Exciting bursts of nostalgia have hit Beatlemaniacs far and wide this past year. Not just in the release of The Beatles’ last song “Now And Then,” which debuted on streaming services, but their exciting Grammy win this past Sunday. Though two of the four members of the Beatles are no longer with us, cutting-edge technology enabled clean recordings from John Lennon’s demos for “Now and Then” and stellar visuals for their music video, “I’m Only Sleeping.“

Regarding their final song, “Now and Then,” which was released in November, the demos had been recorded around forty years ago, right before the Beatles began to go their separate ways. Though AI  is a highly contentious debate, especially among musicians and artists, it brought something special to Beatles fans. By extracting John Lennon’s vocals with machine learning-assisted audio restoration, the song was brought to fruition the way it was originally intended. And thanks to the talents of the remaining Beatles, Paul and Ringo, guitar tracks and recording techniques such as “overdubbing” helped “Now and Then” to emphasize the “now.”

And in exciting news, The Beatles’ 2024 Grammy win for Best Music Video was an uplifting and nostalgic moment. Though the group disbanded around fifty years ago, their legacy and impact on the music industry today are still apparent. Both McCartney and Starr continue to engage regularly in appearances and performances, notably with Paul McCartney’s worldwide Got Back Tour (2022-2023). The music video for the Revolver album track, “I’m Only Sleeping,” led primarily by artist Em Cooper, was a beautiful medley of moving oil paintings.

This reminiscent and sentimental blast from the past was surely a labor of love for McCartney and Starr. And, hopefully, “Now and Then” will receive an award for the 2025 Grammys. It is an amazing feat to have such a long-lasting impact on the ever-changing music industry, but if any group can do it, it’s the Fab Four.

Resources