Paul McCartney's 1969 • Albums, Songs, and Life Events

1969 highlights

Abbey Road released

Yellow Submarine released

Year 1968

Year 1970

Articles

New years eve party at Ringo’s

Dec 31, 1969

Rooftop “Get Back” video clip broadcast in color in the UK

Dec 25, 1969

Paul and Linda McCartney on holiday in Antigua

Mid-December 1969

The Beatles reject offers to perform live

December 1969

Paul and Linda McCartney retreat in Scotland

October 22 to December 1969

The “Get Back” documentary turns into the “Let It Be” film

Late October 1969

Paul and Linda attend the opening night of Mary Hopkin’s cabaret season in London

Oct 13, 1969

The “Paul Is Dead” conspiracy theory is growing

October 1969

Paul McCartney receives a cablegram to form supergroup with Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis and Tony Williams

Late October 1969

Paul and Linda McCartney at the UK premiere of “Midnight Cowboy”

Sep 25, 1969

US radio WKBW broadcasts the “Get Back” LP

Sep 20, 1969

John Lennon tells the other Beatles he’s leaving the band

Sep 20, 1969

Maclen Ltd launches legal proceedings against Northern Songs Ltd

Sep 16, 1969

Paul McCartney, John Lennon and George Harrison discuss the future of The Beatles

Sep 08, 1969

The “Get Back” LP rumours – September to December 1969

September - December 1969

ATV finalizes its acquisition of Northern Songs

September to November 1969

Birth of Mary McCartney

Aug 28, 1969

The Beatles’ last photo session

Aug 22, 1969

Apple Corps’ first annual general meeting

Aug 21, 1969

Adagrose Ltd becomes McCartney Productions Ltd

Aug 21, 1969

The “Abbey Road” photo session

Aug 08, 1969

The “Get Back” LP rumours – August 1969

August 1969

The Beatles are shown a rough cut of the “Let It Be” film

Jul 20, 1969

Paul and Linda McCartney at the UK premiere of “Alfred The Great”

Jul 14, 1969

Paul McCartney attends The Rolling Stones’ concert in Hyde Park

Jul 05, 1969

The “Get Back” LP rumours – June to July 1969

June - July 1969

“Hey Jude” gets an Ivor Novello award

May 22, 1969

Paul and Linda McCartney on holiday in Provence and Corfu

May 15 - June 17, 1969

Photo shoot of the “Get Back” LP album

May 13, 1969

John Lennon signs contract to officially appoint Allen Klein as The Beatles’ business manager

May 08, 1969

Paul McCartney joins party to celebrate the completion of “The Magic Christian” film

May 04, 1969

“Get Back” promo film broadcast in the UK

Apr 17, 1969

“The Ballad of John and Yoko” photo session

April 1969

Beatles’ royalties

Apr 12, 1969

“Voyage of the Fritz” photo session

Apr 09, 1969

“Get Back” premiered on BBC Radio 1

Apr 06, 1969

The “Get Back” LP rumours – April to May 1969

April - May 1969

The Beatles and ATV fight for the control of Northern Songs

April - May 1969

Allen Klein becomes business manager of Apple

Mar 21, 1969

Paul and Linda McCartney spend three weeks in New York (and in Bahamas)

March 16 to early April, 1969

Paul McCartney marries Linda Eastman

Mar 12, 1969

Paul McCartney and Linda Eastman at the UK premiere of “Isadora”

Mar 04, 1969

Paul meets Princess Margaret on the set of “The Magic Christian”

Mar 04, 1969

Paul McCartney to write song for Noel Harrison

March 1969

The Beatles turn down 4m$ offer for four US concerts

March 1969

Dick James sells his Northern Songs shares to ATV

March 1969

The Beatles fight for NEMS / Nemperor

February 21 to August 1969

NEMS / Nemperor is sold to Triumph Investment Trust

January to February 17, 1969

Launch party for Mary Hopkin’s album “Post Card”

Feb 13, 1969

Adagrose Ltd is created

Feb 12, 1969

Allen Klein becomes The Beatles’ business manager and the Eastmans are appointed Apple’s general counsel

Feb 03, 1969

Allen Klein, John Eastman, and The Beatles discuss about NEMS

Feb 01, 1969

Allen Klein meets with The Beatles

Jan 28, 1969

Allen Klein meets with John Lennon

Jan 27, 1969

The Beatles test their new recording studio at 3 Savile Row

Jan 20, 1969

George Harrison rejoins The Beatles

Jan 15, 1969

The Beatles meet together to discuss their personal and business problems

Jan 12, 1969

First mentions in the press of the “Get Back / Let It Be” sessions

January - February 1969

Apple’s business problems become public knowledge

January 1969

Paul McCartney’s 1961 Höfner 500/1 bass goes missing

January 1969 ?

