Twenty years after John Lennon penned “Get Back,” as part of his White Album album, his theme for the 1973 song came to mind as a way to put the Beatles’ disappearance in their proper perspective. Lennon was called on to create a new album to appease the record company, but before he could embark on the album’s production, he was killed, and his surviving Beatles did not produce the album for him. They planned to record a compilation of classic songs, but Lennon insisted that he, as the Beatles, step in to compose the songs. Lennon’s influence and input came to a head in “Get Back,” however, and the song gained notoriety.
According to drummer Ringo Starr, it was Lennon who talked him into listening to this particular song. “John had written the song, and then he wanted to come in and talk about why he was playing it in that way, and why he had done it on that track, and the first thing he’d say is that it should be heard in the center of the song, so that’s why we ended up doing that,” Starr said.