The Beatles made a prog rock song. Who wrote it?

George Martin.

Martin. If it had little or no guitars anyway (I don't think these were George's thing). Otherwise McCartney aka Macca. Possibly a collaboration between both (not sure if lyrics are George's thing either). The variously - and despite rumours that persist today - alive Macca's demonstrated some musical ambition for works larger than otherwise perfectly acceptable songs from the rest.

Imagine (sic) the Paul is dead rumours... emerging last year...

Oh one other thing - he'd, they'd be showing Yes a thing or two. Especially if ARW guested on the Martin / Macca piece.

Probably Paul. He had the potential, judging by the occasional flourish on some Wings albums (Loup, First Indian On The Moon.....)

It's odd with Lennon but the reason I would argue against him indulging in symphonic... er, dammit. prog... is he stated that he did not like the era of "excellence" (referring to early '70s prog bands) and finished with something about this "excellence" being "not something he believed in".

So much for beliefs no matter the notable personage who held them.

His prog rock moment was A Day In The Life but Macca would go on to Back To The Egg and Standing Stone and all that jazz.

Unless the closest was Ringo who had Greg Lake in his band... ;)

IMHO, The Beatles, as 'revolutionary' as they were, steered popular music in the experimental direction. No doubt that they 'opened pathways' for future musicians. However, aside from a few things, I'm not a true fan of their craft. I respect it, understand it, NOT a fan of it......

The Beatles was a band which, although in his first records has conceived a very simple tunes but, with the passage of time they starts to play a more sophisticated music :  
 
- some unusual chord progressions as for instance;  
 "A Day in the Life", "She's Leaving Home" from SGT. PEPPER'S  
 
- different rock approaches and arrangements ( with some different parts in a single track) like in ; 
"Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" , "Fixing A Hole" from Sgt Pepper's 
"Come Together", "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" from Abbey Road 
"Eight days a week" from Beatles for Sale , "Ticket to Ride" from Help, "Dig A Pony" and "I've got a Felling" from Let it Be 
 
- psychedelic influences such as in: "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) " , "Nowhere Man" from Rubbersoul,  "Within You Without You " from Sgt Pepper's 
 
- the use of mellotron ( keyboard recognizable  in progressive music " landscapes " in: "Fool On The Hill " and " Strawberry Fields Forever " from Magical Mistery Tour 
 
But if I must choose one of their members for  prog composer promise , the name is  Paul McCartney !!! 
 

Mellotron on Fool On The Hill ??? Don't think so. Only on Strawberry Fields.....and Flying.

LearsFool wrote: That was one of the few proper Lennon-McCartney tag teams. The parts John sang and the part Paul sang were separate songs they brilliantly stitched together.

Probably that's the best recipe for getting prog Beatles.

^