This week in 1970 Let It Be, the final Beatles single before Paul McCartney announced his departure from the band, was the number one song in Australia and the USA. The song also topped the charts in Canada, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and Switzerland.
McCartney said he had the idea of Let It Be in 1968 when the Beatles as a group were having a tough time and he had a dream in which his deceased mother, Mary Patricia McCartney, reassured him: “It’s gonna be OK. Just let it be.” Paul’s mother had died when he was 14 years old.
When asked if the phrase “Mother Mary” in the song referred to Mary, mother of Jesus, McCartney has typically replied that listeners can interpret the song however they like.