Friends can accuse me of being slow on the uptake and I wouldn’t mind, as I recognize that in my ownself.

Example? When The Beatles released their single, “Now and Then” in 2023, they said it would be their final song. No more Beatles records for those of us who believe they are the greatest rock band in history. My first reaction was kinda goofy. What do you mean no more?

“Now and Then” was presented to Paul McCartney by Yoko Oho, John Lennon’s wife along with two other demo tapes that Paul, George Harrison and Ringo Starr finished and released as singles in 1995. They all worked on “Now and Then,” then gave up on it, as the quality of the demo tape didn’t measure up to the other two. George was the first to abandon the “Now and Then” project.

Then, in 2001, George got sick and died of cancer in November of that year. John, of course, died in 1980 in one of the most senseless acts of violence I’ve ever seen.

Paul then got a wild hair and decided to finish the recording of “Now and Then” with Ringo, using John’s voice and George’s work on the unfinished recording. Technology has advanced well beyond what was available to the lads in 1995.

Where am I going with this? “Now and Then” was the last recording with all of The Beatles taking part. There ain’t no more. All of The Beatles have said the group does not exist without all of them present. George Harrison famously said in the 1980s when asked if The Beatles would reunite: “No. Not as long as John Lennon is still dead.” There you have it. One’s death is as permanent a condition as one can find.

As the cliche goes: The group is gone, but their music lives forever.