Tuesday, January 28, 1969
Get Back sessions • Day 19
For The Beatles
Last updated on February 16, 2025
Tuesday, January 28, 1969
For The Beatles
Last updated on February 16, 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 27, 1969 • Get Back sessions • Day 18
Article Jan 28, 1969 • Allen Klein meets with The Beatles
Session Jan 28, 1969 • Get Back sessions • Day 19
Session Jan 29, 1969 • Get Back sessions • Day 20
AlbumSome of the songs worked on during this session were first released on the "Get Back / Don't Let Me Down (UK - Mono)" 7" Single
By The Beatles
On this day, The Beatles continued their “Get Back” sessions at Apple Studios in London, marking the 8th day at their new studio and the 19th day overall for the project.
On January 25, they had discussed performing on the rooftop of the Apple building, envisioning it as the climax of their upcoming film, directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg. Originally planned for January 29, the rooftop concert was postponed due to bad weather and rescheduled for January 30.
The morning session saw The Beatles recording multiple takes of “Get Back.” A coda from one of these takes was later spliced onto the previous day’s best take to create the final version of their next single’s A-side. They also recorded a strong take of “Don’t Let Me Down,” which became the B-side, though further vocal overdubs were added later in an undocumented session at EMI Studios, Abbey Road.
As the day progressed, The Beatles explored several new songs. George Harrison’s “Old Brown Shoe,” introduced the day before, received significant attention, with the band running through it extensively. George also debuted an unfinished version of “Something,” with the group offering occasional input on the lyrics. Meanwhile, John Lennon introduced “I Want You (She’s So Heavy),” which started as an instrumental jam.
They also revisited some abandoned songs from earlier sessions. George’s “All Things Must Pass“, last played on January 8, and John’s “On The Road to Marrakesh” were both attempted but ultimately discarded. Paul McCartney’s “Teddy Boy” was revisited for two takes, one of which was later combined with a January 24 take and released on “Anthology 3” in 1996.
In the evening, The Beatles met with American businessman Allen Klein, whom John Lennon had appointed as his personal adviser the previous day.
About “Get Back,” from beatlesebooks.com:
[…] One other accomplishment of this day was the coda of “Get Back” which was mistakenly omitted from the best take of the previous day. The Beatles ran through this song seven more times, Lennon’s guitar solos and Billy Preston’s piano solo being fully solidified at this point. One of these takes was deemed unsuitable because of Paul’s flubbed line in the first verse (“Jojo was at home in Tucson, Arizona”) and Ringo’s continuing slow tempo. “Slow it down, Loretta,” Paul sings during the final solo as a reaction to the drummer’s playing. We hear Paul’s clever rhyme “low neck sweater / get back Loretta” repeatedly during this version’s coda, the singer obviously fixated on the lyrical flow of these lines.
A later rendition recorded on this day was at a good tempo and was instrumentally performed quite well, except for a sour note from an open string ringing out on John’s guitar as he began his first solo. This by itself may have prompted Paul to become vocally playful for the remainder of the song, his exaggerated exclamations being evidence that he didn’t think this take would be suitable for a finished version.
He was half right and half wrong. It was decided that, while the above mentioned rendition from the previous day would be used for the body of the song, the first 35 seconds of the coda from this day’s version would be edited on and faded out to form the released single a couple of months or so later. In fact, a further 41 second segment of this coda would be used as the track “Get Back (reprise)” on both aborted versions of the proposed “Get Back” album (as we’ll discuss below) as well as the closing segment of the “Let It Be” movie.
This entire coda was 1:22 in length, Paul excitedly ad libbing lines such as “get back / get together…we gotta get together…ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah…put on your high heel sweater!” John also jumps in on the fun by singing “get back” and other assorted vocal sounds before ending the coda with the chilling rhyme “Shoot me when I’m evil / shoot me when I’m good / shoot me when I’m hungry / shoot me when I’m…” […]
From beatlesebooks.com
About “Don’t Let Me Down“, from beatlesebooks.com:
[…] On the following day, January 28th, 1969, The Beatles do some final fine tuning to the arrangement of “Don’t Let Me Down” at Apple Studios. In the first verse, the lyric “and if somebody ever loved me like she does” was lessened to “and if somebody loved me like she does” in order to fit the meter of the song. John and Paul also instructed George in what melody line he should play during the bridge. After this was worked out, John introduced the proper recording takes of the song by announcing it as, “Don’t Let Me Down The Road Again Blues Short Fat Fanny You’re My Desire.” The Beatles and Billy Preston then made four proper recordings of “Don’t Let Me Down,” two of which being near perfect performances that included the one ultimately chosen for the b-side of their next single.
