TL;DR:
- Phil Spector was proud of The Beatles’ “The Long and Winding Road.”
- He said the song was similar to the band’s story.
- “The Long and Winding Road” hit No. 1 in the United States but didn’t chart in the United Kingdom.
Phil Spector produced The Beatles‘ “The Long and Winding Road.” Spector said the song connected to The Beatles’ lives. Notably, Paul McCartney was not a fan of Spector’s work on the song.
Phil Spector said The Beatles’ ‘The Long and Winding Road’ was a good way for the band ‘to go out’
Spector is known for his work with The Beatles and John Lennon and George Harrison during their solo careers. In the 2003 book Phil Spector: Out of His Head, Spector said critics trashed his work on “The Long and Winding Road.” They found it too sentimental but he was proud of the song.
“And in many respects, it ended the Beatle Era really good, because ‘The Long and Winding Road’ is a good way for The Beatles to go out, you know what I mean?” he said. “It all made sense … ‘The Long and Winding Road’… it was sort of what they’d lived through.”
The Beatles gave Phil Spector freedom to do what he wanted with the song and Paul McCartney didn’t like the final track
Spector discussed his role in crafting the song. “It was a typical Paul song, that’s the way I heard it and that’s the way I did it, and they gave me freedom to do what I wanted,” he said. Paul wasn’t a big fan of the song.
Notably, Paul refused to be more involved in the track’s production. “As far as I’m concerned, George and John and Ringo have just as much say as Paul does, and Paul was asked a hundred times if he wanted to become more involved in it, and he said ‘No,’” Spector said. On the other hand, John Lennon praised “The Long and Winding Road” and the album Let It Be as a whole, though he deemed the title track “a bit fruity.”
‘The Long and Winding Road’ was a hit in the United States but not in the United Kingdom
“The Long and Winding Road” became a huge hit. It was paired with “For You Blue” as a double A-side single. The songs reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks. They stayed on the chart for 10 weeks in total.
“The Long and Winding Road” and “For You Blue” appeared on the album Let It Be. Let It Be topped the Billboard 200 for four weeks. The album remained on the chart for 79 weeks altogether.
The Official Charts Company says “The Long and Winding Road” and “For You Blue” never charted in the United Kingdom. On the other hand, Let It Be reached No. 1 for three weeks. It remained on the chart for 53 weeks in total.
“The Long and Winding Road” became a huge hit and Spector felt it aligned with The Beatles’ story.