Friday, January 24, 1969
Get Back sessions • Day 15
For The Beatles
Last updated on January 15, 2025
Friday, January 24, 1969
For The Beatles
Last updated on January 15, 2025
The "Get Back / Let It Be" sessions
January 1969 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Let It Be (Limited Edition)
Recording studio: Apple Studios, 3 Savile Row, London
Session Jan 22, 1969 • Get Back sessions • Day 13
Session Jan 23, 1969 • Get Back sessions • Day 14
Session Jan 24, 1969 • Get Back sessions • Day 15
Session January 24 & January 26, 1969 • Mixing the "Get Back" album (1st compilation)
AlbumSome of the songs worked on during this session were first released on the "Let It Be (Limited Edition)" LP
On this day, The Beatles continued the “Get Back” sessions at Apple Studios in London. This marked the fourth day at their new studio and the 15th day overall for the project.
The day began without Billy Preston, who rehearsed a TV Show appearance and whose absence shifted the band’s focus away from refining “Get Back.” Instead, they concentrated on “Two of Us,” initially attempting an electric arrangement reminiscent of earlier Twickenham sessions. Ultimately, they settled on an acoustic, folk-rock approach. Though still in the rehearsal phase, Glyn Johns preserved several takes on multi-track tape. One of these would later feature on the 1996 collection “Anthology 3,” and another was selected by Johns for one of the unreleased “Get Back” albums.
The session also marked the recording debut of two songs. Paul McCartney’s “Teddy Boy“, written in India the previous year and briefly played on January 9, was captured in a version later edited with recordings from January 28 for “Anthology 3“. The song was also included in early mixes of the “Get Back” album before Paul re-recorded it for his 1970 solo debut “McCartney.” John Lennon’s improvisational “Dig It” also took shape as a blues-rock piece with ad-libbed lyrics, featuring four versions that day. A snippet of John’s speech from this session — “That was ‘Can You Dig It’ by Georgie Wood, and now we’d like to do ‘Hark The Angels Come’” — would eventually appear on the “Let It Be” album.
The day was rich in variety, with Paul experimenting with unreleased compositions like “Every Night” and “Hot As Sun” and playing “There You Are, Eddie,” a song written the previous December for Beatles biographer Hunter Davies. John played “Polythene Pam” for the only time during these sessions. He also revisited two Quarrymen-era songs: “Maggie Mae,” later included on the “Let It Be” album, and “Fancy My Chances With You,” featured on the bonus disc of “Let It Be… Naked” in 2003
Work on George Harrison’s tracks was minimal, limited to the unreleased “Window, Window.” George revisited it on subsequent days, but the song never saw an official release.
Billy Preston’s arrival in the late afternoon saw the band return to “Get Back.” However, the session ran late, and progress was limited, deferring serious work on the track for a few days.
Engineer Glyn Johns then spent a part of the night mixing tracks recorded this day, at Olympic Sound Studios.
I loved [Teddy Boy], and I was hoping they’d finish it and do it, because I thought it was really good. But my version does go on a bit, and they’re just going round and round, trying to get the chord sequence right, I suppose, and the best bit is where John Lennon gets bored – he obviously doesn’t want to play it any more, and starts doing his interjections.
Glyn Johns – The Record Producers, BBC radio – Unknown date
During the session, John Lennon discussed the idea of accompanying the future album with a book of photographs. When “Let It Be” was released in 1970, this concept came to fruition as a special limited edition that included a 164-page book. The book featured a collection of images and dialogue from the sessions, offering fans an intimate look behind the scenes.
John Lennon: Did you hear about the book idea?
Paul McCartney: Yeah.
John Lennon: They’re great, man. Really great. It’ll be a book of the film. They can have it out almost simultaneously. The book of the film, the book of the… All that. The package is great.
Paul McCartney: It’s good.
John Lennon: They’ll have slides, you know. And I’ll talk to John Kosh on Monday. ‘Cause I think he’d be a nice guy to design it.
From Peter Jackson’s film “The Beatles: Get Back“, 2021
Another topic of discussion during the session was Billy Preston’s contract for his participation in the recordings. John Lennon even suggested inviting Billy to join the band permanently, effectively becoming the “fifth Beatle.” However, Paul McCartney was not enthusiastic about the idea, responding half-jokingly, “It’s just bad enough with four.”
John Lennon: Did you tell Paul we’ve got Billy a contract?
George Harrison: No, not yet.
John Lennon: We’ve got him off Capitol. Just like that. And George will produce him.
