The Beatles and AI: How ‘Now and Then’ Won a Grammy With a Little Help from Technology
The Beatles did something unexpected in 2024: they released a brand-new song, Now and Then, decades after their last recording. What made this release even more fascinating? Artificial intelligence played a key role in bringing John Lennon’s lost vocals back to life.
This mix of 1960s rock and cutting-edge technology captivated Beatles fans worldwide. It also won a Grammy. The song’s success, both critically and commercially, raises an intriguing question: Is AI becoming the next great producer in the music industry?
A Song That Almost Never Was
The story of Now and Then starts in the late 1970s when John Lennon recorded a rough demo of the song on a cassette tape in his New York apartment. After Lennon’s tragic death in 1980, the tape remained with Yoko Ono, who later gave it to Paul McCartney in the mid-1990s.
In 1995, McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr tried to finish the track during sessions for The Beatles Anthology project. They successfully completed two other Lennon demos—Free as a Bird and Real Love—but ran into trouble with Now and Then. The recording quality of Lennon’s voice was too poor, buried under layers of background noise. Unable to isolate his vocals, they abandoned the song, leaving it unfinished.
Enter AI: The Missing Piece of the Puzzle
Fast forward to the 2020s. Director Peter Jackson, known for The Beatles: Get Back documentary, developed AI-powered audio technology to separate instruments and voices from decades-old recordings. The same tool used to clarify conversations between John, Paul, George, and Ringo in archival footage now did something groundbreaking: extracting Lennon’s voice from that deteriorated cassette recording.
With this technology, McCartney and Starr finally revived Now and Then in 2023. Lennon’s vocals were crisp and clear, as if he had just stepped into the studio. McCartney added fresh instrumentation, Harrison’s 1995 guitar parts were incorporated, and with the help of producer Giles Martin (son of legendary Beatles producer George Martin), the song was completed.
A Grammy-Winning Resurrection
When Now and Then was released in November 2023, it stirred a mix of awe, nostalgia, and curiosity. AI had helped reconstruct Lennon’s voice, sparking debate, but fans embraced the song as a touching farewell from the Fab Four.
The track topped charts worldwide, but the real shocker came at the 2024 Grammy Awards, where Now and Then won Best Music Video. The accompanying video, directed by Peter Jackson, used AI-enhanced footage to blend past and present, showing the Beatles together one last time in a way that felt haunting and beautiful.
This win marked a historic moment: for the first time, AI-assisted music received recognition at the industry’s highest level.
Music Meets AI: A Revolution or a Controversy?
The Beatles’ use of AI to finish Now and Then reignited discussions about technology’s role in music. Some saw it as a tribute, a way to honor Lennon’s legacy and give fans a final song from the band they love. Others worried about the implications—could AI eventually replace musicians? Would the industry start creating “new” songs from deceased artists without their consent?
Paul McCartney addressed these concerns, emphasizing that AI wasn’t creating anything artificial—it was simply restoring something that was already there. “We never used AI to make John sound like he was singing. We just cleaned up what was already recorded.”
But the conversation doesn’t end there. AI-generated music is on the rise, with algorithms capable of composing symphonies, writing lyrics, and even mimicking an artist’s voice. The Beatles may have used AI for preservation, but others may see it as a creative tool—or even a shortcut.
The Beatles’ Legacy: Past, Present, and Future
While Now and Then may be the last “new” Beatles song we’ll ever hear, it cements their influence across generations. They started in the 1960s, changed the face of rock, and now—more than 50 years later—they’re still setting trends in the music industry. Their Grammy win proves their magic isn’t limited to any one era.
With AI continuing to evolve, Now and Then might not be a one-time event. More projects could blend the past with the future, bringing lost voices and unfinished works back to life. Whether that’s exciting or unsettling is still up for debate, but one thing is clear: The Beatles are still breaking new ground, even in the 21st century.