The Day The Beatles Let it Be

For the new album, Paul McCartney's idea was to leave behind all of the Sgt. Pepper-style studio tricks and make music that was stripped-down and relatively straightforward to play live. The plan was that the new album would be recorded as a live performance, and not in the studio. At this point, the band hadn't toured in two and a half years and McCartney liked the idea of going back on the road. John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr were less keen on that notion, so the plan became for The Beatles to play a single concert � perhaps in London, or on an ocean liner or in a Roman amphitheater in Africa. Rehearsals began on January 2, 1969 with no concrete plans in place.