Come Together From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search For other uses, see Come Together (disambiguation). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2007) "Come Together" Single by The Beatles from the album Abbey Road A-side "Something" Released 6 October 1969 (US) 31 October 1969 (UK) Format 7" Recorded Abbey Road Studios 21 July 1969 Genre Blues rock Length 4:18 Label Apple Records Writer(s) Lennon/McCartney Producer George Martin The Beatles singles chronology "The Ballad of John and Yoko" (1969) "Something" / "Come Together" (1969) "Let It Be" (1970) Music sample Come Together -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Problems listening to this file? See media help. Abbey Road track listing Side one "Come Together" "Something" "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" "Oh! Darling" "Octopus's Garden" "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" Side two "Here Comes the Sun" "Because" "You Never Give Me Your Money" "Sun King" "Mean Mr. Mustard" "Polythene Pam" "She Came In Through the Bathroom Window" "Golden Slumbers" "Carry That Weight" "The End" "Her Majesty" "Come Together" is a song by The Beatles written primarily by John Lennon[1] and credited to Lennon/McCartney. The song is the lead-off track on The Beatles' September 1969 album Abbey Road. One month later it also appeared as one of the sides of the group's twenty-first single (it was a double A-side, the other side being George Harrison's "Something") in the United Kingdom, their twenty-sixth in the United States. The song reached the top of the charts in the U.S., while becoming a Top 10 hit in the UK. Contents [hide] 1 Origin 2 Lawsuit 3 Recording 4 Release and acclaim 5 Personnel 6 Covers 6.1 Aerosmith version 6.2 Other notable covers 7 Television, film and literature 8 See also 9 Notes 10 External links [edit] Origin The song's history began with Lennon writing a song for Timothy Leary's failed gubernatorial campaign in California against Ronald Reagan, one which promptly ended when Leary was sent to prison for possession of marijuana.[2] [edit] Lawsuit "Come Together" was the subject of a lawsuit brought against Lennon by Chuck Berry's music publisher, Morris Levy, because one line in "Come Together" closely resembles a line of Berry's "You Can't Catch Me": (i.e., The Beatles' "Here come ol' flattop, he come groovin' up slowly" vs. Berry's "Here come up flattop, he was groovin' up with me"). After settling out of court, Lennon promised to record three other songs owned by Levy.[3] "You Can't Catch Me" and "Ya Ya" were released on Lennon's 1975 album Rock 'n' Roll, but the third, "Angel Baby", remained unreleased until after Lennon's death. Levy again sued Lennon for breach of contract, and was eventually awarded $6,795.[4] [edit] Recording Lennon played rhythm guitar in addition to singing the vocal. It was produced by George Martin and recorded at the end of July 1969 at Abbey Road Studios.[5] Lennon supposedly says "shoot me" while Paul McCartney covers it up with a bass riff.[2] The famous Beatles "walrus" from "I Am the Walrus" and "Glass Onion" returns in the line "he got walrus gumboot", followed by "he got Ono sideboard". Bluesman Muddy Waters is also mentioned in the song. [edit] Release and acclaim "Come Together" was released as a double A-side with "Something" and as the opening track of Abbey Road. For a time, the song was banned by the BBC, as they believed the song's reference to "shoot[ing] Coca-Cola" could be construed as either a cocaine reference or an advertisement.