A phenomenally successful group, the Beatles outsold just about every other musician in history, touring to sold-out stadiums all over the world. They have still sold the most albums out of anybody in the United States, and their music continues to be in high demand. The Beatles stayed together for more than a decade until ultimately creative differences proved too much to bear, and the four Beatles went their separate ways.

On this day, January 4th, 1970, the Beatles completed their final song – Let It Be, a single from the album of the same name. Paul McCartney wrote the lyrics, which he said came from a dream he had about his mother, but also gave credit for the inspiration to John Lennon. The master recording of the song was nearly finished by the time John Lennon stepped in to record a second guitar solo to complement an earlier one by George Harrison. It was their first single since Lennon left the group, and the last one before McCartney, too, would announce his decision to leave.

There were two guitar solos on the completed master tape, leading some fans to mistakenly believe two different versions of the song exist. Actually, the source for both the versions is the master tape completed on that day. Subsequent releases favored either the Harrison solo or the Lennon one, but never both together.