ing years have only burnished the album’s place
in pop history. Says Beatles biographer Mark
Hertsgaard: It showcases “the musical synergy
that propelled the group” from its start and
proved the Beatles were “still growing and
improving right up to the very end.” On the
album’s 17 tracks they gave legacy-making per-
formances. “It was a very happy record ,” producer
George Martin later said. “I guess it was happy
because everybody thought it was going to be the
last.” Lennon and Paul McCartney let friction
spark new incandescences, while Ringo Starr and
George Harrison gave the best efforts of their
Beatles careers. In the track fi ttingly titled “The
End,” all four create a musical moment that will
forever remind us why they are missed.THE BEATLES 1969 PEOPLE 57
GET BACK
The front of
the Abbey Road
album cover is
more famous
than this, the
posterior view.