The Beatles Get Back to Abbey Road

In January 1969, the Beatles abandoned the familiar confines of EMI Studios on Abbey Road by rehearsing at Twickenham Film Studios and recording an album worth of songs in the basement and on the roof of Apple’s Sevile Row headquarters. Their next session was held on February 22 at Trident Studios. During the next few months, the Beatles held recording sessions at Abbey Road and Olympic Sound Studios, with three different producers, Glyn Johns, George Martin and Chris Thomas, alternating at the helm.

After this erratic start to the year, the group decided it was time to get back to where they once belonged. That July, the Beatles returned to Abbey Road, where seven years earlier they had their first recording session with EMI and producer George Martin. During the next few months, the Beatles and Martin recaptured the magic and camaraderie that at times was missing during the January sessions. The resulting album, Abbey Road, was issued on September 26 in the U.K. and on October 1 in America, quickly topping the charts in both countries. Although the group’s January 1969 recordings would eventually be issued on the Let It Be album in May 1970, Abbey Road would be the last album recorded by the Beatles.

This latest book in Bruce Spizer’s Beatles album series covers all of the records released by the Beatles in 1969 from the “Get Back” single to Abbey Road.