The Beatles recorded Let It Be in January, 1969, but their version was not released until March 1970. Tapes of Let It Be circulated around the record industry in the interim and the song was heard by Aretha Franklin's producers who thought it would be a suitable track for her to record. They approached the Beatles for permission, and Apple sent Atlantic a reel-to-reel tape of the song in the Summer of 1969. Atlantic then used that tape to press up their own acetate of the Beatles' version, for use by Aretha Franklin and her musicians as a reference when they recorded the song around September 1969. The Beatles' rendition preceded Aretha's into the shops by a few weeks in 1970, but both versions were substantial hits in the US. This lot is the only known example of a Beatles acetate with an Atlantic label.