Get Back sessions - January 2, 1969 - Day 1 (Jan 02, 1969)

Part of

The "Get Back / Let It Be" sessions

January 1969

Timeline More from year 1969

Studio:: Twickenham Film Studios, London, UK

Recording "Lontano Dagli Occhi"

Get Back sessions - January 3, 1969 - Day 2

Master album

Let It Be

By The Beatles

Some songs from this session appear on:

A/B Road Complete Get Back Sessions - Jan 2nd, 1969

By The Beatles

Let It Be (50th anniversary boxset)

By The Beatles

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From 10 am to 7 pm

Day one of the filming began pleasantly enough, although there was some grumbling about the cold, cavernous soundstage, ideal for filming but lousy for providing decent acoustics. However, the Beatles had several excellent new compositions to sink their teeth into, and they put in a good day of work on John’s “Don’t Let Me Down” (similar to his most recent demo with the addition of a chorus), Paul’s “I’ve Got a Feeling” (with John’s “Everybody Had a Hard Year” section now incorporated), and Paul’s “Two of Us.”

Winn, John C.. That Magic Feeling: 2 (The Beatles’ Recorded Legacy) (p. 242). Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed. Kindle Edition.

From “Drugs, Divorce and a Slipping Image – The Complete, Unauthorized Story of The Beatles’ ‘Get Back’ Sessions, by Doug Sulpy:

The “Get Back” sessions begin on a large, open soundstage at Twickenham Film Studios, London. At this point The Beatles view these sessions as rehearsals for a television concert, and not as preparation for a new album. Consequently, their performances are both unfocused and highly informal.

The main topic of discussion on this first day is the embryonic plan for a live performance (or series of performances). Paul, perhaps thinking of the promotional films for “Hey Jude” and “Revolution” which had been filmed at Twickenham Studios several months earlier, prefers to have the show take place there, although he muses at one point that they might hold it outdoors. John feels that rehearsing in the middle of a monstrous soundstage doesn’t make much sense, and suggests that a smaller room would be more appropriate. George seems lukewarm to the entire project, and complains about the acoustics in the large, open space. Despite these discussions, there is no attempt to make any firm decisions regarding the date or venue of the show.

The songs “Don’t Let Me Down,” “Two Of us” and “l’ve Got A Feeling” were all introduced and rehearsed during this session, and these songs dominate the day’s work. Other original compositions included “Sun King” (later recorded for “Abbey Road”) “On The Road To Marrakesh,” (recorded With a different set of lyrics as “Jealous Guy” on John’s 1971 album “Imagine”) and early versions of”Dig A Pony,” “Let It Down” and “All Things Must Pass” (the latter two recorded by George for his 1970 album “All Things Must Pass”).

Drugs, Divorce and a Slipping Image - The Complete, Unauthorized Story of The Beatles' 'Get Back' Sessions

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We started Let It Be in January 1969 at Twickenham Studios, under the working title Get Back. Michael Lindsay-Hogg was the director. The idea was that you’d see The Beatles rehearsing, jamming, getting their act together and then finally performing somewhere in a big end-of-show concert. We would show how the whole process worked. I remember I had an idea for the final scene which would be a massive tracking shot, forever and ever, and then we’d be in the concert.
The original idea was to go on an ocean liner and get away from the world,- you would see us rehearsing and then you’d finally see the pay-off. But we ended up in Twickenham. I think it was a safer situation for the director and everybody. Nobody was that keen on going on an ocean liner anyway. It was getting a bit fraught between us at that point, because we’d been together a long time and cracks were beginning to appear.
Paul McCartney – from the Beatles Anthology book

From 2 January 1969: Get Back/Let It Be sessions: day one (beatlesbible.com):

