3 Memorable Moments From The Beatles' Famed Rooftop Concert in 1969
On January 30, 1969, for just shy of 45 minutes, The Beatles delivered what would be the final public performance of their decade-long career. A bittersweet but ultimately very cool moment, the Fab Four took to the roof of Apple Corps headquarters in London, with session musician (and often-labeled Fifth Beatle) Billy Preston in tow. The group performed nine songs. However, they only performed different takes of five new songs that would be found on their final record, Let It Be. The Beatles’ rooftop concert also featured a rendition of “God Save The Queen”.
This is one of The Beatles’ best songs of all time, and one of John Lennon’s most impassioned performances. Interestingly enough, “Don’t Let Me Down” would go through quite a few changes before this first public performance of the song. In the weeks leading up to the concert, “Don’t Let Me Down” went through a number of changes before it was completed. Lennon also admittedly struggled with the high notes found in the chorus of the song. Lennon also hoped that the recording of that first take during The Beatles’ rooftop concert would be good enough for the album. Sadly, Lennon forgot the lyrics in the last verse, which led to a second take later.
If you were there or remember this performance, it was around this time that the cops started to show up to shut down the impromptu concert.
Source: Em Casalena/americansongwriter.com
