Crissie-hyndes--cover-of-the-beatles-let-it-be

Chrissie Hynde's reverent, heartfelt cover of the Beatles' "Let It Be," which will appear on the upcoming, star-studded Paul McCartney tribute comp The Art of McCartney, is now streaming online. The recording finds the Pretenders frontwoman stretching her delicate voice across lush textures of piano, gospel backup vocals and, at its apex, a full rock band, complete with a bluesy guitar solo; at its most delicate, Hynde sings over a Beatlesesque acoustic guitar part. A behind-the-scenes video revealed that the singer specifically chose "Let It Be,"

which The Wall Street Journal premiered, as her contribution to the comp.

"'Let It Be' sounds like a hymn, and because it says 'mother Mary,' people assume it's a religious song, but it isn't," Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn said in a behind-the-scenes clip. "'Mother Mary' is Paul's mother Mary – his mother was Mary McCartney – and Paul was 26 when he wrote this. He was 14 when his mother died, so only 12 years earlier that she had died..... [In the song] he's in trouble, he's having a troubled moment, and his mother comes to him and says, 'Don't worry, son, everything will be all right. The answer will come. Let it be, let the answer be.'"