One of the darkest periods of The Beatles’ recording career was the Get Back enterprise – the group’s attempt to return to their roots, which saw them initially rehearse and record songs for a television special and live performance.
Motivation was low within the group. Paul McCartney aside, there was little enthusiasm for a mooted live appearance. The group were still exhausted after the lengthy sessions for the White Album, and the presence of film cameras during the rehearsals created a further strain.
Although not all the January 1969 sessions were tense, The Beatles were often at odds with one another. George Harrison found McCartney bossy and domineering, John Lennon was addicted to heroin and unwilling to be parted from Yoko Ono, and Ringo Starr was largely subdued throughout the month.
George Harrison walked out of the group on 10 January 1969, and the plans for the television special were abandoned. He agreed to rejoin The Beatles only if they moved from Twickenham Film Studios to their new recording studio in the basement of their Apple HQ in London’s Savile Row. This they did from 21 January, in the process dropping plans for a live concert.
Because the audio needed to be good enough for potential use in a film or television programme, it was recorded on Nagra reel-to-reel ¼” mono tape machines. Two of these were used, one for camera A and one for camera B. They could capture only 16 minutes on a tape, and so the two machines were started at different intervals.
As a result, the Get Back sessions were extensively bootlegged, providing a fascinating insight into The Beatles’ working practices. A vast number of songs were performed by The Beatles during January 1969, much of which never saw light of day, though works from Abbey Road and their solo albums did emerge, in addition to the Let It Be songs.
They also jammed a great deal; sometimes at length and without much artistic merit. The better attempts were included in the Let It Be film. The Beatles, whether out of boredom or desperation, played tunes ranging from nursery rhymes (‘Baa Baa Black Sheep’) and rock ‘n’ roll classics (‘All Shook Up’) to pre-‘Love Me Do’ original compositions and improvised songs (the unreleased ‘Suzy’s Parlour’).
The Get Back rehearsals followed a Monday to Friday schedule, and each day started between 11am and 1pm. On this first day the group arrived at Twickenham at 11am, apart from Paul McCartney who was delayed on public transport, and arrived at 12.30pm.
This first day officially began at around 9.30am, however, with director Michael Lindsay-Hogg filming as Mal Evans and Kevin Harrington set up The Beatles’ equipment onto stage one before the group began playing. The shots would eventually be used for the opening sequence of the Let It Be film.
The Beatles spent much of their time working on three songs: ‘Don’t Let Me Down’, ‘I’ve Got A Feeling’, and ‘Two Of Us’.

Denis O’Dell, the film’s producer “I am producing the film for Apple. I am shooting film of The Beatles writing songs, rehearsing them and recording them, as well as casual dialogue and action in the studios.”
Derek Taylor “It’s never been done before. There’s never been a film of The Beatles actually at work. It’ll all be there, the works, the breaks, everything. When the shooting is finished, and the thing has been edited, it will be offered for sale to world TV companies.”
George “After the White Album, I worked on an album with Jackie Lomax and I spent a long time in the States and I had a good time working with all these different musicians and different people. Then, I hung out at Woodstock for thanksgiving and, you know, I felt really good at the time. I got back to England for Christmas and then, on January first [sic], we were to start on the thing, which turned into Let It Be. And straight away again, it was just weird vibes. You know, I found I was starting to be able to enjoy being a musician, but the moment I got back with The Beatles, it was just too difficult. There were just too many limitations based upon our being together for so long. Everybody was, sort of, pigeonholed. It was frustrating.”
Badman, Keith. The Beatles: Off the Record . Music Sales. Kindle Edition.

Last updated on October 16, 2021

Songs recorded

Don't Let Me Down

Recording • Jan.02 - D1-08 - Don't Let Me Down 2.01 - No McCartney involvement as he arrived later during the day

Album Released on bootleg A/B Road Complete Get Back Sessions - Jan 2nd, 1969

All Things Must Pass

Recording • Jan.02 - D1-12 - All Things Must Pass 2.02 - No McCartney involvement as he arrived later during the day

Album Released on bootleg A/B Road Complete Get Back Sessions - Jan 2nd, 1969

Don't Let Me Down

Recording • Jan.02 - D1-14 - Don't Let Me Down 2.03 - No McCartney involvement as he arrived later during the day

