5 Songs the Beatles Almost Didn't Release

The Beatles’ catalogue is stacked with hit after hit. But unsurprisingly, not every song they wrote was instantly beloved by the band. Some were rejected from the albums they were originally intended to be on—or kept in the vault for years, only for one of the band members to release them as solo singles. Here are five songs that the Beatles delayed releasing for one reason or another, but ultimately still decided to share with the world.

“What’s The New Mary Jane”

This song is one of John Lennon’s more avant-garde and polarizing efforts. It was written in early 1968 while the Beatles were on retreat in Rishikesh, India, and was recorded during sessions for The White Album later that year. However, the song didn’t make it onto the album. Lennon later intended to release it as a Plastic Ono Band single, but it was sidelined again when the other Beatles objected to Lennon releasing a Beatles track under his own band’s name. Finally, the track—which features George Harrison, Beatles assistant Mal Evans, and Yoko Ono—was released on the Beatles album Anthology 3 in 1996. 

“Not Guilty”

“Not Guilty” is another track that stemmed from the Beatles’ adventures in India. “Actually, I wrote that in 1968. It was after we got back from Rishikesh in the Himalayas on the Maharishi trip, and it was for the White Album,” George Harrison said of the song. The Beatles recorded over 100 takes of the track at Abbey Road, but ultimately the song was shelved. “We recorded it but we didn’t get it down right or something. Then I forgot all about it until a year ago, when I found this old demo I’d made in the Sixties,” Harrison continued. 

The song's lyrics are often interpreted as reflecting Harrison’s frustrations at being undervalued by the band, as well as his possible disillusionment with the Maharishi, the guru the Beatles had spent time with in India. Harrison eventually released a different version on his self-titled 1979 album, and the original recording was later featured on Anthology 3.

“If You’ve Got Trouble”

This song was supposed to be Ringo Starr’s shining moment on the album Help!, but it wound up gathering dust for years after it was recorded. Recorded in 1965, it was written by Lennon-McCartney specifically for Starr. The band laid down the tune rather quickly, reportedly amid some jokes at Ringo’s expense. “John and Paul played awfully, but Ringo was very good,” producer George Martin recalled. 

The band later ended up discarding the track, and selected the tune “Act Naturally” in its stead. It was ultimately released on 1996’s Anthology 2. “We’ve just come across that, and it’s the most weird song. I’ve no recollection of ever recording it,” George Harrison said of the tune, per the book The Beatles Anthology. “It’s got stupid words and is the naffest song. No wonder it didn’t make it onto anything.”

“Something”

The George Harrison track “Something” is a pristine love ballad that remains a central part of the Beatles’ catalogue. It may be a bit of a stretch to say the song was almost never released, but Harrison did indeed wait a while before sharing it due to how simple the song was. “I just put it on ice for six months because I thought, ‘That’s too easy,’” Harrison said of the tune. Eventually, of course, it was released on Abbey Road and became a mega-hit.

“Now and Then”

The song “Now and Then” was released in 2023, and is often referred to as the “last Beatles song.” It was written by John Lennon around 1977 but was never completed, and Lennon was shot in 1980. The song was later considered for The Beatles Anthology, but recording difficulties caused the band to shelve the track until it was resurrected decades later. Eventually, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr completed the song by weaving in some guitar George Harrison had recorded in the 1990s, and using artificial intelligence to isolate Lennon’s vocals.

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