25 Beatles Songs That Took the Longest to Finish
The Beatles understandably reached back to unused material from their time together while completing early solo projects. With so much musical talent, some very good stuff got left on the cutting-room floor.
Songs that the Beatles took the longest to finish include four entries from Paul McCartney's first LP after their split in 1970. There are three more from George Harrison's and one from John Lennon's, as well.
But the Beatles had long made a habit of resurrecting unreleased material, with Lennon and McCartney including songs they'd started in their teens on band recordings. They also turned to legacy material when they found themselves struggling creatively, first because overwork and then later amid growing interpersonal issues.
After their breakup, the group's three main songwriters continued to dig around in the vaults. None of them was more determined to complete older unissued tracks than Harrison. He was still releasing songs he'd started but never finished with the Beatles into the '80s.
In compiling this countdown of 25 Beatles songs that took the longest to finish, we focused as much as possible on starting with their first run throughs of the material during band sessions. (Recollections can be rather murky about when the writing of many tracks took place.)
The results ended up touching on every period of their careers, from the mop-top and psychedelic eras through the group's dissolution and into their celebrated solo catalogs:
No. 25. "Hold Me Tight"
From: The Beatles, With The Beatles (1963)
Origin Story: McCartney started on this song sometime in 1961, with Lennon helping complete things in September 1962
Finally Released: November 1963
Time Elapsed: 14 months (more than two years)
No. 24. "Every Night"
From: Paul McCartney, McCartney (1970)
Origin Story: One of several McCartney songs premiered during the sessions that produced Let It Be, beginning on Jan. 21, 1969
Finally Released: April 1970
Time Elapsed: 15 months (more than a year)
No. 23. "Hot as Sun/Glasses"
From: Paul McCartney, McCartney (1970)
Source: ultimateclassicrock.com/Nick DeRiso