Album Released on bootleg A/B Road Complete Get Back Sessions - Jan 2nd, 1969

Dig A Pony

Recording • Jan.02 - D1-15 - Dig A Pony 2.04 - No McCartney involvement as he arrived later during the day

Album Released on bootleg A/B Road Complete Get Back Sessions - Jan 2nd, 1969

"Everybody Got Song"

Recording • Jan.02 - D1-16 - Everybody Got Song 2.05 - No McCartney involvement as he arrived later during the day

Album Released on bootleg A/B Road Complete Get Back Sessions - Jan 2nd, 1969

Don't Let Me Down

Recording • Jan.02 - D1-17 - Don't Let Me Down 2.06 - No McCartney involvement as he arrived later during the day

Album Released on bootleg A/B Road Complete Get Back Sessions - Jan 2nd, 1969

Let It Down

Recording • Jan.02 - D1-18 - Let It Down 2.07 - No McCartney involvement as he arrived later during the day

Album Released on bootleg A/B Road Complete Get Back Sessions - Jan 2nd, 1969

Let It Down

Recording • Jan.02 - D1-19 - Let It Down 2.08 - No McCartney involvement as he arrived later during the day

Album Released on bootleg A/B Road Complete Get Back Sessions - Jan 2nd, 1969

Improvisation

Recording • Jan.02 - D1-20 - Improvisation 2.09 - No McCartney involvement as he arrived later during the day

Album Released on bootleg A/B Road Complete Get Back Sessions - Jan 2nd, 1969

10.

Brown Eyed Handsome Man

Recording • Jan.02 - D1-21 - Brown-eyed Handsome Man 2.10 - No McCartney involvement as he arrived later during the day

Album Released on bootleg A/B Road Complete Get Back Sessions - Jan 2nd, 1969

11.

I've Got A Feeling

Recording • Jan.02 - D1-22 - I've Got A Feeling 2.11 - No McCartney involvement as he arrived later during the day

Album Released on bootleg A/B Road Complete Get Back Sessions - Jan 2nd, 1969

12.

"A Case Of The Blues"

Recording • Jan.02 - D1-23 - A Case Of The Blues 2.12 - No McCartney involvement as he arrived later during the day

Album Released on bootleg A/B Road Complete Get Back Sessions - Jan 2nd, 1969

13.

Improvisation

Recording • Jan.02 - D1-24 - Improvisation 2.13 - No McCartney involvement as he arrived later during the day

Album Released on bootleg A/B Road Complete Get Back Sessions - Jan 2nd, 1969

14.

Improvisation

Recording • Jan.02 - D1-25 - Improvisation 2.13 - No McCartney involvement as he arrived later during the day

Album Released on bootleg A/B Road Complete Get Back Sessions - Jan 2nd, 1969

15.

"On The Road To Marrakesh"

Recording • Jan.02 - D1-26 - On The Road To Marrakesh 2.15 - First version of Lennon's "A Child Of Nature" - No McCartney involvement as he arrived later during the day

Album Released on bootleg A/B Road Complete Get Back Sessions - Jan 2nd, 1969

16.

Revolution

Recording • Jan.02 - D1-27 - Revolution 2.16 - No McCartney involvement as he arrived later during the day

Album Released on bootleg A/B Road Complete Get Back Sessions - Jan 2nd, 1969

17.

I Shall Be Released

Recording • Jan.02 - D1-28 - I Shall Be Released 2.17 - Bob Dylan's song - No McCartney involvement as he arrived later during the day

Album Released on bootleg A/B Road Complete Get Back Sessions - Jan 2nd, 1969

18.

Get Back sessions - January 2, 1969 - Day 1

Part of

Master album

Some songs from this session appear on:

About

Songs recorded

Drugs, Divorce and a Slipping Image - The Complete, Unauthorized Story of The Beatles' 'Get Back' Sessions

The Beatles Bible

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