After less than one day of airplay, The Beatles’ “Now and Then” debuts at No. 37 on Billboard’s Rock & Alternative Airplay chart dated Nov. 11.
In the Oct. 27-Nov. 2 tracking week, “Now and Then” – with all of its airplay logged Nov. 2, after it premiered at 10 a.m. ET – earned 1.1 million audience impressions on reporting rock radio stations, according to Luminate. That total includes plays on stations that contribute to the Adult Alternative Airplay survey, where the track is bubbling under thanks to 136 spins in its first day, and Mainstream Rock Airplay, via 27 detections.
“Now and Then” is the third song from The Beatles to reach Billboard’s rock airplay charts since the lists’ inception (Mainstream Rock Airplay in 1981, Alternative Airplay in 1988, Adult Alternative Airplay in 1996 and Rock & Alternative Airplay in 2009). “Free as a Bird” debuted and peaked at No. 8 on Mainstream Rock Airplay in December 1995 and appeared on the inaugural Adult Alternative Airplay tally (Jan. 20, 1996) at No. 11, while “Real Love” peaked at No. 16 on Adult Alternative Airplay in March 1996.
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“Now and Then” is billed as the final Beatles song, first recorded as a demo in the late 1970s by John Lennon and initially meant for the band’s The Beatles’ Anthology series in the mid-‘90s before being shelved by the surviving members of the band. It was completed and released this year after new technology helped extract Lennon’s vocals from the original demo while also using guitar recordings from George Harrison from the initial attempt to finish the song.
The first full week of activity for “Now and Then” will be reflected on Billboard’s Nov. 18-dated charts, including the streaming-, airplay- and sales-based Billboard Hot 100 (encompassing activity tracked Nov. 3-9).
All Billboard charts dated Nov. 11 will update on Billboard.com on Tuesday, Nov. 7.