“Let It Be” by The Beatles

"Let It Be" came out as a Beatles single on 6 March 1970, and in a different mix it also became the title track of their album Let It Be. Paul McCartney wrote it and sings it, though the credit, as ever, reads Lennon–McCartney. It's a hymn in rock clothing, a slow, steadying gospel-pop ballad that sounds like it was built to be sung by a crowd with their eyes closed.

Which version you know depends on where you heard it. George Martin produced the single, keeping the guitar solo gentle and tucking the orchestra down low in the mix; Phil Spector's album version pushes the orchestra up front and lets a much rougher, more aggressive solo tear through the middle.

It made history in America before it even settled in, entering the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 6, the highest debut the chart had seen at that point, and it went on to spend two weeks at No. 1 that April. It was also the last Beatles single to appear before McCartney announced he was leaving, which lends its calm a certain sadness in hindsight.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.