The Beatles Just Released a New Song

More than 40 years after John Lennon was killed and more than 20 years after George Harrison died, the Beatles have released a new song. Listen to "Now and Then" here. You can also see a short film about how it was made here. The song comes from a demo cassette of songs, written by Lennon, that Yoko Ono gave to Paul McCartney in 1994, per the Guardian. At the time, McCartney, Ringo Starr, and Harrison used the demo to put out two songs featuring Lennon's voice, but they struggled to make a go of "Now and Then."

"On John's demo tape, the piano was a little hard to hear," McCartney says in the short film about the new song. "And in those days, of course, we didn't have the technology to do the separation … we kind of ran out of steam a bit, and time. 'Now and Then' just languished in a cupboard." He and and Starr used new tech, including artificial intelligence, to better isolate and hear Lennon's voice on the demo. "It was the closest we'll ever come to having him back in the room," says Starr in the film. The AP notes the new song, pitched as the band's final one ever, will be released on a double-sided record with "Love Me Do," their debut single from 1962, on the other side. (More Beatles stories.)