In the mid-’70s, the most coveted “rock star jam” was almost certainly John Lennon and Paul McCartney. The duo had been on awkward terms in the immediate aftermath of The Beatles’ 1970 breakup, briefly trading public jabs through lyrics and interview quotes—and even when tensions settled, they frequently faced questions about a potential Beatles reunion. Given that immense spotlight and the weight of their shared history, it was hard to expect any sort of studio team-up. (The closest they came during that era was in 1973, when all four Beatles contributed to Ringo Starr’s self-titled solo album—just never all on the same track.)
But that long-awaited Lennon-McCartney summit, widely considered their last studio encounter, did occur—just probably not in the way anyone expected. The whole thing was casual to the point of hilarity—and so musically inconsequential, the results only exist through a somewhat obscure bootleg titled A Toot and a Snore in ’74. But, ironically, that backstory only makes the event more compelling. It’s worth revisiting this bizarre moment in rock history and, perhaps, pondering what could have been.
First off, this was a particularly strange and turbulent time for Lennon, who was temporarily separated from his wife, Yoko Ono, and living in Los Angeles during a hard-partying blur that the ex-Beatle later described as his “lost weekend.” (In a 1980 interview with Playboy, the songwriter recalled, “I’ve never drunk so much in my life. I tried to drown myself in the bottle, and I was with the heaviest drinkers in the business…We couldn’t pull ourselves out. We were trying to kill ourselves.”) Against this backdrop of debauchery, amid the Lennon-produced sessions for Harry Nilsson’s album Pussy Cats, the big moment happened: As People notes, McCartney arrived to Burbank Studios on March 28, 1974, sitting down behind the drums. (May Pang notes in her 1983 book, Loving John, that the kit belonged to an absent Starr, who played on Pussy Cats.) Stevie Wonder (keyboards, vocals), Nilsson (vocals), and Bobby Keys (saxophone) were also part of the sprawling jam ensemble—not that it lives up to that all-star billing.
It’s important to emphasize that this was a jam, not a proper recording with prepared material—and if you’ve ever taken part in this kind of session, you know they can sometimes be awkward, tentative, and even frustrating. Still, the resulting tracks are painfully raw and chaotic, highlighted by Lennon’s aggressive complaints about his microphone and headphones. Wonder plays some nicely funky keyboards, and McCartney seems to be having a blast as he bashes the kit, but no one listens to this bootleg for the half-formed cover versions of Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me” or Little Richard’s “Lucille.” They listen for the frank studio chatter and the historical relevance.
The former Beatles seemingly felt the same way. “I jammed with Paul. I did actually play with Paul,” Lennon told the BBC’s The Old Grey Whistle Test in 1975. “But there were 50 other people playing too, and they were all just watching me and Paul. [Laughs.]” McCartney, in 2012, noted that they were “stoned” at the time. “I don’t think there was anyone in that room who wasn’t stoned,” he told Rolling Stone. “For some ungodly reason, I decided to get on drums. It was just a party, you know. To use the word ‘disorganized’ is completely understating it. I might have made a feeble attempt to restore order—’guys, you know, let’s think of a song, that would be a good idea’—but I can’t remember if I did or not.”
Ultimately, A Toot and a Snore was probably most important as a symbol of friendship. The former songwriting partners continued to grow closer over the following years—right up until Lennon was shot and killed in December 1980. “I was very glad of how we got along in those last few years, that I had some really good times with him before he was murdered,” McCartney wrote in his 2023 book, The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present. “Without question, it would have been the worst thing in the world for me, had he been killed, when we still had a bad relationship. I would’ve thought, ‘Oh, I should’ve, I should’ve, I should’ve…’ It would have been a big guilt trip for me. But luckily, our last meeting was very friendly. We talked about how to bake bread.”
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