In the years between their breakup and the deaths of two members, many fans tried to get the Beatles to reunite. Though they did so in spurts, two members getting into the studio from time to time for a jam session, we never got to see a full-scale Beatles reunion. But, that doesn’t mean there weren’t close calls…
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As the story goes, in 1976, Saturday Night Live‘s Lorne Michaels delivered an on-air plea for the Beatles to get back together on the sketch comedy show–which was in its first season at the time. Though nothing ultimately came of it, it was a near miss. Paul McCartney and John Lennon happened to be watching the program together that night. Find out why they didn’t answer Michaels’ call, below.
On This Day in 1976, Paul McCartney and John Lennon Dashed Hopes of a Beatles Reunion, Spurred On By SNL’s Lorne Michaels
One of the most tender and well-known stories about McCartney and Lennon post-Beatles is their night hanging out together at the Dakota—a meeting that proved to be the final between the two bandmates. McCartney was visiting Lennon at his New York apartment when Michaels made his offer for $3000.
“All you have to do is sing three Beatles songs,” Michaels said at the time. “‘She Loves You,’ yeah, yeah, yeah – that’s $1,000 right there. You know the words. It’ll be easy. Like I said, this is made out to ‘The Beatles.’ You divide it anyway you want. If you want to give Ringo [Starr] less, that’s up to you. I’d rather not get involved.”
Despite the producer’s offer being somewhat in jest, he did catch the attention of the Fab Four’s songwriting duo. McCartney and Lennon nearly went down to the studio. If they hadn’t already resigned to have an “off day,” we might have been gifted a history-making moment.
“Paul was visiting us at our place in the Dakota,” Lennon once explained. “We were watching it and almost went down to the studio, just as a gag. We nearly got into a cab, but we were actually too tired. He and I were just sitting there watching the show, and we went, ‘Ha ha, wouldn’t it be funny if we went down? But we didn’t.”
“John said, ‘We should go down, just you and me,’” McCartney added to that point. “‘There’s only two of us so we’ll take half the money.’ And for a second. But It would have been work, and we were having a night off, so we elected not to go. It was a nice idea – we nearly did it.”
It hurts the chest a little to consider what could’ve been. Though fans didn’t get the reunion they so clearly craved, it’s comforting to know that McCartney and Lennon reunited in their own way.
George Harrison Tries to Cash In
Though the foursome didn’t collect their $3000, George Harrison did try to snag the check when he performed on the show a few months later.
Harrison and Michaels delivered a tongue-in-cheek cold opening, wherein the former Beatle attempts to cash in the check for his appearance. We catch them mid-conversation, as Michaels tries to let Harrison down easy.
“I thought that you would understand, you know, that it was $3,000 for four people, that it would just be $750 for each of you,” Michaels can be seen saying in the clip below. “I mean, as far as I’m concerned, I mean, you could have the full $3,000…”
In the end, Harrison commiserated with an “extra $250” for saying the show’s iconic opening line. Revisit this throwback SNL moment below.
(Photo by Northcliffe Collection/ANL/Shutterstock)
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