Paul McCartney: I was just talking to him about that. I said, “What did you do after Hamburg and that?” He said, “Well, I saw you guys go, sort of, ‘voomph’ to the moon”. And he sort of had a couple groups together. But he’s never, sort of, done his thing.
George Harrison: The main thing, Billy just really is so knocked out, so thrilled doing it. And also he sees it’s his great opportunity.
Paul McCartney: Then he puts his name and The Beatles. Like, it’s Billy Preston!
George Harrison: I didn’t think about it. We’ll have to decide about paying him. ‘Cause, if we were having Nicky Hopkins playing, we’d have to pay him session musician rates. Which will be…
John Lennon: This is, like, to be in the film and that.
Paul McCartney: Yeah, we’ll just say to Ron, “Look, will you talk to Billy?”
John Lennon: On the film it happened so great. I mean, I’d just like him in our band, actually. I’d like a fifth Beatle. At Twickenham, suddenly, there was three, now there’s four of us, then there’s five!
George Harrison: We can do that, as well. If I asked Dylan to join The Beatles, and he would, as well, you know, and we get ’em all in here!
Paul McCartney: Yeah, but they don’t need to join The Beatles.
John Lennon: We’d call it The Beatles & Co. That’ll be our band.
George Harrison: I mean, it’s Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, innit?
John Lennon: We could get ’em all.
Paul McCartney: I just don’t, because it’s just bad enough with four.
From Peter Jackson’s film “The Beatles: Get Back“, 2021
The performances are sequentially numbered using the nomenclature from the book "Drugs, Divorce and a Slipping Image" by Doug Sulpy. DDSI 2.01 is, for example, the first performance from January 2nd, while DDSI 31.65 is the sixty-fifth performance from January 31st. This numbering is at times different from the DDSI numbers used on the bootleg collection "A/B Road Complete Get Back Sessions", likely because "Drugs, Divorce and a Slipping Image" was updated since the release of this collection.
Get Back
Recording • DDSI.24.01 • 2:49
Performed by : John Lennon • George Harrison
Get Back
Recording • DDSI.24.02 • 9:02
Performed by : John Lennon • George Harrison
Get Back
Recording • DDSI.24.03 • 0:48
Performed by : John Lennon
Get Back
Recording • DDSI.24.04 • 0:24
Performed by : John Lennon
(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
Recording • DDSI.24.05 • 1:21 • John Lennon only
Get Back
Recording • DDSI.24.06 • 2:29
Performed by : Ringo Starr • John Lennon • George Harrison
What'd I Say
Recording • DDSI.24.07 • 3:04 • John Lennon and George Harrison only
Recording • DDSI.24.08 • 3:23
Improvisation
Recording • DDSI.24.09 • 4:07
Improvisation
Recording • DDSI.24.10 • 0:04
Recording • DDSI.24.11 • 0:54
Improvisation
Recording • DDSI.24.12 • 0:37
Don't Let Me Down
Recording • DDSI.24.13 • 2:10 • John Lennon and George Harrison only
Recording • DDSI.24.14 • 0:59
Performed by : Paul McCartney
Recording • DDSI.24.15 • 3:02
Recording • DDSI.24.16 • 3:01
Written by Buzz Cason, Tony Moon
Recording • DDSI.24.17 • 1:17
Performed by : Paul McCartney • John Lennon
Written by Don Everly
Recording • DDSI.24.18 • 1:56 • Medley with "Soldier Of Love","Where Have You Been (All My Life)"
Performed by : Paul McCartney
Written by Buzz Cason, Tony Moon
Recording • DDSI.24.18 • Medley with "Cathy's Clown","Where Have You Been (All My Life)"
Performed by : Paul McCartney • John Lennon • George Harrison
Where Have You Been
Recording • DDSI.24.18 • Medley with "Cathy's Clown","Soldier Of Love"
Performed by : John Lennon
Written by Luther Dixon, Shirley Owens
Recording • DDSI.24.19 • 0:08
What'd I Say-Love Is A Swingin Thing
Recording • DDSI.24.20 • 0:41 • George played "What'd I Say" while Paul and John continued to play "Love Is A Swingin Thing"
Written by Don Christy, Roddy Jackson
Recording • DDSI.24.21 • 0:37
Performed by : Paul McCartney
Written by John Lennon
Recording • DDSI.24.22 • 2:53 • With lyrics "On The Road To Marrakesh"
Film Included in Peter Jackson's film "The Beatles: Get Back", 2021
Recording • DDSI.24.23 • 7:26
Recording • DDSI.24.24 • 3:43
Written by Brian Wilson, Mike Love
Recording • DDSI.24.25 • 1:22
Recording • DDSI.24.26 • 2:53
