The Beatles, ‘One After 909′

The Beatles' famous 1969 rooftop performance of 'One After 909' is, we think appropriately, the subject of the 910th story we've posted since launching just over three months ago. (We're kinda big on numbers around here, as our Iron Maiden 'Number of the Beast' story from a month or so ago may have already demonstrated.)

The track was one of four new songs the Beatles performed January 30, 1969 on the roof of their Apple Records headquarters, in what turned out to be their final public performance. It was meant to be the triumphant conclusion of a film which documented the Beatles at work in the studio creating the album that was at first going to be called 'Get Back' but wound up being titled 'Let it Be.'

The project was conceived by Paul McCartney as a return to both simpler songcraft and live concert performances for the group, who had spent much of the preceding years working on ever-more complicated, innovatively produced studio recordings.

Unfortunately, what it also did was bring the group's growing personal and creative differences to the forefront, and although they later regrouped to record the astonishing 'Abbey Road' album, the 'Let it Be' / 'Get Back' sessions clearly played a large role in the breakup of the Beatles.

Still, some wonderful songs were made during this time, which did in fact find the band re-connecting with their original musical inspirations to some degree. Perhaps the best example of this was the track 'One After 909,' which Lennon and McCartney reportedly wrote as far back as 1957, attempted to record in 1963, and finally saw through to completion during these sessions.

'One After 909' is a joyful throwback to the sound of the Beatles' earliest records, and despite what looks like very chilly weather, the group seems to be having a good time performing it during this video. The lyrics are a fairly straight-ahead tale of a young man running to catch the train carrying his girl, with the slight twist of him getting the train number wrong keeping things from being too simple.

The video also shows the delighted fans crowding the street below, and the cops politely knocking on the front door trying to put an end to all this unannounced and permit-less fun. They succeeded in that goal soon enough, and that was the last we ever saw of the Beatles performing together in concert.