What happened for Paul in 1969

From Wikipedia, here is what happened to The Beatles in 1969:

Although Let It Be was the Beatles’ final album release, it was largely recorded before Abbey Road. The project’s impetus came from an idea Martin attributes to McCartney, who suggested they “record an album of new material and rehearse it, then perform it before a live audience for the very first time – on record and on film”. Originally intended for a one-hour television programme to be called Beatles at Work, in the event much of the album’s content came from studio work beginning in January 1969, many hours of which were captured on film by director Michael Lindsay-Hogg. Martin said that the project was “not at all a happy recording experience. It was a time when relations between the Beatles were at their lowest ebb.” Lennon described the largely impromptu sessions as “hell … the most miserable … on Earth”, and Harrison, “the low of all-time”. Irritated by McCartney and Lennon, Harrison walked out for five days. Upon returning, he threatened to leave the band unless they “abandon[ed] all talk of live performance” and instead focused on finishing a new album, initially titled Get Back, using songs recorded for the TV special. He also demanded they cease work at Twickenham Film Studios, where the sessions had begun, and relocate to the newly finished Apple Studio. His bandmates agreed, and it was decided to salvage the footage shot for the TV production for use in a feature film.
To alleviate tensions within the band and improve the quality of their live sound, Harrison invited keyboardist Billy Preston to participate in the last nine days of sessions. Preston received label billing on the “Get Back” single – the only musician ever to receive that acknowledgment on an official Beatles release. After the rehearsals, the band could not agree on a location to film a concert, rejecting several ideas, including a boat at sea, a lunatic asylum, the Tunisian desert, and the Colosseum. Ultimately, what would be their final live performance was filmed on the rooftop of the Apple Corps building at 3 Savile Row, London, on 30 January 1969. Five weeks later, engineer Glyn Johns, whom Lewisohn describes as Get Back‘s “uncredited producer”, began work assembling an album, given “free rein” as the band “all but washed their hands of the entire project”.
New strains developed between the band members regarding the appointment of a financial adviser, the need for which had become evident without Epstein to manage business affairs. Lennon, Harrison and Starr favoured Allen Klein, who had managed the Rolling Stones and Sam Cooke; McCartney wanted Lee and John Eastman – father and brother, respectively, of Linda Eastman, whom McCartney married on 12 March. Agreement could not be reached, so both Klein and the Eastmans were temporarily appointed: Klein as the Beatles’ business manager and the Eastmans as their lawyers. Further conflict ensued, however, and financial opportunities were lost. On 8 May, Klein was named sole manager of the band, the Eastmans having previously been dismissed as the Beatles’ lawyers. McCartney refused to sign the management contract with Klein, but he was out-voted by the other Beatles.
Martin stated that he was surprised when McCartney asked him to produce another album, as the Get Back sessions had been “a miserable experience” and he had “thought it was the end of the road for all of us”. The primary recording sessions for Abbey Road began on 2 July. Lennon, who rejected Martin’s proposed format of a “continuously moving piece of music”, wanted his and McCartney’s songs to occupy separate sides of the album. The eventual format, with individually composed songs on the first side and the second consisting largely of a medley, was McCartney’s suggested compromise. Emerick noted that the replacement of the studio’s valve mixing console with a transistorised one yielded a less punchy sound, leaving the group frustrated at the thinner tone and lack of impact and contributing to its “kinder, gentler” feel relative to their previous albums.
On 4 July, the first solo single by a Beatle was released: Lennon’s “Give Peace a Chance“, credited to the Plastic Ono Band. The completion and mixing of “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” on 20 August was the last occasion on which all four Beatles were together in the same studio. On 8 September, while Starr was in hospital, the other band members met to discuss recording a new album. They considered a different approach to songwriting by ending the Lennon–McCartney pretence and having four compositions apiece from Lennon, McCartney and Harrison, with two from Starr and a lead single around Christmas. On 20 September, Lennon announced his departure to the rest of the group but agreed to withhold a public announcement to avoid undermining sales of the forthcoming album.
Released on 26 September, Abbey Road sold four million copies within three months and topped the UK charts for a total of seventeen weeks. Its second track, the ballad “Something“, was issued as a single – the only Harrison composition that appeared as a Beatles A-side. Abbey Road received mixed reviews, although the medley met with general acclaim. Unterberger considers it “a fitting swan song for the group”, containing “some of the greatest harmonies to be heard on any rock record”. Musicologist and author Ian MacDonald calls the album “erratic and often hollow”, despite the “semblance of unity and coherence” offered by the medley. Martin singled it out as his favourite Beatles album; Lennon said it was “competent” but had “no life in it”.