The Pop Zeal Project (Track 82): Jennifer Hudson: “Let It Be” (Hope For Haiti Now)
Arguably one of the best pop songs ever written, The Beatles’ “Let It Be” will forever be played when questions about life are easy to ask, yet the answers hard to find. Jennifer Hudson’s impassioned remake of this 1970 Lennon-McCartney track was created for the “Hope for Haiti Now” benefit telethon, which was organized to raise aid after a 2010 earthquake devastated the country. (Here it’s 11 years later and Haiti is recovering from yet another earthquake that just recently occurred.) Hudson takes the track to church, especially towards the end, with the backing vocalists providing angelic support. Hip-hop group, and “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” house band, The Roots supply the musical accompaniment, keeping the traditional guitar riff and Billy Preston-style electric keys. Both The Beatles and Hudson versions are equally soulful: the original tender, touching and subtle, with emphasis more on lyrical delivery and a larger rock-guitar sound, while Hudson’s cover, which provides heartfelt sincerity, is focused more on vocal expression. To delve further into the masterful Beatles original, click here.
Pop Playlist: The Beatles: “Let It Be”
When the subject of The Beatles comes up in conversation, the discussion has the potential to turn futile when its participants theorize as to what song could be considered the group’s best. Why? Because there are just so damn many. “In My Life,” “Yesterday,” “Something” and this track, “Let It Be” are strong contenders, yet to continue adding to this easy-to-compile list would only reiterate the earlier point. “Let It Be,” the 1970 Lennon-McCartney classic, features a comforting piano, Paul McCartney’s heartfelt vocals, and spiritually centered lyrics of acceptance and faith.
The first verse and chorus have a downhearted feel, made evident by the aforementioned piano and vocals, plus these introductory lyrics: “When I find myself in times of trouble…”; “And in my hour of darkness…” Yet it’s the addition of the cymbal in the second verse, and soon a fuller drumbeat, choral backing, distant horns, Billy Preston’s church-inspired keys, and later the guitar breakdown, that serve to communicate a more promising feel, indicative of the effectiveness of the three-word advice and subsequent emotional comfort provided by “Mother Mary.” This caring character is represented as McCartney’s own departed mother who came to him in a dream, or in the traditional religious context of the Virgin Mary, or perhaps the listener’s own mother or guardian.
As the post-bridge chorus and final verse play out, McCartney begins to add optimistic vocal runs, plus he sings: “And when the night is cloudy/There is still a light that shines on me/Shine until tomorrow,” which evokes that image of a guardian angel keeping a watchful eye. He also speaks about the clarity that can result upon facing another day (“I wake up to the sound of music…”), leaving those “times of trouble” and “hour of darkness” in the past. In the outro, the forlorn piano prominent at the beginning of the song is eclipsed by Preston’s soulful organ and electric piano.
It’s also to be noted that at this time—1969, 70—The Beatles album, Let It Be was to be the band’s final venture. The song works as an encouraging sentiment for the listener thinking about his or her day-to-day challenges, and the acceptance and faith that hopefully comes along, but the track more so documents McCartney’s statement to the rest of the members of the band.
“Let It Be” is an indelible, universal reminder of how music can be a source of easily accessible inspiration; a secret confidant, whispering “words of wisdom” through a pair of earbuds. Take ease in knowing that if The Beatles comes up in that eventually futile conversation, there is “an answer” or at least a solid, credible argument in the selection of this profoundly poetic track.