This Was The Last Song Recorded By All Four Beatles

In the history of popular music, no band has had their catalog picked apart to the extent that the Beatles have. Every aspect of every song has been analyzed. From what key the song was written in, to what it was written on, to who wrote it, to where it was recorded. Sometimes, the minutiae of different takes or demos of the same song have been obsessed over. This is just another example of why the Beatles are thought to be the most popular and successful band ever.

According to Far Out, the first song the Beatles ever recorded is a more difficult question to answer than one would think. They booked studio time as early as 1958 while still known as the Quarryman, but their first song recorded by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr was "Love Me Do."

If there was a first song recorded by the Beatles, then there had to be a final song, but once again, that's not as cut-and-dry of a question as you'd think. It would seem that there are two solid answers, but which one is correct depends on whether you consider the last song recorded by the Beatles to be the last song recorded by all four members or the final song recorded chronologically, but only featured three of them.

In August 1969 the Beatles were working on putting the finishing touches on their final studio album, "Abbey Road," according to Mental Floss. On August 20, all four Beatles were in the recording studio together for the final time. On that day, they were working on overdubs for a song penned by John Lennon called "I Want You (She's So Heavy)." This became the last song that every member was in the studio to record.

Two days later, the Beatles reconvened, only this time it was for a photo shoot. Ethan Russell who took the final official photos of the band said that it was clear, that most of the band was at their wit's end. "George Harrison was miserable from frame one to frame 500," Russell told The Guardian. "He was so over it. I don't think he did anything but scowl for three hours."

It was clear from the photos that the end of the Beatles was close."Paul was trying to hold it together," he adds. "He had his arms crossed like, 'Come on, lads!' But the concept of the Beatles just didn't sync with who they were anymore. I could have asked them to smile, but it would have been totally fake and I'm glad I didn't. This marriage had come to an end — hand boy does it show."

About one month later, Lennon, McCartney, Harrison, and Starr got together one last time. The meeting was at Apple Studios, but it ended poorly with John Lennon quitting the band.

John Lennon's departure from the band was not public knowledge, but there was still work to be done for the remaining Beatles. This included putting the finishing touches on the soundtrack for the documentary film "Let It Be," which chronicled the last days of the band. In 1970, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr were in the studio to finish up Harrison's song "I, Me, Mine." It's somewhat ironic, because, according to Mental Floss, one of the major points of contention in their final meeting concerned Harrison wanting a bigger role within the band, which had always been headlined by the Lennon-McCartney, much to his chagrin.

Harrison introduced the song to the others in early 1969 when the band was working on songs and being filmed for the documentary "Let It Be." He can be seen in that documentary and the 2021 documentary "Get Back" telling his bandmates about the song. 'I, Me, Mine', it's called," Harrison said. "I don't care if you don't want it." The song was a thinly-veiled shot at some of the egos prevalent within the band at the time.

Lennon knew that his now former bandmates were in the studio, but he had no interest in joining them (per Nights with Alice Cooper). Instead, he was on vacation in Denmark with his wife Yoko Ono, while Harrison, McCartney, and Starr finished the Beatle's final track on January 3, 1970.