Before Christmas in 1969, Paul begins noodling around in the four-track studio recently installed at his home on Cavendish Avenue. He records forty-three seconds of an acoustic-guitar ditty called “The Lovely Linda,” then a slightly more fleshed out song called “That Would Be Something,” its lyrics consisting solely of the title phrase and the line “To meet you in the fallin’ rain momma.” Aside from the Apple and EMI engineers he consults, his sessions are secret, but the solo work lifts his spirits, which had been crushed by John’s breakup announcement.

On February 11, John and Yoko perform their new song on the Top of the Pops program, propelling it toward a top-five ranking in both the UK and America. It’s the first time one of the Beatles has performed on the program without the others.

Meanwhile, Paul continues creating thirteen songs to fill a homemade eponymous album, scheduled for release on April 17.

The rivalry between the two songwriting partners is ferociously rekindled.

*  *  *

The supposedly back-to-basics songs that the Beatles recorded in the studio and performed on the rooftop, as well as the film documenting the making of this album, have yet to come out. All four Beatles have approval over who will polish the songs to create an album they’ll call Let It Be. John and George propose Phil Spector, and Paul and Ringo agree.

But Paul is horrified at what Spector does to his songs.

When Spector begins work, on March 23, the George Martin–produced version of “Let It Be” (the Beatles’ last single with their longtime producer) is already number 2 on the UK charts.

“Let It Be” is Paul’s song, as is “The Long and Winding Road.” Spector remixes both. When Paul hears “harps, horns, an orchestra, and women’s choir” on “The Long and Winding Road,” he’s first astonished, then enraged that he wasn’t consulted. “I would never have female voices on a Beatles record,” he tells journalist Ray Connolly.

Things are further complicated when McCartney, Paul’s solo album, is pushed from April to June so that Let It Be can come out first.

John and George write Paul a letter (addressed “From Us to You”), which Ringo delivers on their behalf. It reads, “We’re sorry it turned out like this—it’s nothing personal. Love John & George. Hare Krishna.”

But Paul is still livid and takes it all very personally. In an effort to appease him, Ringo persuades the others to reinstate McCartney’s April 17 on-sale date.

On April 10, Apple issues a press release touting the health of the band: “The Beatles are alive and well and the Beat goes on, the Beat goes on.”

The release of McCartney is a week away, but Paul can’t face promoting the album with a press conference. He instead has Apple publicist Peter Brown (who’d orchestrated John and Yoko’s wedding plans) craft a questionnaire.