Tea arrives, and apparently so does Ringo, who cellotapes what looks like one of his sons’ drawings on the wall next to his kit while Michael tries to talk Paul into holding The Big Show on Primrose Hill, a park in the north of London. John talks about seeing Fleetwood Mac on the television the night before, which reminds Paul of Canned Heat, and he starts singing what he can remember of their “Going Up The Country”. Itching to get going, John tells “Glynis” (as in the actress Glynis Johns) to start rolling tape. Decent versions of “Dig A Pony” and “I’ve Got A Feeling” follow, the latter peppered with quotes from Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I have a dream” speech.
Even before they listen to some playbacks, they’re all in a good mood, and it only improves with the arrival of Billy Preston, a young American piano and organ player whom they’d met in their Hamburg club days. The caption says he only dropped by to say hello, but John is already explaining what they’re trying to accomplish, and that maybe if Billy listens to some of the rehearsal tapes he might come up with some keyboard parts to add. George says it would be faster for him to learn the songs on the spot, and they install him behind the electric piano. We cut to the middle of a take of “I’ve Got A Feeling”, and Billy plays the lick that will feature on the verses. Paul’s expression of delight when he hears this for the first time is one of the highlights of Jackson’s edit. (At the risk of reading too much into things, it would appear that John and George are more demonstrably enthused about Billy’s presence than Paul is, but that’s more a reflection on Paul’s general personality. He never was one to gush.)
After making terrific strides on that song, they move on to multiple rehearsals of “Don’t Let Me Down” and “Dig A Pony”, which are just as strong. They were already gelling as a foursome, and Billy’s given them a boost. Plus, he’s so damn cheerful, and matches them ciggie for ciggie, so he fits right in. As the day ends, John points out to Michael that the project has taken on a trajectory that’s perfect for “the third Beatles movie,” starting with the uncertainty of Twickenham and now on the upswing with them playing so well and the addition of Billy in the mix.
“Is he gonna stay with you?” asks Michael, presumably meaning with the band, and not in John and Yoko’s residence.
“Yeah, well, sure!” replies John.
It’s been a full, productive, musical day. Glyn will give some of today’s performances rough mixes, including a stab at the Drifters’ “Save The Last Dance For Me” and Fats Domino’s “I’m Ready”, and eventually include them on his first working sequences for the proposed Get Back album. These can now be heard in 2021’s Let It Be Super Deluxe Edition.
As they make their way out of the studio space, Peter Brown—Brian Epstein’s longtime assistant since before the Beatles, and now on the Apple board—tells John and Yoko that American impresario Allen Klein, who’s recently been managing the Rolling Stones, is in town and wants to meet, presumably to discuss a similar arrangement for the Beatles. As the captions give this scene some context, the intro from album version of “You Never Give Me Your Money” is used as accompaniment and subtle commentary. (Also glimpsed very briefly today is Allan Williams, their onetime manager in Liverpool, who sent the band to Hamburg in the first place.)
The addition of Preston certainly tightened up the group. He could arguably be called the guy who saved the project, if only by chance!
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