There really aren’t any Beatles songs that have truly been forgotten. The Fab Four were the biggest band of the century, and each of their albums, singles, and lost tracks have been picked apart and studied by fans and music historians alike. But there are a couple of Beatles tracks out there that have been forgotten by casual listeners, and we think they deserve to be revisited!
1. “Julia”
Out of The Beatles’ entire discography, “Julia” from the 1968 White Album is the only song that John Lennon recorded entirely by himself. It’s a lovely little piece, too. It features just Lennon’s voice and a simple guitar melody.
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“Julia” is a little bit of a heartbreaker. Lennon wrote it about his mother Julia, who passed away a decade before the song was recorded. It’s surprising that this Beatles song isn’t as revered as some of the band’s other heartbreaking ballads like “Blackbird” or “The Long And Winding Road”.
2. “Blue Jay Way”
“Blue Jay Way” is one of several songs from George Harrison’s obsession with Indian classical music and instrumentation. Harrison wrote the track while living on Blue Jay Way in Los Angeles.
“Blue Jay Way” is a wonderful addition to the 1967 album Magical Mystery Tour, and it deserves a bit more love for how magical it sounds alone. It’s surprising to know that Harrison was jetlagged and sleep-deprived when he wrote it.
3. “For You Blue”
Another great Harrison contribution, “For You Blue” is one of the best songs on The Beatles’ final album, Let It Be. It’s a bluesy, delightful song with a sense of positivity and optimism. There’s a little Chuck Berry Easter egg in this one: Harrison shouts “Go, Johnny go!” at John Lennon during the song, followed by some laughter in the background.
4. “Junk”
This track is one of the most forgotten Beatles tracks of all time. It’s toward the bottom of Spotify’s list of most-streamed Beatles tracks, after all. And its name isn’t doing it any favors.
“Junk” is technically a Beatles song and technically also not a Beatles song. Paul McCartney released it on his debut solo album in 1970. However, the song was written when he was still with The Beatles, notably during the Fab Four’s Transcendental Meditation stint in India back in 1968.
McCartney even recorded the song at Harrison’s home as a demo. It got the axe in favor of other songs for the White Album and Abbey Road. In a way, we get it; it’s just a song about random items at a junkyard. But when it comes to forgotten Beatles tracks, this one has a folk energy to it that makes it worth revisiting today.
Photo by Michael Ochs Archives
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