Should We Let It Be or Let It Go?
Years before millions of Elsas-in-training were belting out “Let It Go,” Paul, George, Ringo and John were imploring us to ease up and “Let It Be.” Both songs have seen cross-genre success, dozens of notable artists have clamored to cover each, and the duo of “Let It” tunes appears on the Musicnotes
Years before millions of Elsas-in-training were belting out “Let It Go,” Paul, George, Ringo and John were imploring us to ease up and “Let It Be.” Both songs have seen cross-genre success, dozens of notable artists have clamored to cover each, and the duo of “Let It” tunes appears on the Musicnotes all-time bestsellers list.
We thought it’d be fun to dig a little deeper into each of these momentous anthems. There’s no doubt in our minds that each holds a very special place in musical history, and that they both are as fun and beautiful to play as they are to listen to.
Authorship
It’s been noted that both songs were written in a single day. “Let It Be” was recorded in January of 1969, with author Paul McCartney on lead vocals and piano, John Lennon on bass and backing vocals, George Harrison playing lead guitar and, of course, Ringo Starr on drums.
“Let It Go” was written by married team Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, who started working on the ‘Frozen’ film’s score in November 2011. The full orchestration and Idina Menzel’s vocals for “Let It Go” were recorded mid-2013.
Interestingly, Paul McCartney’s wife Linda sang backup vocals on the single and album recordings of “Let It Be,” her only known collaboration with the group, making both songs husband-and-wife endeavors.
Sales Stats
Released on March 6, 1970, “Let It Be” debuted at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100, then the highest single chart debut to-date, and it hit the top spot on April 11th of that year where it sat for two weeks. The subsequent album, titled after the single, also broke sales records with 3.7 million advanced orders. “Let It Be” was a featured track on the 2000 Beatles compilation album, ‘1,’ which has sold an estimated 31 million copies worldwide, placing ‘1’ as the 18th bestselling album of all time. “Let It Be” is a very popular choice amongst Musicnotes musicians as well. The song currently occupies our #25 spot of all-time sheet music bestsellers, with more than 35,000 downloads to-date.
By comparison, “Let It Go” sits at #2 on the Musicnotes all-time bestsellers list… now reaching well beyond 100,000 sheet music downloads less than a year after being published. The ‘Frozen’ soundtrack has topped the Billboard 200 list 13 times and has sold close to 3.5 million copies in the U.S. alone since its November 25, 2013 release. Foreign language variations of “Let It Go” have topped charts around the world, including a South Korean version hitting #6 on the country’s pop music chart.
Awards
Most of us probably remember “Let It Go” winning the Academy Award for ‘Best Original Song’ earlier this year, but did you know “Let It Be” also has Oscar honors? It took the “Original Song Score” award in 1971 for its use in the Beatles documentary film of the same name. Additionally, “Let It Be” won the “Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture of a Television Special” Grammy for its use in the film, and the song placed at no. 20 on Rolling Stone’s ‘500 Greatest Songs’ list.
Next year’s Grammy Award nominees won’t be released until next month, but we’d bet “Let It Go” makes the list. It won’t be the first Grammy for songwriter Robert Lopez, however. Lopez is already a member of the very exclusive EGOT club, having won an Emmy for ‘The Wonder Pets,’ a Grammy for ‘The Book of Mormon‘ cast recording, and three Tony Awards, one for ‘Avenue Q‘ and two for ‘The Book for Mormon.’
Covers
Now, it could be argued that you haven’t really made it until you’ve been covered on the show ‘Glee.’ (We’re kind of kidding.) But, sure enough, both of these songs have been or will be coming to a TV near you. “Let It Be” was sung by the cast during season five’s Beatles tribute, and “Let It Go” is said to be performed by Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) in an episode airing next year.
Amongst the countless covers of both songs, we’ve chosen just a few of our very favorites..
“Let It Be” by Aretha Franklin
“Let It Be” by Ray Charles
“Let It Be” by Jennifer Hudson
“Let It Go” (with Vivaldi’s ‘Winter’ from ‘The Four Seasons’) by The Piano Guys
“Let It Go” by Jun Sung Ahn
“Let It Go” by Alex Boyé feat. One Voice Children’s Choir
Both songs have moved us and inspired us to make music, and that’s what it’s all about, right? And, you can find a fantastic selection of arrangements for both songs, covering every instrument and skill level, at Musicnotes.com right now. We’d consider either a timeless addition to your sheet music library.