On January 14, 1969, Operating as a trio following George Harrison’s walkout, The Beatles hit a creative and emotional low point during their ninth day of the Get Back sessions.

The morning began with Paul McCartney alone at the piano, eventually joined by Ringo Starr for an improvised duet, but the atmosphere remained heavy. Though originally known as Apple’s “Jazz Piano Song,” the track was renamed “I Bought A Piano The Other Day” when it appeared in the 2021 documentary Get Back. Even though John Lennon didn’t participate in the session, the song was officially attributed to Lennon, McCartney, and Starkey.

When John Lennon finally arrived, the band cycled through unfinished snippets and old covers without much purpose, while discussions about the project’s future—including moving to EMI Studios—remained stagnant because Lennon insisted that no major decisions could be made without Harrison.

One of the songs played by McCartney at the piano was ‘Woman’, the McCartney song given in 1966 to Peter & Gordon. Another was ‘The Back Seat Of My Car’, later to be one of the highlights of McCartney’s 1971 album Ram.

The session concluded with McCartney remaining at the piano by himself to play ‘Oh! Darling’ and a short rendition of ‘Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da’ so that Glyn Johns could calibrate the sound gear.

The full list of songs recorded on this day:

‘Piano Piece (Bonding)’ (Lennon-McCartney)

‘Martha My Dear’

‘San Francisco Bay Blues’ (Jesse Fuller)

‘The Day I Went Back To School’ (McCartney)

‘Lady Jane’ (The Rolling Stones; 2 versions)

‘Talking Blues’ (McCartney)

‘Jazz Piano Song’/‘I Bought A Piano The Other Day’ (Lennon-McCartney-Starkey)

‘Woman’ (McCartney; 3 versions)

‘Cocaine Blues’ (Johnny Cash)

‘Flushed From The Bathroom Of Your Heart’ (Johnny Cash)

‘On A Clear Day You Can See Forever’ (Burton Lane/Alan Jay Lerner)

‘The Back Seat Of My Car’ (McCartney; 2 versions)

‘Hello, Dolly!’ (Louis Armstrong)

‘Mean Mr Mustard’ (2 versions)

‘Madman’ (Lennon-McCartney; 3 versions)

‘Watching Rainbows’ (Lennon; 2 versions)

‘Take This Hammer’ (Lonnie Donegan)

‘Johnny B Goode’ (Chuck Berry; 2 versions)

‘Get Back’

‘You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)’

‘Oh! Darling’ (2 versions)

‘Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da’

‘Oh Baby I Love You’ (McCartney)

‘Song Of Love’ (Lennon-McCartney)

‘As Clear As A Bell” (McCartney)

‘You Are Definitely Inclined Towards It’ (Lennon)

‘Don’t Start Running’ (Lennon)