- Before the year was out, we
proved you could put a man on the
moon. You could gather half a million
people together in the name of peace
and music. But you could not, for love
nor money, keep together four young
men who were outgrowing the band
that had changed the culture forever.
The last year of the 1960s was as busy
for the Beatles as it was tumultuous.
Within 12 months they would record
two albums: Abbey Road, celebrating
the 50th anniversary of its U.S. release
in October, and Let It Be, with an
accompanying film that documented
both the fighting and the genius
present in the studio. Individually John
Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr
and George Harrison pursued separate
lives. Two of them married; one became
a father; all of them readied their
post-Beatles solo debuts. But before
they went their own ways, they began
the year with an electrifying live set—
the band’s first since 1966—on a
London rooftop. This special edition of
People marks a half century since the
Beatles’ last days. With a collection of
intimate photos, it also celebrates the
50th anniversary of the Woodstock
Music and Art Fair, a happening that
might never have occurred had the
Beatles not sowed the decade’s great
musical flowering. Revisiting footage
of the roof concert for a recent CBS
interview, McCartney said
appreciatively, “Good little band.”
brent
(Brent)
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