The Last Time Lennon & McCartney Played Together Captured in A Toot And a Snore in ’74
The universe of Beatles bootlegs is, quite frankly, boundless. From live performances and outtakes to demos and the inevitable studio goof-offs, there are enough recordings to occupy a lifetime of listening. For many fans, the historical value of these recordings often outweighs the musical merit—some being of poor quality or fragmentary, with snippets barely holding together. For others, however, the mere fact that "the fab four" were involved somehow grants the session a mystical quality. It seems to be a common belief that everything John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr touched turned directly to gold. Yet, for the average fan, this claim doesn’t always hold up under scrutiny.
Among these countless recordings, one particular bootleg stands out—A Toot and a Snore in ’74, a recording with undeniable historical significance but questionable musical value. This bootleg, captured at Burbank Studios in Los Angeles on the 28th of March 1974, is particularly notable because it documents the last time Lennon and McCartney ever played together. That alone makes it a piece of history worth hearing, even if the music itself leaves much to be desired.
Who Was There?
Aside from Lennon and McCartney, this laid-back jam session included some rather illustrious company. Stevie Wonder was there, lending his talents on electric piano. Harry Nilsson, the session’s initial catalyst, was present as well, providing some vocals and an acoustic guitar contribution. Guitarist Jesse Ed Davis and saxophonist Bobby Keys (a stalwart of the Rolling Stones’ horn section) rounded out the more musical attendees, while May Pang, Lennon’s companion during his so-called “Lost Weekend,” played tambourine.
It was a session born out of spontaneity. At the time, Lennon was producing Harry Nilsson’s album Pussy Cats during his infamous separation from Yoko Ono, which saw him embark on a drug-fuelled binge of sorts. McCartney, meanwhile, had not seen Lennon for three years, their once close friendship having deteriorated after the Beatles’ breakup. Despite the bad blood, when McCartney found himself in Los Angeles, a casual jam seemed the most natural thing in the world. And so, on that fateful night, they gathered together, old tensions momentarily set aside.
Why Did They Jam Together?
The answer is simple enough: it was a product of circumstance and whimsy. Lennon was in town, deep into his "Lost Weekend" phase—a chaotic period of drinking, drugs, and creative outbursts. McCartney, on a visit to Los Angeles with his wife Linda, happened to be around. Despite the animosity that had brewed between the two former bandmates following the Beatles' split, the opportunity to play together was evidently too enticing to resist.
What transpired in that session was hardly a serious attempt at music-making. Rather, it was a loose, inebriated jam that meandered through covers and off-the-cuff improvisations, interspersed with lots of studio chatter. The tone was casual and hazy, and the title A Toot and a Snore is telling enough—the phrase refers to Lennon offering Stevie Wonder cocaine during the opening moments of the session. “Do you want a snort Steve? A toot? It’s going round,” Lennon quipped. From there, things only got looser, the "snore" being a possible reference to the lack of any coherent direction the session took.
What Did They Play?
The recording itself—released in 1992 by Germany's Mistral Music—is more of a curio than anything. What survives on tape is far from a polished product, and the session is clearly more about the joy of playing than the quality of the music. It features half-hearted attempts at rock 'n' roll standards like “Lucille,” “Stand By Me,” and “Cupid,” with Lennon on lead vocals and guitar, and McCartney mostly on drums (Ringo’s drumkit, to be precise). Stevie Wonder adds flourishes on electric piano, though none of the contributions are particularly groundbreaking.
Lennon and McCartney sing together on occasion, with McCartney’s harmonies slipping in every now and then. For those searching for a moment of pure magic, however, there isn’t much to be found in this impromptu gathering. Pang, who wrote about the night in her 1983 book Loving John, described the event as one filled with “joyous music,” but it’s clear that this is something you probably had to witness firsthand to fully appreciate.
Richard Metzger from Dangerous Minds captures the essence of the session aptly when he describes it as “a drunk, coked-up jam session.” That’s precisely what it was, albeit one of historical importance. And in that historical importance lies its main appeal—Lennon and McCartney, the two titans of pop music who had once dominated the world together, briefly reunited to jam once again. It was a fleeting glimpse of what might have been, if only for one more night.
When Lennon later spoke of the session in a 1975 interview, he reflected on it with a certain warmth. “I jammed with Paul,” he recalled. “We did a lot of stuff in L.A. There was 50 other people playing, but they were all just watching me and Paul.” The fondness in his tone suggests that the experience meant more to him than the slapdash recordings might imply. McCartney, on the other hand, recalled the night as “hazy, for a number of reasons” during a 1997 interview—likely alluding to the abundance of substances being passed around that night.
Ultimately, A Toot and a Snore in ’74 holds a significant place in Beatles lore. While the recording itself may not offer much in terms of sonic brilliance, it remains a poignant document—proof that Lennon and McCartney could still come together and make music, however briefly, after all the acrimony. In that sense, it is worth a listen, if only to hear two legends setting aside their differences, if only for a fleeting, coke-laced evening.
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