"Let It Be" | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US picture sleeve
|
|||||||||||
Single by The Beatles | |||||||||||
from the album Let It Be | |||||||||||
B-side | "You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)" | ||||||||||
Released | 6 March 1970 | ||||||||||
Format | Vinyl record 7" | ||||||||||
Recorded |
Apple Studio 31 January 1969 EMI Studios 30 April 1969 4 January 1970 |
||||||||||
Genre | Rock, pop, gospel | ||||||||||
Length | 3:50 (single version), 4:03 (album version) | ||||||||||
Label | Apple | ||||||||||
Writer(s) | Lennon–McCartney | ||||||||||
Producer(s) | George Martin (single version), Phil Spector (album version) | ||||||||||
The Beatles UK singles chronology | |||||||||||
|
|||||||||||
|
"Let It Be" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, released in March 1970 as a single, and (in an alternate mix) as the title track of their album Let It Be. At the time, it had the highest debut on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching number 6. It was written and sung by Paul McCartney. It was their final single before McCartney announced his departure from the band. Both the Let It Be album and the US single "The Long and Winding Road" were released after McCartney's announced departure from and the subsequent break-up of the group.
The alternate mix on their album "Let It Be" features an additional guitar solo and some minor differences in the orchestral sections.
In 1987, the song was recorded by charity supergroup Ferry Aid (which included McCartney). It reached number 1 on the UK Singles Chart for three weeks and reached the top ten in many other European countries.
McCartney said he had the idea of "Let It Be" after he had a dream about his mother during the tense period surrounding the sessions for The Beatles ("the White Album") in 1968. According to McCartney, the song's reference to "Mother Mary" was not a biblical reference. The phrase has at times been used as a reference to the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ; in fact, the words "let it be" are a direct quote from the Prayer of the Annunciation, Mary's response to the Angel Gabriel in Luke 1.38. Nevertheless, McCartney explained that his mother – who died of cancer when he was fourteen – was the inspiration for the "Mother Mary" lyric. He later said: "It was great to visit with her again. I felt very blessed to have that dream. So that got me writing 'Let It Be'." He also said in a later interview about the dream that his mother had told him, "It will be all right, just let it be." When asked if the song referred to the Virgin Mary, McCartney has typically answered the question by assuring his fans that they can interpret the song however they would like.