When The Beatles finally parted ways on April 10th, 1970, they left youngsters in tears across the West. Though the band had endured a couple of years of acrimony, it remained mostly behind closed doors, meaning the news was a shock for many fans. For The Fab Four and their close friends and family, the announcement was an inevitability and something of a relief. Finally, each member could pursue their passions as an individual without the other three passing judgment and inhibiting creative progress.
When John Lennon and Paul McCartney first met in the late 1950s, they began to write songs together and would later note almost telepathic chemistry. As lovers finish one another’s sentences, Lennon and McCartney finish each other’s songwriting ideas. The pair established The Beatles as hitmakers in the early-to-mid-60s, after which they embraced more immersive lyrical and compositional styles.
In the psychedelic era, Lennon and McCartney’s respective songwriting efforts became increasingly discernable as each established a solid identity in their craft. McCartney was usually associated with songs on the more quaint end of the spectrum, while Lennon embraced Beat Generation oddities with notable zeal. All the while, George Harrison had begun to build up an impressive songwriting catalogue as he contributed classics like ‘Taxman’, ‘Within You Without You’ and ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’ to studio albums.
With such talent bursting the seams, The Beatles began to bicker. As we saw in Peter Jackson’s documentary The Beatles: Get Back, much of the bitterness existed between Harrison and McCartney. The former bemoaned a stingy allowance on each album for his songwriting attempts, while the latter stepped into Brian Epstein’s shoes as the band’s de facto manager.
During The Beatles’ final sessions together, during which they wrote and recorded music for Abbey Road and Let It Be, Lennon, McCartney and Harrison all contributed songs that the other members vetoed. For example, ‘Isn’t It A Pity’, ‘Wah Wah’, ‘All Things Must Pass’ and ‘Run of the Mill’ were all rejected during this period and later achieved success on Harrison’s expansive solo album All Things Must Pass.
It was, indeed, a pity that the band had to split up, but it was undoubtedly for the best. Though many of the rejected songwriting ideas were promising, it seemed that egotism, envy and spite got in the way. McCartney, often seen as the despot in the final months, wasn’t immune when it came to vetoes, either. Lennon, Harrison and Ringo Starr wrapped ‘Another Day’ up in red tape when he brought it to them in 1969, forcing it to the shelf for a couple of years.