Recording • DDSI.24.27a • 16:38
Recording • DDSI.24.27b • 2:50
Recording • DDSI.24.28 • 5:39
Recording • DDSI.24.29 • 3:17
Recording • DDSI.24.30 • 4:40
She Came In Through The Bathroom Window
Recording • DDSI.24.31 • 1:17
Written by Paul McCartney
Recording • DDSI.24.32 • 4:44
Film Included in Peter Jackson's film "The Beatles: Get Back", 2021
Written by Paul McCartney
Recording • DDSI.24.33 • 7:24
Written by Paul McCartney
Recording • DDSI.24.34 • 0:39
Written by Paul McCartney
Recording • DDSI.24.35 • 0:18
Written by Paul McCartney
Recording • DDSI.24.36 • 1:40
"Balls To Your Partner"
Recording • DDSI.24.37 • 0:13
Performed by : Paul McCartney
Ach Du Lieber Augustin
Recording • DDSI.24.38 • 0:09
Performed by : Paul McCartney
Written by Paul McCartney
Recording • DDSI.24.39 • 0:45
Recording • DDSI.24.40 • 3:48
Written by Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon, George Harrison
Recording • DDSI.24.41 • 0:56
Performed by : Paul McCartney • John Lennon
Film Included in Peter Jackson's film "The Beatles: Get Back", 2021
Recording • DDSI.24.42 • 1:45
Performed by : Paul McCartney • John Lennon
Film Included in Peter Jackson's film "The Beatles: Get Back", 2021
Recording • DDSI.24.43 • 1:19
Recording • DDSI.24.44 • 2:09
Film Included in Peter Jackson's film "The Beatles: Get Back", 2021
Improvisation
Recording • DDSI.24.45 • 1:25
Recording • DDSI.24.46 • 3:24
Written by Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon, George Harrison
Recording • DDSI.24.47 • 0:25
Recording • DDSI.24.48 • 4:36
Written by Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon, George Harrison
Recording • DDSI.24.49 • 1:33
AlbumOfficially released on Let It Be (Limited Edition)
Recording • DDSI.24.50 • 3:36
Window, Window
Recording • DDSI.24.51 • 2:12
Performed by : George Harrison
Window, Window
Recording • DDSI.24.52 • 0:57
Performed by : George Harrison
Recording • DDSI.24.53 • 1:09
Recording • DDSI.24.54 • 2:42
Recording • DDSI.24.55 • 0:50
Recording • DDSI.24.56 • 1:31
Recording • DDSI.24.57 • 1:25
Recording • DDSI.24.58 • 2:29
Film Included in Peter Jackson's film "The Beatles: Get Back", 2021
Written by Paul McCartney
Recording • DDSI.24.59 • 4:18
Written by Paul McCartney
Recording • DDSI.24.60 • 1:50
Performed by : Paul McCartney
Written by Paul McCartney
Recording • DDSI.24.61 • 5:31
Performed by : Paul McCartney
Pillow For Your Head
Recording • DDSI.24.62 • 0:47
Written by Paul McCartney
Recording • DDSI.24.63 • 1:35
Performed by : Paul McCartney
Written by Paul McCartney
Recording • DDSI.24.64 • 0:08
Performed by : Paul McCartney
Recording • DDSI.24.65 • 0:59
Recording • DDSI.24.66 • 3:46
Recording • DDSI.24.67 • 0:57
Recording • DDSI.24.68 • 3:35 • Paul McCartney plays a few bars from the coda of "Hello Goodbye" at the end of Two Of Us
Recording • DDSI.24.69 • 4:07
Recording • DDSI.24.70 • 3:35
Written by Lonnie Donegan
Recording • DDSI.24.71 • 0:50
Written by Traditional
Recording • DDSI.24.72 • 0:11
Written by Traditional
Recording • DDSI.24.73 • 1:14
Improvisation
Recording • DDSI.24.74 • 0:15
Unknown
Recording • DDSI.24.75 • 1:14
Recording • DDSI.24.76 • 2:08
Written by Eddie Edwards, Nick LaRocca, Henry Ragas, Tony Sbarbaro, Larry Shields
Recording • DDSI.24.77 • 2:11
Performed by : Paul McCartney
Written by Traditional
Recording • DDSI.24.78 • 0:58
Performed by : Paul McCartney
Written by Traditional
Recording • DDSI.24.79 • 0:13
Performed by : Paul McCartney
Written by Melvin Endsley
Recording • DDSI.24.80 • 2:40
Written by Melvin Endsley
Recording • DDSI.24.81 • 0:15
Written by Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon, George Harrison
Recording • DDSI.24.82 • 3:12
Written by Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon, George Harrison
Recording • DDSI.24.83 • 0:46
Written by Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon, George Harrison
Recording • DDSI.24.84 • 4:33
Written by Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon, George Harrison
Recording • DDSI.24.85 • 6:15 • A snippet of John’s speech from this track — “That was ‘Can You Dig It’ by Georgie Wood, and now we’d like to do ‘Hark The Angels Come’” — would eventually appear on the “Let It Be” album.
