Although by this time the world knew The Beatles were no more, the dream was kept alive for a short while longer with the release of a final single.
‘The Long And Winding Road’ was released with George Harrison’s ‘For You Blue’, as Apple 2832.
1.2m copies of the single were sold in the first two days, and it became The Beatles’ 20th and final number one single in America. It entered the charts on 23 May 1970; on 13 June it reached the top spot, where it remained for two weeks. The Billboard chart listed the single as a double a-side.
Paul McCartney may have hated Phil Spector’s production work on The Long And Winding Road, but for many record buyers it was a perfect epitaph for the group who had revolutionised popular music throughout the 1960s.
Also on this day...
- 2011: Paul McCartney live: Estadio Nacional, Santiago
- 2003: Paul McCartney live: Piazza del Colosseo, Rome
- 1997: Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band live: State Theatre, Minneapolis
- 1973: Wings live: Hippodrome, Bristol
- 1969: George Harrison performs on a Jack Bruce session
- 1968: Lennon and McCartney promote Apple in New York
- 1967: Recording, mixing: Baby You’re A Rich Man
- 1965: Filming: Help!
- 1964: US EP release: Four By The Beatles
- 1963: The Beatles live: Imperial Ballroom, Nelson
- 1962: The Beatles live: Star-Club, Hamburg
- 1961: The Beatles live: Top Ten Club, Hamburg
Want more? Visit the Beatles history section.
This article says “The Billboard chart listed the single as a double a-side”. In turn, in the article about the song For You Blue it is indicated that: “For You Blue was the b-side to the US single The Long And Winding Road, released on 11 May 1970”. I don’t quite understand what it was like with this single? Why did For You Blue enter the US charts if it was actually just side B of the single? Was it (For You Blue) the # 1 hit in the US or not?
https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1970-06-13