Beatles to release Rooftop Performance for fans who really want to hear “Get Back” three times

We hope you like “Get Back,” because you’re going be hearing a lot of it. The Beatles famous and long-unreleased rooftop concert is finally being made available for fans of hearing a handful of Let It Be songs three times. Now titled The Rooftop Performance, the collection hits streamers tonight, January 27, at 9 p.m PST/12 a.m EST.

Recorded atop The Beatles’ Apple Corps Headquarters, The Rooftop Performance was the group’s final live show, with clips and photographs from the concert becoming an essential part of the Beatles’ lore and iconography. But until the release of Peter Jackson’s Disney+ documentary Get Back, it was never remastered or officially released for public consumption, sentencing it—along with director Michael Lindsay-Hogg’s original cut of the documentary—to 50 years in bootleg purgatory.

Those who watched Get Back probably know what they’re getting with The Rooftop Concert, which is to say that there’s not a whole lot of content. Running at 40 minutes on the dot, according to the press release, the recording contains three takes of “Get Back,” two takes of “Don’t Let Me Down,” two of “I’ve Got A Feeling,” “One After 909,” “Dig A Pony,” and a little jam that includes “God Save The Queen” captured as a tape change over took place.

While the Performance seems laser-targeted for completists, the release is still getting a massive push. ‌Tomorrow, the wickedly talented, one and only Norah Jones will release two rooftop tribute performance videos featuring songs from Let It Be on her YouTube page. Sirius XM’s Beatles Channel will debut the performance tomorrow at 11 a.m. EST, with commentary from Beatles historian, author, and radio producer Kevin Howlett. And what would a Beatles release be without a performance from Cirque du Soleil, who will also release a rooftop video of their own featuring cast members from Cirque’s The Beatles LOVE show.

Finally, the rooftop performance is also getting a special IMAX release on January 30. The 60-minute presentation pulled from Get Back includes an exclusive Q & A, which we imagine is pre-recorded, but we’ll see.

Those who watched Get Back already saw the performance, which completely reframes the concert, whose clips have adorned commercials for Beatles collections for decades. Not only did the Beatles not really plan or want to do this thing (except for Ringo who really wanted to go on the roof), but also English bobbies were trying to shut it down from almost the first chord. It’s not much of a concert, but as a cultural artifact, it’s fascinating. And for any Beatles fan whose favorite song is “Get Back,” it’s the best thing going.