AlbumOfficially released on Let It Be (Limited Edition)
Recording • DDSI.24.86 • 2:10
Written by Paul McCartney
Recording • DDSI.24.87 • 1:42
Performed by : Paul McCartney
Recording • DDSI.24.88 • 0:28
Recording • DDSI.24.89 • 0:40
Recording • DDSI.24.90 • 3:36
Written by Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Irving Nahan, Chuck Berry
Recording • DDSI.24.91 • 2:39
Performed by : Paul McCartney
Written by Chuck Berry
Recording • DDSI.24.91 • 2:39
Performed by : Paul McCartney
You Can't Catch Me
Recording • DDSI.24.91 • 2:39
Performed by : John Lennon
Brown-Eyed Handsome Man
Recording • DDSI.24.91 • 2:39
Performed by : John Lennon
Written by Larry Williams
Recording • DDSI.24.92 • 1:32
Recording • DDSI.24.93 • 0:15
Recording • DDSI.24.94 • 4:55
Green Onions
Recording • DDSI.24.95 • 0:46
Performed by : Billy Preston
Recording • DDSI.24.96 • 0:52
Recording • DDSI.24.97 • 4:32
Written by Larry Williams
Recording • DDSI.24.98 • 4:27
Sweet Little Sixteen
Recording • DDSI.24.99 • 1:48
Performed by : Ringo Starr • John Lennon • George Harrison • Billy Preston
Around and Around
Recording • DDSI.24.100 • 1:08
Performed by : Ringo Starr • John Lennon • Billy Preston
Written by Chuck Berry
Recording • DDSI.24.101a • 2:02
Paul McCartney : Backing vocalsPerformed by : Ringo Starr • John Lennon • Billy Preston George Harrison : Backing vocals
School Days (Ring Ring Goes The Bell)
Written by Chuck Berry
Recording • DDSI.24.101b • 2:49
Film Included in Peter Jackson's film "The Beatles: Get Back", 2021
Written by Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, Ben E. King
Recording • DDSI.24.102 • 2:40
Performed by : Paul McCartney • Ringo Starr • John Lennon • George Harrison • Billy Preston
Film Included in Peter Jackson's film "The Beatles: Get Back", 2021
Where Have You Been (All My Life)
Written by Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil
Recording • DDSI.24.102 • 2:40
Performed by : Paul McCartney • Ringo Starr • John Lennon • George Harrison • Billy Preston
Lady Madonna
Recording • DDSI.24.103 • 0:09
John Lennon : Vocals
Recording • DDSI.24.104 • 0:13 • Paul McCartney imitates Fat Domino (who covered "Lovely Rita")
Paul McCartney : Vocals
Recording • DDSI.24.105 • 6:51
Lonely Sea
Recording • DDSI.24.106 • 1:41
Performed by : John Lennon
Unknown
Recording • DDSI.24.107 • 3:45
Performed by : John Lennon
Ramrod
Recording • DDSI.24.108 • 2:03
Performed by : John Lennon
Drugs, Divorce and a Slipping Image - The Complete, Unauthorized Story of The Beatles' 'Get Back' Sessions
The definitive guide to the Get Back sessions, released in 1994 and updated in 2007. In the author's own words:
New, completely revised edition! This new volume isn t just a compilation of material from the 1994 book Drugs, Divorce and a Slipping Image (also later published as 'Get Back') and 'The 910's Guide To The Beatles Outtakes Part Two: The Complete Get Back Sessions' (2001). I've re-listened to the entire canon of available Get Back session tapes, come up with a bunch of new conclusions (and even a handful of new identifications!), and pretty much re-written half the book from scratch. In addition, great effort has been made to improve readability of the book. Songs have now been put into groups (generally by Nagra reel, or series of them), rather than describing each performance separately, as was done in the original. In every way, this is the book we wished we could have written in 1994.
As the paperback version is out of print, you can buy a PDF version on the author's website
If we modestly consider the Paul McCartney Project to be the premier online resource for all things Paul McCartney, it is undeniable that The Beatles Bible stands as the definitive online site dedicated to the Beatles. While there is some overlap in content between the two sites, they differ significantly in their approach.
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