The eight-track tape consisted of Paul’s harmony vocal (track one), John’s lead vocal (track two), Billy Preston’s Fender Rhodes electric piano (track three), Paul’s bass (track four), Ringo’s drums in stereo (tracks five and six), John’s guitar (track seven) and George’s lead guitar (track eight). As seen on Peter Jackson’s “Get Back” series, George also sang backing vocals on these recordings, this performance either being combined with Paul’s harmony vocal on track one or not being committed to tape at all. One of these four recordings were considered suitable for release despite John flubbing some lyrics in the first verse, this being corrected later as we’ll see below. […]
From beatlesebooks.com
About “Something“, from beatlesebooks.com:
[…] George took it off ice on January 28th and 29th, 1969, during the final days of the sessions for what became the “Let It Be” album and film. Early on January 28th at Apple Studio, John tried to get the ball rolling for the day by saying, “Let’s pick up on the ones that are all in pieces. I’m trying to get us to do one of George’s for the first batch, y’know.” Acknowledging George’s previous feelings of discouragement which led him to temporarily quit the group recently, John thought to include him in the current project as much as possible. This led to some serious work on “Something” with the intention of whipping it together before the end of January when the project needed to be complete. George ran them through the song multiple times, asking for lyrical suggestions. “What could it be, Paul, ‘something in the way she moves,’ something like that, ‘attracts me like...’ I couldn’t think of what attracted me at all!” George exclaims exasperatingly to his bandmates. John suggests, “Just say whatever comes into your head each time, ‘attracts me like a cauliflower,’ until you get the word.” George replied, “But I’ve been through this one for about six months – I mean just that line. ‘Attracts me like a pomegranate‘ – we could have that!”
This rehearsal, which was taped and is available to hear in part on the “Super Deluxe” editions of the “Let It Be” album, in Peter Jackson’s “Get Back” series and in greater length on bootlegs, is an interesting listen, giving a ‘fly on the wall’ demonstration of how a great song is written. After they go through one makeshift verse of the song, John suggests, “Have you tried to make sense of it every time, every line? Then you’ve got to stop every time. You can just go on and on and on and then go back over it. Or don’t, depending on what happens.” The Beatles then batted around ideas, John seemingly coming up with what became the lyric “Don’t want to leave her now, you know I believe and how,” and George playing around with what he called a “counter melody” that he would sing in a higher register during the verses. George did have the melody of the bridge written at this point, as well as the lyrics for the third verse. They goofed around with lyrical ideas for the bridge, coming up with things like “Well, did you know who missed the show?,” “Fancy Joe missed the show,” “Where did you go, Mr. Show? I don’t know” and so on. Fortunately, this Tomfoolery was used only as a template for George to formulate proper lyrics later. […]
From beatlesebooks.com
About “Old Brown Shoe“, from beatlesebooks.com:
[…] The following day at Apple Studios, January 28th, 1969, was the next session where further refining of “Old Brown Shoe” took place. After much work on [other tracks,] The Beatles and Billy Preston worked extensively on “Old Brown Shoe,” running through the song eight times while Paul was away for an appointment.
George started out on piano again, this time teaching the chords to John for him to play on guitar. Ringo had by now adopted the drum beat reminiscent of Bob Dylan’s “Highway 61 Revisited” as he eventually played on the finished song, although he stumbled from time to time during the verses and resorted to a triplet snare beat in the bridges not unlike what he plays in “Get Back.” A change in instruments happens sometime during the proceedings, Billy Preston replacing George on piano, thus freeing up the composer to just sing lead vocals and then to play lead guitar as well. Harrison joked that he now needed to teach himself the song again on this instrument, formulating some of the guitar riffs that we hear on the finished recording in the process. John then abandoned his guitar for an Omnichord, which is an instrument that sounds somewhat like an organ.
Another interesting musical instrument in the studio on this day was a Stylophone, which George and Billy Preston experimented with in between rehearsals of “Old Brown Shoe.” The Beatles never used the instrument on any song in their catalog, but it did famously get used five months later at Trident Studios in London on David Bowie’s classic “Space Oddity.” Nontheless, on this day, The Beatles worked on two other Harrison compositions, “Something” and “All Things Must Pass,” as well as other songs, before retiring for the evening. […]
From beatlesebooks.com
About “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)“, from beatlesebooks.com:
[…] January 28th, 1969 was the first day that John brought “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” to The Beatles in Apple Studio, 3 Savile Row, London. The group was then ending their month-long set of rehearsals for what eventually became the “Let It Be” album and film. Four versions of the song were rehearsed on this day, it being merely a jam at this point that consisted of the “I want you” verses only. One version features John on lead vocals mimicking the notes played on a distorted electric guitar, not unlike what ended up on the released version, Billy Preston on piano and response vocals, and Ringo on drums. This enjoyable funky version lasted nearly six minutes. Later that day, they rehearsed the song again with John alternating the lyrics from “I want you” to “I need you,” Billy Preston moving to organ and this time refraining from providing vocals, and Paul joining in with a shaker. Yet another rehearsal that day consisted of John and George jamming the song on guitar. […]
From beatlesebooks.com
The session began in the control room with playbacks of several songs recorded so far. Director Michael Lindsay-Hogg then asked which songs could be performed on the Apple rooftop, as the concert was scheduled to take place in two days.
