Editing The Beatles (section)

==== ''Abbey Road'', ''Let It Be'' and separation ====
{{See also|Break-up of the Beatles}}
Although ''[[Let It Be (album)|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".{{sfn|Harry|2000b|p=539}} 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]].{{sfn|Harry|2000b|p=539}}{{sfn|Lewisohn|1992|p=306–307}} 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."{{sfn|Harry|2000b|p=539}} Lennon described the largely impromptu sessions as "hell&nbsp;... the most miserable&nbsp;... on Earth", and Harrison, "the low of all-time".{{sfn|Lewisohn|1992|p=310}} 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.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1992|p=307}} He also demanded they cease work at [[Twickenham Film Studios]], where the sessions had begun, and relocate to the newly finished [[Apple Studios (recording studio)|Apple Studio]]. His bandmates agreed and it was decided to salvage the footage shot for the TV production for use in a feature film.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1992|pp=306–307, 309}}

[[File:Billy Preston perforning in 1971.jpg|alt=American musician Billy Preston in 1971|thumb|left|The American soul musician [[Billy Preston]] (pictured in 1971) was, for a short time, considered a [[fifth Beatle]] during the ''Get Back'' sessions.]]

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.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1992|pp=309–314}} Preston received label billing on the "[[Get Back]]" single – the only musician ever to receive that acknowledgment on an official Beatles release.{{sfn|Harry|2000a|pp=451, 660}} 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 Libyan desert and the [[Colosseum]].{{sfn|Harry|2000b|p=539}} Ultimately, what would be their [[The Beatles' rooftop concert|final live performance]] was filmed on the rooftop of the Apple Corps building at 3 [[Savile Row]], London, on 30 January 1969.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1992|pp=307–308, 312}} 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".{{sfn|Lewisohn|1992|pp=309, 316–323}}

[[File:3 Savile Row.jpg|thumb|upright=.75|alt=A terrace house with four floors and an attic. It is red brick, with a slate roof, and the ground floor rendered in imitation of stone and painted white. Each upper floor has four sash windows, divided into small panes. The door, with a canopy over it, occupies the place of the second window from the left on the ground floor.|Apple Corps building at 3 Savile Row, site of the [[The Beatles' rooftop concert|''Let It Be'' rooftop concert]]]]

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]];{{sfn|Harry|2000a|p=612}} McCartney wanted [[Lee Eastman|Lee]] and John Eastman – father and brother, respectively, of [[Linda McCartney|Linda Eastman]],{{sfn|Doggett|2011|pp=70, 132}} whom McCartney married on 12 March.{{sfn|Miles|2001|p=336}} 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.{{sfn|Doggett|2011|pp=71–72}}{{sfn|Goodman|2015|pp=164–166}} Further conflict ensued, however, and financial opportunities were lost.{{sfn|Harry|2000a|p=612}} On 8 May, Klein was named sole manager of the band,{{sfn|Lewisohn|1992|p=322}} 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.{{sfn|Goodman|2015|pp=174–175}}

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".{{sfn|Gould|2007|p=560}} The primary recording sessions for ''Abbey Road'' began on 2 July.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1992|p=324}} 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.{{sfn|Gould|2007|p=563}} The eventual format, with individually composed songs on the first side and the second consisting largely of a [[List of musical medleys|medley]], was McCartney's suggested compromise.{{sfn|Gould|2007|p=563}} Emerick noted that the replacement of the studio's [[Vacuum tube|valve]]-based 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.{{sfn|Emerick|Massey|2006|pp=277–278}}

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.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=191}} 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.<ref name="8sep69">{{cite web |last=Williams |first=Richard |author-link=Richard Williams (journalist) |title=This tape rewrites everything we knew about the Beatles |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/sep/11/the-beatles-break-up-mark-lewisohn-abbey-road-hornsey-road |url-status=live |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=11 September 2019 |access-date=12 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190911235132/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/sep/11/the-beatles-break-up-mark-lewisohn-abbey-road-hornsey-road |archive-date=11 September 2019}}</ref> 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.{{sfn|Norman|2008|pp=622–624}}

