More than 60 years have passed since four relatively unknown musicians from Liverpool, England arrived at the EMI Studios in London to record their first single. Within two years of the September 1962 session, the world would know their names, collectively and individually, as the mania identified with them swept the globe. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and the recently-added Ringo Starr had no idea what was to come in the years ahead. No one could have imagined.

Six decades later, the world still seems to be waiting for the Beatles, just as America had been in late-1963 on the heels of a presidential assassination. The worldwide phenomenon was a combination of music, energy, hairstyle, humor, wit and fun that made young people smile, adults cover their ears and educated professionals search for sociological significance. Their music served as a soundtrack for the 1960s. Their songs transcend time.

The Beatles as a functioning unit would last until 1970 when the four men who had crammed a lifetime into the insanely hectic years of Beatlemania stepped away with a final bow.

Throughout the 1970s, there were offers attempting to bring the group together but the dream was never realized. In some ways, the fact that the Beatles never did reunite only added to the mystique. The closest to a reunion came in 1973 during recording sessions for Starr’s “Ringo” LP. All three of his former bandmates participated, writing songs along with supplying vocals, keyboards and guitar work, though all four were never together in-studio at the same time.

Hope for a Fab Four reunion was lost on Dec. 8, 1980 when Lennon was shot and killed in New York City.

Backstory

The Beatles’ final recording, “Now And Then,” released in November 2023 with the group’s first UK single, “Love Me Do,” bookends decades of Beatles music and generations of musical influence.

The song traces its origins to the late-1970s. “Now And Then” began as a cassette tape demo recorded by Lennon with only his vocal and piano. In 1994, as the three surviving band members were about to begin work on the Beatles Anthology, they were given several Lennon demos by his wife, Yoko Ono. The idea was to add additional vocals and instrumentation to complete what John had started. Two of the songs, “Free As a Bird” and “Real Love” were completed by McCartney, Harrison and Starr and included on the Anthology release. “Now And Then” was left unfinished due to the poor analog tape quality. Harrison did record his guitar parts during the sessions. He died of cancer on Nov. 29, 2001.

When advanced technology allowed the separation of John’s voice from the piano, a process unavailable in the mid-1990s, McCartney and Starr resumed the project. They added their own vocals along with bass, drums, keyboards and more guitar. Strings were also added.

“Love Me Do”

There were three versions of “Love Me Do” recorded at EMI in 1962. The first was in June with Pete Best on drums. When the group returned to the studio in September, Ringo Starr had replaced Best, unbeknownst to producer George Martin. Martin, unimpressed with Best’s drumming at the earlier audition, had already arranged for session drummer Andy White to sit in to record with the group. Two more versions of “Love Me Do” were recorded in early September. One featured Starr on drums. The other had White on drums while Starr played a tambourine. It is the Starr version on the “Now And Then” release.

Originally released in October 1962, “Love Me Do” (w/ “P.S. I Love You”) peaked at No. 17 in the UK. The single was released in the U.S. in January 1964.

“Now And Then”

“Now And Then” is a wistful John Lennon song written during his house-husband years in New York City. The title itself hints at time gone by, but even Lennon could not anticipate the irony of a song started ‘then’ and completed ‘now,’ more than forty years later.

The track would have been a perfect fit on the Lennon-Ono “Double Fantasy” LP released shortly before John’s death. Instead, it remained unheard until 1994.

“Now And Then” is characteristic of Lennon’s songwriting and recordings of the time, having traveled through the gauntlet of his career with and without the Beatles. From the early days of pop compositions through the more introspective songs written as both he and McCartney matured as songwriters to the early post-Beatles era of experimental and antiwar music, Lennon covered the times and for the most part, set the standard.

He stepped away from the headlines and into semi-retirement, happily living a domestic life. He reappeared with a new outlook on life, a burst of creative energy and the desire to again record music. Then he was gone.

The AI technology that allowed Lennon’s vocal to be separated on the “Now And Then” demo provided the opening necessary for the song’s completion. Lennon’s voice is now clear and full, and although the song was not initially intended for a Beatles release, it sounds as though he is rehearsing the song in Studio Two at Abbey Road with McCartney, Harrison, Starr and producer Martin listening.

“Now And Then” is not “A Hard Day’s Night” or “I Feel Fine” or “And Your Bird Can Sing” or any other track recorded by the group during the Beatles era. But then again, the group took pride in never standing musically still. The proof is the progression from single to single and album to album. The Beatles were constantly looking for new sounds and leading pop music in new directions. What Lennon initiated, McCartney, Harrison and Starr adorned with their familiar talent and unwavering loyalty. Just like in 1962.

“Now And Then” is the final chapter of the Beatles’ musical journey, written by the authors who lived it and knew it best. It is John, Paul, George and Ringo together again. One last time.

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“Now And Then” is available as a CD single or the 2023 editions of the Beatles 1962-1966 and 1967-1970 CD albums at amazon.com. CDs and vinyl versions can be purchased at thebeatles.com.