The new and final Beatles' song, "Now and Then," features the contributions of four musicians who passed away before the song was completed and released. Along with John Lennon and George Harrison, who wrote and recorded the original demo in 1978, the song also includes the viola playing of Caroline Buckman, who died of breast cancer in March at the age of 48.
Buckman was one of the session musicians who participated in a secret recording session with Paul McCartney at Capitol Studios in Hollywood in April 2022. She did not know that she was playing on a Beatles' song, as the sheet music indicated the title was "Give and Take."
Buckman was a veteran viola player who had worked with artists such as Neil Young, Brian Wilson, and R.E.M., as well as on TV shows and movies such as Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Star Wars, Star Trek, and Mission: Impossible. She was "super-thrilled" to play with McCartney, according to her boyfriend, Mitch Brown. She even asked McCartney to autograph the sheet music, which she had never done before with any colleague.
Her mother, Erika Buckman, says that her daughter would have been "delirious" with joy if she had known that she was playing on a Beatles' song. She adds that it is "sad" that she never found out.
[Source: Classic Hits Today]