On This Day in 1971, the 'Best Rock Band of All Time' Took Home Their Only Oscar

The Beatles are, without question, one of the most influential musical acts in history. Some might even say they're the best rock band of all time. Bursting onto the scene in 1960, the four-piece, genre-bending group burned brightly for a decade before disbanding in 1970, but they are forever in the pop culture zeitgeist.

Their enduring legacy includes a catalog of 213 songs (188 original tracks and 25 covers), multiple accolades, a perpetually growing fan base, and an award-winning documentary directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg. Released on May 13, 1970, in New York, followed by a debut in the United Kingdom a week later, Let It Be documents The Beatles' January 1969 recording session for Let It Be, the band's 12th and final studio album. The film culminates with the group's iconic final concert atop their Apple Corps headquarters on Savile Row on Jan. 30, 1969.

Initially, reviews for the Let It Be documentary were polarizing. However, decades later, some retrospective pieces regarded it as having a place in film history and as "important viewing for all music fans."

Despite the initially unfavorable reviews, Let It Be was nominated for an Oscar for "Best Music, Original Score." The Beatles won in their category at the 43rd Academy Awards on April 15, 1971. Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr did not attend the ceremony, so Quincy Jones accepted the band's first and only Oscar on their behalf.

Let It Be also won a Grammy Award for "Best Original Score." Originally, Starr was excluded as one of the award's recipients by the Recording Academy, believing that McCartney, Lennon, and Harrison were the sole composers. However, Starr had a writing credit for "Dig It" on the Let It Be album.

While McCartney has said he could not bear to watch the film, he came around to the idea of an eventual re-release of Let It Be. This resulted in The Beatles: Get Back, a three-part miniseries directed and produced by Peter Jackson and released on Disney+ in 2021. It is considered a supplement to the original documentary, featuring eight hours of never-before-seen footage.