The Beatles weren't happy anymore. They were fighting constantly, they never had a good time together, and everyone hated Yoko Ono. But relationships don't end on their own; someone always has to pull the plug. For the Beatles, that person was John Lennon.
After finishing the group's 1969 album, Abbey Road, Lennon offered his new song, "Cold Turkey," as a potential single. The other Beatles didn't want it. Miffed, Lennon released the song under the name of his newly created side project: Plastic Ono Band, which he had formed with Yoko and Eric Clapton. A successful live performance and plans for an album inspired Lennon to leave the rock 'n' roll supergroup. He broke the decision to his bandmates in September 1969, though the band's demise wouldn't be confirmed until two months later, when Paul McCartney delivered the bad news in a LIFE magazine interview.