The Beatles’ Contentious Final No. 1 Hit Was Almost a Tom Jones Single

Before the Beatles released what would become their final No. 1 hit as a band in May 1970, the highly contentious track was almost a single for Tom Jones. On the advice of his record company, Jones opted not to record the track so as not to delay the release of a different song he already had in the words, “Without Love.” It was a decision Jones would later come to regret.

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But to be fair, the Beatles didn’t have that great of a time with it, either.

How The Beatles’ Last No. 1 Hit Almost Went To Tom Jones

Although they certainly ran in different musical circles as a baritone crooner and four-piece rock band, respectively, Tom Jones and the Beatles were both musical contemporaries and fellow Brits. In a 2013 interview with Wales Online, Jones recalled running into Beatles bassist and songwriter Paul McCartney at a club called Scotts of St. James in London. “We were in there one night, so I said to him, ‘When are you going to write me a song, then, Paul?’ He said, ‘Aye, I will then,’” Jones said.

It didn’t take long for McCartney to send his new composition, “The Long and Winding Road,” to Jones’ home. Although Jones was eager to record the song, trouble arose when he told his record label about the Beatle’s requisites. According to Jones, McCartney only offered the crooner the song if he agreed to release it as a single right away. While Jones was willing to do so, his record label advised against it, citing Jones’ upcoming single, “Without Love,” which they had already spent a great deal of time promoting.

“The timing was terrible,” Jones lamented. “[The record label] said it would take a lot of time, and it was impractical, so I ended up not doing it. I was kicking myself. I knew it was a strong song.”

The Fab Four Struggled Over The Song In Different Ways

With “The Long and Winding Road” out of the running for Tom Jones and back in Paul McCartney’s hands, the Beatles began working out their own arrangement of the track during their tumultuous Twickenham Film Studios sessions that made up the majority of the 2021 Get Back documentary. Around this time, the Beatles were at their most contentious and fast approaching their final breakup. Although the song would eventually make it as a B-side to their final record, Let It Be, the journey from rehearsal to recording to release was a dramatic one.

The Beatles recorded a rough mix for “The Long and Winding Road” in January 1969. Over one year later, in April 1970, John Lennon and George Harrison had the band’s manager, Allen Klein, send the audio to Phil Spector for further development. Spector added significant overdubs to the track without the knowledge or approval of McCartney, who had already estranged himself from the group over his disdain for Klein. McCartney’s outrage over the new mixes was just one of many catalysts that led to the Beatles’ highly public breakup, which they finalized one month before Let It Be came out.

Despite the tensions surrounding the song’s production and release, it performed remarkably well in the charts (with the band breakup undoubtedly increasing public intrigue around the track). The Beatles’ “Long and Winding Road” would be the band’s last No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, leaving the possibility of it being a Tom Jones single as a distant memory.

Photo by Jan Olofsson/Redferns