Michael Lindsay-Hoggs: George, of the ones they’ve done so far, which do you think we can do on the roof? Anything without the grand piano… Is John going to do ‘Can You Dig It’?
George Martin: ‘Dig A Pony’?
Michael Lindsay-Hoggs: Well, he’s got another. You know… ‘Can you dig it? Can you dig it?’
George Martin: Oh, that one, yeah.
Michael Lindsay-Hoggs: I would say we would do ‘Teddy Boy’…
George Martin: You could do any of those, actually. You could do the ones we’ve just been listening to.
Michael Lindsay-Hoggs: ‘Get Back.’
George Martin: You see, I think you ought to have the electric piano on the roof.
Michael Lindsay-Hoggs: Yes, I think so. Well, can we write down what we could do on the roof?
George Martin: You haven’t got a concise list of titles, have we, Alan?
Alan Parsons (second engineer): No. I can make one.
Michael Lindsay-Hoggs: Well, one is “I Dig a Pony.” We know what we mean by that one, don’t we? Do that one on the roof.
Paul McCartney: ‘Let It Be.’
Michael Lindsay-Hoggs: ‘Let It Be.’ Which is “Let It Be”? Oh, no. I think “Let It Be” should be down here.
George Martin: Yeah, with the piano on that.
From Peter Jackson’s film “The Beatles: Get Back“, 2021, and from “The Beatles: Get Back” book, 2021
The conversation then shifted to which songs they should rehearse during the session, with John Lennon suggesting they focus on unfinished songs.
Paul McCartney: Is anyone sort of thinking of this like making an album or more like sort of doing a lot of numbers then to be able to play them all one after the other?
John Lennon: Let’s pick the five. Let’s do them on the show.
George Harrison: All the others we can be recording in the meantime. Just for the album.
John Lennon: I don’t see much point in doing “Don’t Let Me Down,” “I’ve Got A Feeling” and that now.
Paul McCartney: Keeping on doing them.
John Lennon: Yeah… ‘Cause you lose it. So let’s pick up on the ones that are all in pieces. I’m trying to get us to do one of George’s for the first batch.
From Peter Jackson’s film “The Beatles: Get Back“, 2021
Paul McCartney took a break from the session from 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm to meet with Ken Mansfield, Apple’s U.S. manager, while the others continued without him. During Paul’s absence, John Lennon shared details about his meeting the previous night with American businessman Allen Klein:
George Harrison: What did you wanna talk about?
John Lennon: Uh, well, just that I saw Klein, and that.
George Harrison: Oh, Klein?
John Lennon: Yeah, yeah. Klein. Allen Klein.
George Harrison: Oh, I see.
John Lennon: Yeah. And it’s… You know, it’s very interesting. You know, from a lot of angles. And the– But I want to tell you all at once, you know, so as it’s not… But just, um… I just think he’s fantastic.
George Harrison: Really?
John Lennon: Yeah. A lot of interesting news that we don’t know half about, just about…
George Harrison: About us?
John Lennon: Well, I’ll tell– You know, he’ll tell you all that, ’cause it’s… You know, he knows everything about everything. Very interesting guy. I was there till 2:00 in the morning.
George Harrison: Oh, you went last night?
John Lennon: I went there thinking, “Well, I’ve got to see him. I put it off last time.” You know? I keep hearing about him all these years. Things that you just… you can’t believe, you know. Right down to where… where it’s gone, and how to get it. So, I, you know… Well, I didn’t really wanna say it to sort of half o’ya. I thought, “He’s gonna look after me, whatever.” That’s… it’s just like that. And he knows… He even knows what we’re like, you know? The way he described each one of us, you know, and what we’ve done, and what we’re gonna do and that. But just, like, he knows me as much as you do. Incredible guy. And he’s got a great idea for Biafra. He’s like – He says, “I’m a practical man.” And his thing… You know The Stones’ Circus we did? So he arranges those things for them.
