Free as a Bird

About Free as a Bird

"Free as a Bird" is a song originally composed and recorded in 1977 as a home demo by John Lennon, a member of the Beatles. In 1995, 25 years after the Beatles' break-up and 15 years after Lennon was murdered, the Beatles released a studio version incorporating contributions from ex-Beatles Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. The single was released as part of the promotion for The Beatles Anthology video documentary and the Anthology 1 compilation album. For the Anthology project, McCartney asked Lennon's widow Yoko Ono for unreleased material by Lennon to which the three remaining ex-Beatles could contribute. "Free as a Bird" was one of two such songs (along with "Real Love") for which McCartney, Harrison, and Starr contributed additional instrumentation, vocals, and arrangements. Jeff Lynne of Electric Light Orchestra, who had worked with Harrison on Harrison's album Cloud Nine and as part of the Traveling Wilburys, co-produced. The music video was produced by Vincent Joliet and directed by Joe Pytka. Shot from the point of view of a bird in flight, it references numerous Beatles songs. more »