On Nov. 10, The Beatles released a new song. The single titled “Now and Then,” features vocal performances from the original four Beatles, including John Lennon, who was murdered in 1980, and George Harrison, who died of cancer in 2001. “Now and Then” is both a record and a bookend to the history of the men who wrote it. The song was released alongside a remix of The Beatles’ debut single, “Love Me Do,” invoking the band’s beginning alongside the end. Work on “Now and Then” began in March 1995, after Lennon’s widow Yoko Ono gave singer Paul McCartney cassette tapes featuring unused recordings from Lennon.
The Beatles began to work on an early version of the song, but production ceased after a few days largely due to Harrison’s complaints regarding the tape’s quality. From 1996 to 2022, none of the Beatles worked on the song. In a 2021 interview with The New Yorker, McCartney expressed interest in continuing work on the song. In June 2023, McCartney announced that Lennon’s voice was fully extracted from the original cassette tape, and a new Beatles song would be released later in the year. For many, “Now and Then” will be The Beatles’ first song released in their lifetime.
To understand the significance of “Now and Then,” listeners have to be familiar with the history and impact of The Beatles. The quartet of McCartney, Lennon, Harrison, and Ringo Starr formed the band which to this day holds the record for the most records sold by a musical group. They ushered in the so-called “British Invasion” of United States pop music. Lennon famously remarked that The Beatles were “more popular than Jesus,” a remark which some believe may have contributed to his unfortunate death. The lives of the individual Beatles have been immortalized in popular culture through their music. With this song’s release, The Beatles’ formal “end” can be immortalized too.
