One After 909: Introduction
To begin with, “One After 909” is a very early Beatles’ song. Indeed, the exact date of the song eludes everyone. In fact, it could even date back as early as 1957. Be that as it may, they did record it originally in 1963, with some of these early takes being on their 1995 album, Anthology 1.
However, most information on this dedicated page refers to the live “Let It Be” album version. Just to point out that the remix version on the “Let It Be… Naked” album has the John Lennon “Danny Boy” ad-lib taken off.
In Detail
- Publisher: Northern Songs
- Release Date: May 8, 1970 (UK), May 18, 1970 (US)
- Recorded: March 5, 1963 (Anthology tapes), January 30, 1969 (Rooftop concert)
- Genre: Roots rock
- Track Duration: 2:52 (Original ‘Let It Be’ album)
- Record Label: Apple
- Songwriters: Lennon-McCartney
- Producer: Phil Spector
- Engineer: Glyn Johns
Performers And Instruments**
- John Lennon: vocals and rhythm guitar
- Paul McCartney: backing vocals, also the bass guitar
- George Harrison: lead guitar
- Ringo Starr: drums
Other Performer
Billy Preston: electric piano
**Let It Be album
Where To Find “One After 909”
You can still buy this song on the following albums:
**There are two recordings that you could call the “originals.” So, read the information carefully in this article if you are selective with the recordings you wish to purchase.
Rooftop Performance
The last public performance by The Beatles incorporated this song on January 30, 1969. The impromptu concert took place on the roof of the headquarters of the band’s multimedia corporation, Apple Corps, at 3 Savile Row in London.
Writing One After 909
There is a slight conflict as to who actually wrote the song, but it’s probably mostly John Lennon’s work.
“That was something I wrote when I was about seventeen. I lived at 9, Newcastle Road. I was born on the ninth of October. It’s just a number that follows me around, but, numerologically, apparently I’m a number six or a three or something, but it’s all part of nine.”
John Lennon
Playboy Magazine (Interview, 1980)
“It’s not a great song but it’s a great favourite of mine because it has great memories for me of John and I trying to write a bluesy freight-train song. There were a lot of those songs at the time, like Midnight Special, Freight Train, Rock Island Line, so this was the One After 909; she didn’t get the 909, she got the one after it! It was a tribute to British Rail, actually. No, at the time we weren’t thinking British, it was much more the Super Chief from Omaha.”
Paul McCartney
Many Years From Now, Barry Miles
Recording Studio
The recording of “One After 909” took place on January 30, 1969, on the Apple Corps’ rooftop. However, they were jamming to the song for a few days leading up to the impromptu concert. This same version appears in the “Let It Be” film, of course.
As per usual with The Beatles, the rooftop concert also had some humour thrown in the mix as well. After the song finishes, we hear John Lennon burst into a variant on the opening line of “Danny Boy.” We also get to hear this on the album, too.
The version of “One After 909,” which appears on the 1995 album Anthology 1, is their recording of the song from March 1963. In fact, there are a couple of takes on this album.
Due to The Beatles breaking up in 1970, Phil Spector took on the job of helping to produce the “Let It Be” album. Both Paul McCartney and George Martin were not happy with this arrangement. However, over 30 years later, the original album needed an overhaul because of this. This is how “Let It Be… Naked” came about.
During 2003, Paul McCartney set about repairing the “Let It Be” album to what he thought it should sound like. Although they didn’t alter this song too much during the remastering, they did cut out John Lennon’s “Danny Boy” ad-lib at the end of the song. Because of this, the track fades out quickly.
Take A Listen
Finally, listen to the song and leave your opinions below.
