Abbey Road was the last Beatles record, released on Friday, 26 September 1969, with an admittedly iconic cover image. Abbey Road was The Beatles eleventh studio album, and very last album recorded (The Beatles twelveth and last released studio album, Let It Be, was recorded primarily before Abbey Road). First released 26 September 1969, Abbey Road was The Beatles final recorded album, but it was not their final released. The Beatles are photographed leaving a studio Abbey Road was released in May 1970, but the material had been recorded more than a year before, meaning that Abbey Road was the final batch of material produced by all four Beatles.
The album Abbey Road was released seven weeks after it was recorded, with The Beatles record history drawing to an end. Abbey Road was recorded under more agreeable conditions than Get Back/Let It Be sessions from earlier that year, but the English rock group The Beatles were still frequently divided; John Lennon had left the group in private before the albums release, while Paul McCartney left the band in public the following year. Let It Be became the final Beatles album to be completed and released, though recording began prior to The Beatles albums. In an interview with The Beatles for The Beatles Anthology, surviving members of the group stated that while none of them had ever made a distinction to refer to Abbey Road as the last album, at the time, all felt it was very likely that it would be the last product of The Beatles, and so agreed to put aside their differences to go out on a high.
Abbey Road was very popular and successful upon its release. It topped the charts in both Britain and America, which made it one of the best-selling albums to date. Abbey Road is also a critical success, as it received positive reviews from critics such as Robert Christgau or Stephen Thomas Erlewine (who both praised George Martin's production). The album was released on 24 September 1969—making it the last by The Beatles to be produced by George Martin before their break up in April 1970.
The album's initially mixed reviews were contrasted by its immediate commercial success, topping record charts in the UK and US. Together with the single "Something" / "Come Together", it became the Beatles' final number-one release in both countries. Abbey Road was promoted with a video for "Something", which was filmed on the album's cover location and other London locations.
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