Released on 26 September, ''Abbey Road'' sold four&nbsp;million copies within three months and topped the UK charts for a total of seventeen weeks.{{sfn|Gould|2007|p=593}} Its second track, the ballad "[[Something (Beatles song)|Something]]", was issued as a single – the only Harrison composition that appeared as a Beatles A-side.{{sfn|Miles|1997|p=553}} ''Abbey Road'' received mixed reviews, although the medley met with general acclaim.{{sfn|Gould|2007|p=593}} Unterberger considers it "a fitting swan song for the group", containing "some of the greatest harmonies to be heard on any rock record".<ref>{{cite web |last=Unterberger |first=Richie |title=''Abbey Road'' – The Beatles |publisher=[[AllMusic]] |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/abbey-road-mw0000192938 |access-date=21 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120529232715/https://www.allmusic.com/album/abbey-road-mw0000192938 |archive-date=29 May 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Musicologist]] and author [[Ian MacDonald]] calls the album "erratic and often hollow", despite the "semblance of unity and coherence" offered by the medley.{{sfn|MacDonald|2005|p=367}} Martin singled it out as his favourite Beatles album; Lennon said it was "competent" but had "no life in it".{{sfn|Emerick|Massey|2006|pp=277–278}}

For the still unfinished ''Get Back'' album, one last song, Harrison's "[[I Me Mine]]", was recorded on 3 January 1970. Lennon, in Denmark at the time, did not participate.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1992|p=342}} In March, rejecting the work Johns had done on the project, now retitled ''Let It Be'', Klein gave the session tapes to American producer [[Phil Spector]], who had recently produced Lennon's solo single "[[Instant Karma!]]"{{sfn|Lewisohn|1992|pp=342–343}} In addition to remixing the material, Spector edited, spliced and overdubbed several of the recordings that had been intended as "live". McCartney was unhappy with the producer's approach and particularly dissatisfied with the lavish orchestration on "[[The Long and Winding Road]]", which involved a fourteen-voice choir and 36-piece instrumental ensemble.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1992|p=349}} McCartney's demands that the alterations to the song be reverted were ignored,{{sfn|Harry|2000a|p=682}} and he publicly announced his departure from the band on 10 April, a week before the release of his first [[McCartney (album)|self-titled solo album]].{{sfn|Lewisohn|1992|p=349}}{{sfn|Spitz|2005|p=853}}

On 8 May 1970, ''Let It Be'' was released. Its accompanying single, "The Long and Winding Road", was expected to be the Beatles' last; it was released in the US, but not in the UK.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1992|pp=350–351}} The ''[[Let It Be (1970 film)|Let It Be]]'' documentary film followed later that month and would win the 1970 Academy Award for [[Academy Award for Best Original Score#1970s|Best Original Song Score]].{{sfn|Southall|Perry|2006|p=96}} ''[[Sunday Telegraph]]'' critic [[Penelope Gilliatt]] called it "a very bad film and a touching one&nbsp;... about the breaking apart of this reassuring, geometrically perfect, once apparently ageless family of siblings".{{sfn|Gould|2007|p=600}} Several reviewers stated that some of the performances in the film sounded better than their analogous album tracks.{{sfn|Gould|2007|p=601}} Describing ''Let It Be'' as the "only Beatles album to occasion negative, even hostile reviews", Unterberger calls it "on the whole underrated"; he singles out "some good moments of straight hard rock in '[[I've Got a Feeling]]' and '[[Dig a Pony]]'" and praises "[[Let It Be (song)|Let It Be]]", "Get Back" and "the folky '[[Two of Us (Beatles song)|Two of Us]]', with John and Paul harmonising together".<ref>{{cite web |last=Unterberger |first=Richie |title=''Let It Be'' – The Beatles |publisher=AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/let-it-be-mw0000192939 |access-date=21 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130806194702/http://www.allmusic.com/album/let-it-be-mw0000192939 |archive-date=6 August 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>

McCartney filed suit for the dissolution of the Beatles' contractual partnership on 31 December 1970.{{sfn|Harry|2002|p=139}} Legal disputes continued long after their break-up and the dissolution was not formalised until 29 December 1974,{{sfn|Harry|2002|p=150}} when Lennon signed the paperwork terminating the partnership while on vacation with his family at [[Walt Disney World]] Resort in Florida.{{sfn|Pang|2008|p=118}}