George Harrison: Yeah.
John Lennon: All we heard about that and the royalty from way back… They get much more than us. However many we sell, they cop. You know, so, The Stones show, he’s gonna make an LP out of it. They’re making a book of it and everything, of course, you know? Like, everybody is into that. And he’s gonna, uh, make an LP of it, of everybody that was on… to buy food for Biafra. Yeah, I was telling him about your idea for that film.
George Harrison: Oh, yeah.
John Lennon: The thing is, I mean, if we took the food to that place, with the money we’ve all earned… He’d do it completely himself, arrange it all. I didn’t mean to get into all this, but he’s so fascinating.
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.
Written by Duane Eddy, Lee Hazlewood
Recording • DDSI.28.01 • 2:23
Paul McCartney : Bass Ringo Starr : Drums
Improvisation
Recording • DDSI.28.02 • 0:32
"The River Rhine"
Recording • DDSI.28.03 • 5:21 • Improvisation that leads into "The Long And Winding Road"
Recording • DDSI.28.03 • 5:21
Recording • DDSI.28.04 • 17:00
Recording • DDSI.28.05 • 3:20
Recording • DDSI.28.06 • 19:41
Recording • DDSI.28.07 • 7:27
Recording • DDSI.28.08 • 4:48
Recording • DDSI.28.09 • 3:22
Recording • DDSI.28.10 • 2:19
Recording • DDSI.28.11 • 1:46
I've Got A Feeling
Recording • DDSI.28.12 • 1:19 • Paul McCartney is away meeting Ken Mansfield
Rainy Day Women #’s 12 & 35
Recording • DDSI.28.13 • 1:13 • Paul McCartney is away meeting Ken Mansfield
Performed by : John Lennon
I've Got A Feeling
Recording • DDSI.28.14 • 13:43 • Paul McCartney is away meeting Ken Mansfield
I've Got A Feeling
Recording • DDSI.28.15 • 2:31 • Paul McCartney is away meeting Ken Mansfield
The Inner Light
Recording • DDSI.28.16 • 0:35 • Paul McCartney is away meeting Ken Mansfield
Performed by : Ringo Starr • John Lennon • George Harrison
I've Got A Feeling
Recording • DDSI.28.17 • 9:42 • Paul McCartney is away meeting Ken Mansfield
Blue Yodel No 1 (T for Texas)
Recording • DDSI.28.18 • 0:16 • Paul McCartney is away meeting Ken Mansfield
Tea For Two
Recording • DDSI.28.19 • 0:24 • Paul McCartney is away meeting Ken Mansfield
Dig It
Recording • DDSI.28.20 • 8:14 • Paul McCartney is away meeting Ken Mansfield
I've Got A Feeling
Recording • DDSI.28.21 • 5:38 • Paul McCartney is away meeting Ken Mansfield
I've Got A Feeling
Recording • DDSI.28.22 • 1:55 • Paul McCartney is away meeting Ken Mansfield
On The Road To Marrakesh
Recording • DDSI.28.23 • 3:51 • Paul McCartney is away meeting Ken Mansfield
On The Road To Marrakesh
Recording • DDSI.28.24 • 2:54 • Paul McCartney is away meeting Ken Mansfield
Recording • DDSI.28.25 • 2:21
Recording • DDSI.28.26 • 3:56
Recording • DDSI.28.27 • 3:32
Written by Paul McCartney
Recording • DDSI.28.28 • 2:57
Performed by : Paul McCartney
Recording • DDSI.28.29 • 5:02
Recording • DDSI.28.30 • 0:37
Recording • DDSI.28.31 • 2:49
Recording • DDSI.28.32 • 6:21
Recording • DDSI.28.33 • 0:49
Recording • DDSI.28.34 • 2:39
Recording • DDSI.28.35 • 2:44
Recording • DDSI.28.36 • 0:40
Recording • DDSI.28.37 • 4:03
Recording • DDSI.28.38 • 5:25
Recording • DDSI.28.39 • 0:59
Recording • DDSI.28.40 • 2:42
Film Included in Peter Jackson's film "The Beatles: Get Back", 2021
Recording • DDSI.28.41 • 0:16
Written by Paul McCartney
Recording • DDSI.28.42 • 0:52
Recording • DDSI.28.43 • 4:25 • The coda of the take was used on the single version of "Get Back"
AlbumOfficially released on Get Back / Don't Let Me Down (UK - Mono)
Recording • DDSI.28.44 • 2:06
Recording • DDSI.28.45 • 3:45
AlbumOfficially released on Get Back / Don't Let Me Down (UK - Mono)
Recording • DDSI.28.46 • 4:09
Recording • DDSI.28.47 • 3:01
