1970 No. 1 Hit Rock Anthem Was Originally Written for Someone Else
By 1970, The Beatles were unraveling, with behind-the-scenes tensions pushing the iconic group toward its end. Paul McCartney wrote what would ultimately become their final No. 1 hit, though the track was never intended for the band in the first place.
While in the countryside of Scotland in 1968, McCartney was inspired to write the track "The Long and Winding Road" while staring out at the road stretching up into the hills of the remote Highlands. At the time, the band members were going through growing tensions that would eventually lead to their disbandment. The track has often been seen as a representation of McCartney's then-feelings and a look back at the band's history.
"The Long and Winding Road" was written as a piano-based ballad in January of 1969, and McCartney has publicly admitted that it was never intended for the band to perform. According to American Songwriter, the track was specifically made for Tom Jones under the condition that he would release it as his next single. He had to turn it down, seeing as his record label instead wanted to release the track "Without Love."
In another interview about the track, McCartney also revealed that he wrote the track with the intention of it being sung by someone like Ray Charles. It was created to be sung by mainstream balladeers, with a demo having also been sent to Cilia Black. Instead, the song ended up being recorded by the Beatles, withJohn Lennon and George Harrisonlending some of their 1969 recordings to producer Phil Spector in the hopes of saving their album, Let It Be.
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Spector ended up creating arrangements for the track that McCartney ended up hating and sought to have the English High Court dissolve the Beatles' legal partnership. "The Long and Winding Road" ended up releasing at part of their Let It Be album one month after McCartney announced the split of the Beatles.
The track ended up topping the Billboard Hot 100 charts in the No.1 spot for two weeks in June 1970. It was their second No. 1 hit of that year, and it also became their twentieth and final chart-topper as a band. The rock anthem has since become a favorite among fans and critics, with it being covered by other artists like Aretha Franklin and the very artists that McCartney intended the track for.
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This story was originally published April 19, 2026 at 8:22 AM.