Don't Let Me Down

CHART ACTION
UNITED KINGDOM: Released as a single April 11, 1969, as the B-side of "Get Back." The Long and Winding Road: An Intimate Guide to the Beatles

UNITED STATES: Released as a single May 5, 1969. It entered the Top 40 May 10, and spent three weeks there, climbing to No. 35. The Long and Winding Road: An Intimate Guide to the Beatles and Billboard

AUTHORSHIP Lennon (1.00)
McCARTNEY: "It was a very tense period: John was with Yoko and had escalated to heroin and all the accompanying paranoias and he was putting himself out on a limb. I think that as much as it excited and amused him, at the same time it secretly terrified him. So 'Don't Let Me Down' was a genuine plea, 'Don't let me down, please, whatever you do. I'm out on this limb, I know I'm doing all this stuff, just don't let me down.' It was saying to Yoko, 'I'm really stepping out of line on this one. I'm really letting my vulnerability be seen, so you must not let me down.' I think it was a genuine cry for help. It was a good song. We recorded it in the basement of Apple for Let It Be and later did it up on the roof for the film. We went through it quite a lot for this one. I sang harmony on it, which makes me wonder if I helped with a couple of words, but I don't think so. It was John's song." Paul McCartney: Many Years from Now

RECORDED
January 28, 1969, at Apple Studios

When first rehearsing this song January 22, Lennon asked Starr to crash his cymbals loudly to "give me the courage to come screaming in." The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions: The Official Story of the Abbey Road Years 1962-1970

INSTRUMENTATION
McCARTNEY: bass, harmony vocal
LENNON: lead guitar, lead vocal (double-tracked)
HARRISON: rhythm guitar
STARR: drums
BILLY PRESTON: organ