'The Long And Winding Road' Ends Thursday

The long and winding road of the Beatles catalog is coming to an end with the release of what is being billed as the last Beatles song.

On Nov. 2 at 10 a.m. EDT, the double A-side single “Now and Then”/”Love Me Do” will be released on streaming platforms. Its physical releases – vinyl variants, cassette – arrive Nov. 3.

Leading to the unveiling, a 12-minute movie written and directed by British filmmaker Oliver Murray about the making of the song will drop at 3:30 p.m. EDT Nov. 1 on The Beatles’ YouTube channel, according to USAToday.

“Now and Then,” which originated in the late 1970s from a vocal and piano demo by John Lennon recorded at his home in the Dakota Building in New York, is part of a reissue package of The Beatles’ “1962-1966” (aka “The Red Album”) and “1967-1970” (aka “The Blue Album”). The UK single version of “Love Me Do” – the band’s inaugural single in 1962 – is the first track on the 2023 edition of “1962-1966,” while the newly crafted “Now and Then” will appear on “1967-1970.” Both collections’ tracklists have been expanded as well as mixed in stereo and Dolby Atmos. The “Red” and “Blue” releases will also be available as 4-CD and 6-LP sets.

In June, Paul McCartney ignited a debate when he told the BBC that artificial intelligence was used to extract Lennon’s voice from the original recording and separate it from the piano on the demo

The discovery was made by Peter Jackson during his making of 2021’s “The Beatles: Get Back.” Jackson was "able to extricate John's voice from a ropey little bit of cassette and a piano," McCartney told BBC radio. "He could separate them with AI; he'd tell the machine 'That’s a voice, this is a guitar, lose the guitar.’"

Some backlash followed McCartney's announcement over the use of AI on the song, with fans thinking the technology was used to mimic Lennon's voice. But on an episode of the Rolling Stone Music Now podcast, Starr clarified the track does not use artificially created vocals of Lennon, who was killed in 1980, and the band would "never" use AI to fake Lennon's voice.

He added vocals from lead guitarist Harrison, recorded before he died in 2001, will also appear on the farewell record. "It's the final track you'll ever hear with the four lads. And that's a fact," Starr said at the time.