Paul McCartney Used AI To Create ‘Last’ Song By The Beatles

According to Paul McCartney, “the last Beatles record” will be released later this year. The legendary musician also revealed the unnamed song was created by using artificial intelligence.

McCartney discussed the process of using AI to develop the new track in an interview with the BBC. While McCartney did not reveal exact details about the song or its title, the BBC noted speculation that it is “Now And Then.”

Several years ago, McCartney received a tape labeled “For Paul” from John Lennon’s widow Yoko Ono that contained several lo-fi demos of songs Lennon was working on shortly before his untimely death in 1980. With the help of producer Jeff Lynne, two of the songs on the demo were used as the basis for “new” The Beatles songs, “Free As A Bird” which was released in 1995, and “Real Love,” which came out in 1996.

The tape also included Lennon’s demo of “Now And Then,” but due in part to the poor recording quality, it was not released with the new songs that were issued in the mid-1990s. As noted by the BBC, in 2012, McCartney was discussing his work with Lynne and “Now And Then” came up, about which he stated, “That one’s still lingering around. So I’m going to nick in with Jeff and do it. Finish it, one of these days.”

Technology, like the AI used for the recent Peter Jackson-directed Beatles documentary Get Back, was used by McCartney to create what he called “the last Beatles record.” The same AI technology was used to allow McCartney to virtually duet in concert with Lennon’s 1969 rooftop performance of “I’ve Got A Feeling” as part of McCartney’s 2022 Got Back Tour.

Regarding the pending “new” Beatles song, Sir Paul stated:

“He [Jackson] was able to extricate John’s voice from a ropey little bit of cassette. We had John’s voice and a piano and he could separate them with AI. They tell the machine, ‘That’s the voice. This is a guitar. Lose the guitar.’ So when we came to make what will be the last Beatles’ record, it was a demo that John had [and] we were able to take John’s voice and get it pure through this AI. Then we can mix the record, as you would normally do. So it gives you some sort of leeway.”