Recording • DDSI.28.48 • 3:45
Recording • DDSI.28.49 • 1:33
Recording • DDSI.28.50 • 4:48
Recording • DDSI.28.51 • 4:07
Recording • DDSI.28.52 • 1:35
Recording • DDSI.28.53 • 3:18
Recording • DDSI.28.54 • 2:27
Written by George Harrison
Recording • DDSI.28.55 • 9:47
Film Included in Peter Jackson's film "The Beatles: Get Back", 2021
Written by George Harrison
Recording • DDSI.28.56 • 4:31
Written by George Harrison
Recording • DDSI.28.57 • 3:58
Written by George Harrison
Recording • DDSI.28.58 • 2:52
Written by George Harrison
Recording • DDSI.28.59 • 2:48
Written by George Harrison
Recording • DDSI.28.60 • 16:41
Written by George Harrison
Recording • DDSI.28.61 • 5:03
Improvisation
Recording • DDSI.28.62 • 3:11
Written by George Harrison
Recording • DDSI.28.63 • 2:19
Recording • DDSI.28.64 • 3:52
Performed by : Ringo Starr • John Lennon • Billy Preston
Film Included in Peter Jackson's film "The Beatles: Get Back", 2021
Recording • DDSI.28.65 • 5:54
Performed by : Ringo Starr • John Lennon • Billy Preston
"Unless He Has A Song"
Recording • DDSI.28.66 • 3:51
Performed by : Ringo Starr • John Lennon • Billy Preston
Sticks And Stones
Recording • DDSI.28.67 • 2:33
Performed by : Ringo Starr • John Lennon • Billy Preston
Written by George Harrison
Recording • DDSI.28.68 • 0:52 • It was the first time George Harrison played the song during the "Get Back" sessions. The version released on the "Let It Be (50th anniversary boxset)" was compiled with segments and dialogues recorded within the NAGRA Rolls 541 and 542, including about 35 minutes of rehearsals for this song.
Film Included in Peter Jackson's film "The Beatles: Get Back", 2021
AlbumOfficially released on Let It Be (50th anniversary boxset)
Written by George Harrison
Recording • DDSI.28.69 • 3:27
Written by George Harrison
Recording • DDSI.28.70 • 15:33
Written by George Harrison
Recording • DDSI.28.71 • 4:19
Written by George Harrison
Recording • DDSI.28.72 • 9:15
Recording • DDSI.28.73 • 3:13
Recording • DDSI.28.74 • 1:28
Recording • DDSI.28.75 • 2:06
Recording • DDSI.28.76 • 1:19
Bo Diddley
Recording • DDSI.28.77 • 2:20
Performed by : John Lennon
Recording • DDSI.28.78 • 2:38
Recording • DDSI.28.79 • 4:07
Recording • DDSI.28.80 • 4:33
Recording • DDSI.28.81 • 2:12
Recording • DDSI.28.82 • 3:53
Written by Paul McCartney
Recording • DDSI.28.83 • 9:21 • 1:13 of this take was released on "Anthology 3"
AlbumOfficially released on Anthology 3
Written by George Harrison
Recording • DDSI.28.84 • 1:00
Written by George Harrison
Recording • DDSI.28.85 • 1:54
Written by George Harrison
Recording • DDSI.28.86 • 4:30
Written by George Harrison
Recording • DDSI.28.87 • 5:06
Written by George Harrison
Recording • DDSI.28.88 • 2:19
Recording • DDSI.28.89 • 1:36
Film Included in Peter Jackson's film "The Beatles: Get Back", 2021
Positively 4th Street
Recording • DDSI.28.90 • 0:08
Performed by : George Harrison
Positively 4th Street
Recording • DDSI.28.91 • 1:51
Performed by : George Harrison
Recording • DDSI.28.92 • 14:21
Recording • DDSI.28.93 • 9:07
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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ivan • 4 years ago
Possible setlist for this day:
Shazam (Duane Eddy)
‘The Long And Winding Road’
‘I’ve Got A Feeling’ (17 versions)
Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 (Bob Dylan)
‘The Inner Light’
Blue Yodel No. 1 (T For Texas) (Jimmie Rodgers)
Tea For Two Cha-Cha (Tommy Dorsey)
‘Dig It’
‘Child Of Nature’ (Lennon; two versions)
‘Dig A Pony’ (12 versions)
‘Get Back’ (seven versions)
‘Love Me Do’
‘Teddy Boy’ (McCartney; two versions)
‘Don’t Let Me Down’ (four versions)
‘One After 909’ (four versions)