[citation needed] Rolling Stone ranked "Come Together" at #202 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[6] On the compilation album Love, "Come Together" is the 19th track. Sections of "Dear Prudence" and "Cry Baby Cry" fade in at the end of the track. [edit] Personnel John Lennon: lead and backing vocals; rhythm guitar; hand-claps and tambourine. Paul McCartney: bass; electric piano. George Harrison: lead guitar. Ringo Starr: drums and maracas. Credits per Ian MacDonald[7] , corrected and updated by Geoff Emerick[8] [edit] Covers [edit] Aerosmith version "Come Together" Single by Aerosmith from the album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (soundtrack) B-side "Kings and Queens" Released 1978 Format Record Recorded 1978 Genre Hard rock, Blues-rock Length 3:46 Label Columbia Producer Jack Douglas Aerosmith singles chronology "Get It Up" (1978) "Come Together" (1978) "Chip Away the Stone" (1978) American hard rock band Aerosmith performed one of the first and most successful cover versions of "Come Together". It was recorded in 1978 and appeared in the movie and on the soundtrack to the film Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, in which the band also appeared. The single was an immediate success, reaching #23 on the Billboard Hot 100, following on the heels of a string of Top 40 hits for the band in the mid-1970s. However it would be the last Top 40 hit for the band for nearly a decade. A rare live demo of the song was also released months later on Aerosmith's live album Live! Bootleg. The song was also featured on Aerosmith's Greatest Hits, the band's single-disc compilation released in 1980. The song has also surfaced on a number of Aerosmith compilations and live albums since then, as well as on the soundtrack for the film Armageddon. The Aerosmith version is still frequently heard on mainstream and album rock radio stations. Aerosmith still occasionally performs "Come Together" in concert. Since 2006, New Zealand telecommunications company Telecom used a cover of this song for its "Come Together" campaign. [edit] Other notable covers The song has since become one of the most covered songs of all time: Eurythmics covered the song in 1987, but it was not released until 2005 as a bonus track on the digitally remastered version of Savage. Labyrinth covered the song on their 2007 album 6 Days to Nowhere. Tina Turner covered the song for the 1976 musical documentary All This and World War II. Prior to that,her cover was featured on her and then husband's Ike's album of the same name. This version peaked at #57 on the U.S. Hot 100 and #21 on the R&B charts in 1970. Michael Jackson, who owned the rights to the song, also covered "Come Together" for the concert film Michael Jackson: Moonwalker. A different recording (essentially the same version in a different key) appears on Jackson's studio album, HIStory. Axl Rose and Bruce Springsteen played "Come Together" before Lennon's induction into the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. Soundgarden covered the song on the "Hands All Over" single, giving it a very grunge sound. The band's cover also appeared on its Loudest Love EP. Robin Williams and Bobby McFerrin recorded a unique version for the Beatles tribute album In My Life in which McFerrin performs the characteristic bass and guitar intro with his voice, and Williams sings. Noel Gallagher and Paul Weller played with Paul McCartney on a version of the song for the 1995 HELP charity record, under the name The Smokin' Mojo Filters. This version made #19 on the British chart in December. In 2005 Weller recorded a new version of the song as part of a double-a side single. The Lynne Arriale Trio recorded a jazz version of the song, which was the title track of their album Come Together. Sugababes covered the song as a B-Side for their single "Ugly". Marcus Miller included an instrumental version on his album Tales. Elton John covered the song as a tribute to Lennon during his "One Night Only: The Greatest Hits" concert. Victoria Beckham and Damon Dash sampled the song as an intro to one of Dash's mixtapes. Enrique Bunbury covered the song on his 1997 single "Planeta Sur". Craig David performed a live version on Top of The Pops 2 in 2003. The Supremes covered the song on their 1970 album, New Ways But Love Stays. Chairmen of the Board covered the song on one of their first LPs. Toxic Audio covered the song on their album Captive Audience. Diana Ross covered the song on her 1970 album Everything Is Everything. The Punkles did a Punk cover version on their fourth album For Sale. Tom Jones released a live version of "Come Together" on his album Reload. The Brothers Johnson released a cover of the song on their 1976 album Look Out for #1. The Roots sampled this song on their 2006 Best of