaborative credit and creating precedent for subsequent artist co-credits (Lewisohn 1988, p.164-177). Multiple takes documented from rooftop performance January 30 and earlier studio sessions; Spector preservation of original mix in final album. (Daniels 2024, p.209)

• Rod Stewart, for the 1976 musical documentary All This and World War II. The song was released as a single and it reached No. 11 on the UK chart.

Cover-version mentions extracted from the Wikipedia article. For comprehensive cover catalogs see SecondHandSongs.

• In the 2007 film Across the Universe, directed by Julie Taymor, most characters are named after lyrics in Beatles songs. A principal character is named Jojo, an African American who was played by Martin Luther McCoy.
• In February 2010, NBC used a cover of the song in commercials to promote Jay Leno's return to the 11:35 pm time slot for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
• Hirohiko Araki's 1987 manga JoJo's Bizarre Adventure may have used this song for inspiration for the main character of the first part, Jonathan Joestar, who starts as a loner but gains companions throughout his journey, as well as the nickname "JoJo" used throughout the series. The author is kn...

Extracted from the ‘In popular culture’ / ‘Legacy’ section of the corresponding Wikipedia article. Verify against the linked article before quoting.

Other recordings sharing era, vocalist, writer, key, studio, or producer with this one. Higher scores indicate stronger overlap on documented attributes.

• All Together Now (score 10)
• I've Got a Feeling (score 10)
• Oh! Darling (score 9)
• She Came in Through the Bathroom Window (score 9)
• The End (score 9)
• Lennon–McCartney–Harrison–Starkey (score 8)
• One After 909 (score 8)
• The Ballad of John and Yoko (score 8)