Let it Be: Rolling Stone looks back 40 years at the Beatles' Final LP

The story behind Let It Be is almost as mythic as the Beatles themselves. The band originally intended to record it as a live-in-the-studio album and movie in 1969. But the ambitious undertaking left the Beatles so weary, they abandoned the project to make Abbey Road instead. Later, Phil Spector added oversweetened orchestral overdubs to many of the album's tracks — even though the record features some of the band's strongest rock songs ever (including "Get Back"). In 1970, the Beatles released the documentary film of the same name, which captured the group's iconic performance atop the Apple Studios building in January 1969. Perhaps due its controversial and detailed look at the Beatles' interpersonal problems, the film itself remains unavailable on DVD. More...