Beatles fans are eagerly waiting for the release of the band's final song, "Now and Then", which is a collaboration between the surviving members Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, and the late John Lennon and George Harrison. The song is based on a demo recorded by Lennon in the mid-1970s, which was given to McCartney by Lennon's widow Yoko Ono.
Before the song premieres THIS morning at 9am on iHeartRadio and BIG 95 KBGO, fans can watch a 12-minute documentary on the making of the song, which will debut on the band's YouTube channel on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. The documentary features interviews with McCartney, Starr, director Peter Jackson, and Lennon's son Sean Lennon, who share their insights and emotions about the song.
On Friday at 9am (Central), the song's video will also premiere on YouTube. The video is directed by Jackson, who also directed the band's 2022 documentary Get Back, which chronicled their final studio sessions in 1969. Jackson and his team used their expertise to restore and enhance the quality of Lennon's demo, and to blend it with the recordings made by McCartney and Starr in 2020, and Harrison's guitar tracks from 1995.
The video is a short film that showcases the band's history, legacy and personality, using rare and unseen footage from various sources. Jackson reveals that he initially declined to direct the video, due to the lack of suitable footage, but he changed his mind after he received more material from Apple Records, Sean and Olivia Harrison, and Pete Best, the band's original drummer.
Jackson says he let the song guide him in creating the video, and he wanted to evoke some emotion in the viewers. He says he consulted with Dhani Harrison, George's son, for the ending of the video, which moved him to tears. He also says he tried to capture the band's humor and irreverence in the middle section of the video, using some outtakes from their 1995 recording sessions.
"Now and Then" is expected to be a historic and emotional farewell from The Beatles, who have influenced generations of music lovers with their songs. It is also a tribute to Lennon and Harrison, who are no longer with us, but whose voices and spirits live on in their music.
[Source: Classic Hits Today]