"I Didn't Know That They Would Never Play Together Again" — The Beatles Final Rooftop Concert

The Beatles had a massive influence on popular music, with artists from entirely different genres praising the quartet for inspiring them to get into music. For instance, Peter Steele (rest in peace), front man for Gothic Metal Band Type O Negative, cheekily called his band "The Drab Four." Which was not only a humorous remark that highlighted the stark contrast between the music he produced with the Beatles, but also acknowledged the songwriting cues Type O Negative took from the Liverpool musicians.

Peter Jackson's three-part documentary series The Beatles: Get Back gave viewers further insight into the dynamics of the band, along with their cultural impact. Included in the doc is the band's now legendary last live performance, which was performed on the rooftop of Apple Studios.

The band found itself in a lot of hot water in the lead up to its final performance, which took place at the band's studio home they established in Savile Row, London, a year prior. Controversy stemmed from John Lennon's comment that the group was "more popular than Jesus now."

Furthermore, the Beatles made it known that they had opposed America's War in Vietnam.

These inflammatory remarks about being more popular than Jesus weren't just the only source of woes for the band. According to Gold Radio, the Beatles were also not really "enjoying their live performances."

The outlet argues this was due to technological difficulties that existed at the time, which prevented their sound from translating to "tens of thousands of screaming fans in stadiums," as opposed to the more intimate venues that helped them become such successful musicians.

Moreover, an inability to control fans clawing their way to get to the band prompted George Harrison to say on a plane ride home with his fellow artists: "That's it, then, I'm not a Beatle anymore."

But his departure from the band didn't stick at the time, and while the Beatles wouldn't go on tour, they immersed themselves in studio work.

The quartet would go on to produce "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," "The Beatles," "Abbey Road," and "Let It Be."

However, the group did perform live on Jan. 30, 1969, on the Apple Studios rooftop as part of the group's "Get Back" project, which Paul McCartney and the man hired to direct the film, Michael Lindsay-Hogg, pushed for.

After going through several ideas as to where this concert was going to take place, which included the ruins of an amphitheater in Libya, the group settled on the rooftop of Apple Studios. George Harrison agreed to this idea, and after some prep work in setting up a stage outdoors, the band took the top of the building to get their groove on.

Lindsay-Hogg set up numerous cameras to capture the performance along with the reactions of people on the street. Local businesses and authorities weren't too thrilled about the impromptu show, and neither was McCartney's father, who said to his son: "You've been playing on the roofs again, and you know your momma doesn't like it; she's going to have you arrested."

Cops made their way to the roof where the show was taking place, and ultimately shut the show down. But there was a bit of back and forth that occurred before the music stopped. Mal Evans, who had worked on preparing the soundstage, had turned off John Lennon and George Harrison's amps.

While the rest of the group kept playing, Harrison switched his amp back on so the group could finish their third and last take of "Get Back."

Originally, The Beatles had wanted "Get Back" to be an entirely live performance album, but due to the involvement with authorities, the idea of a live recorded album didn't take off.