What could have been? I guess that’s a question Paul McCartney has been thinking about lately, especially about getting together with some old friends named George, Ringo, and John.

“If John and George were still here its likely we would’ve had a Beatles reunion,” McCartney told the Daily Express. “I think we would’ve mellowed to the point where we would’ve have said, “Come on, let’s do it.”

The music. That’s what would have brought The Beatles back together. McCartney continued to explain, “the thing was whenever we got together, no matter if we were arguing, we played great. We knew each other so well; we read each other.”

Thoughts quickly turn to what if. Would we be downloading a new Beatles album today? Would they have toured with The Stones for the mega concert of all concerts?

What could have been.

There was at least one close call to a Beatles reunion though, in ’76 when Lorne Michaels made a joke on SNL, offering the Beatles $3000 for a reunion. It may have been just a joke, but Lennon and McCartney almost took him up on the offer. The two were watching the show and were thinking about going down to the SNL studios, but, as McCartney tells The Daily Express, “It would’ve been work and we were having a night off.”

But for many baby boomers and music fans, just that one appearance on a late night skit show would have been enough.