The Beatles, the band that changed the face of music, broke up in December of 1974- and yet has still found its way back to the 2023 global charts. They have released their new single, the long-awaited “Now and Then” written by John Lennon in the 1970s. With the help of Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr playing and singing together, it is a true Beatles collaboration. 

 Back during the prime era of rock-n-roll, the Beatles were well known for experimenting with music in ways that had never been done before. The Beatles’ success in the 1960s led the way for psychedelic rock, heavy metal, and other genres, influencing many other British musicians to branch out into the states. Yet here we are 50 years later, and they are still able to do just that. John Lennon left this song unfinished, and his ex- bandmates have come together to complete it for him, simply out of love and musical brotherhood. This song is the encore of the century that the Beatles— and their fans—deserve.  

As Paul McCartney left the Dakota in New York City on Saturday, April 23, 1976 after a visit with John Lennon, his former bandmate patted him on the shoulder. “Think about me every now and then, old friend,” he said. These would be the final words John spoke to Paul in person. 

The Beatles played “Now and Then” together at the Anthology sessions (a project consisting of a three-volume set of double albums) but never found it in them to complete it. They crumbled it up and threw it in the trash bin and nobody heard much potential in it, except McCartney. Over the years he never stopped talking about it in interviews and eventually decided to dig it out of the trash bin, starting the beginning of the project that would change his life forever. 

McCartney decided to produce “Now and Then,” working alongside Starr, recording his vocals and drums in 2022. With the death of Lennon and Harrison, McCartney did not have it as easy to find a way to incorporate their parts into the song as he did with Starr, forcing him to get creative. After weeks of searching the Beatles archives, he pulled the recording of John’s original 1977 piano and vocals and George’s guitar from a cassette tape of the 1995 Anthology sessions. 

In an interview with Rolling Stones, Sean Ono Lennon (son of John Lennon) says, “It’s the last song that my dad and Paul and George and Ringo will get to make together.” But the whole point of this project is that there is no end to the Beatles story nor their music. The power of “Now and Then” shows exactly why the Beatles have never only belonged to the past and why this song sounds so unmistakably alive today, adding one more classic to the world’s greatest musical love story.