The Roots mixtape produced by J. Period. Gotthard recorded "Come Together' for their 1994 album Dial Hard. Defunkt covered "Come Together" on the 1992 album Downtown Does the Beatles Live at the Knitting Factory. Pride and Glory covered this song on their album Pride & Glory. Delbert McClinton released the song as a single from the 1995 Beatles tribute album Come Together: America Salutes The Beatles. The Plague recorded the song in the late 1970s. It remained unreleased until their compilation album "The X Tapes" was released in 2005. Christos Dantis remixed and covered the song on his 1994 album 4. Michael Hedges released his version on the 1987 album Live on the Double Planet. Shalamar covered the song on their 1990 album Wake Up. Boris Grebenshchikov & Joanna Stingray released their version and its video in the 1990s. Catupecu Machu covered this song on their 1997 album Dale!. The Rutles' song "Eine Kleine Middle Klasse Musik" is a pastiche of this song. Carly Smithson covered this song on American Idol, so did Kris Allen on American Idol. [edit] Television, film and literature Barbara Feldon performed a version of the song while rolling around on a water-bed in an episode of The Marty Feldman Comedy Machine in 1971. A segment of this song was used to close several commercials for Nortel Networks. Joe Cocker covers the song on the 2007 soundtrack to the film Across the Universe. The song is used in the film A Bronx Tale during the fight scene at Sonny´s bar. The song is referenced in Nora Roberts' novel Public Secrets, a story about a 1960s rock band (not unlike The Beatles) and their roller coaster journey through 3 decades of rock music as told through the eyes of the lead singer's daughter. [edit] See also Come Together: A Night for John Lennon's Words and Music [edit] Notes ^ Sheff, David (2000). All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 201. ISBN 0-312-25464-4. ^ a b The Beatles Bible: Come Together ^ Wenner, Jann S (2000). Lennon Remembers (Full interview from Lennon's 1970 interview in Rolling Stone magazine). London: Verso. p. 90. ISBN 1-85984-600-9. ^ Self, Joseph C., "Lennon vs. Levy - The 'Roots' Lawsuit." Originally appeared in The 910, a publication covering Beatles outtakes and bootlegs, and reprinted with permission of the author at abbeyrd.net, webpage found 2009-03-30. ^ Lewisohn, Mark (1988). The Beatles Recording Sessions. New York: Harmony Books. p. 181. ISBN 0-517-57066-1. ^ "The Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/500songs. Retrieved on 2007-10-05. ^ MacDonald, Ian (2005). Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties (Second Revised Edition ed.). London: Pimlico (Rand). pp. 358–359. ISBN 1-844-13828-3. ^ Geoff Emerick with Howard Massey, Here, There, and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of THE BEATLES, Gotham Books, First Printing, March 2006, p. 285: "Don't worry," John says to Paul, "I'll do the [vocal] overdubs on ['Come Together']." Although Paul composed the electric piano part, John looked over his shoulder to learn it so he could perform it himself on the recording. Additionally, while Mark Lewisohn's books, Recording Sessions and Chronicle, refer to vocal overdubs, neither cites McCartney as the vocalist. Despite this, John's harmony vocals on this track sound eerily like Paul's on The Ballad of John and Yoko -- so much so that for decades it's been widely assumed (as in Alan W. Pollack's analysis linked below) to be Paul on backing vocals. [edit] External links Alan W. Pollack's analysis of "Come Together" The Beatles Bible: Come Together Preceded by "Wedding Bell Blues" by The Fifth Dimension Billboard Hot 100 number one single (The Beatles version) November 29, 1969 (one week) Succeeded by "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" by Steam [show]v • d • eThe Beatles singles discography UK: (Parlophone, Apple Records) 1962: "Love Me Do" / "P.S. I Love You" 1963: "Please Please Me" / "Ask Me Why" · "From Me to You" / "Thank You Girl" · "She Loves You" / "I'll Get You" · "I Want to Hold Your Hand" / "This Boy" 1964: "Can't Buy Me Love" / "You Can't Do That" · "A Hard Day's Night" / "Things We Said Today" · "I Feel Fine" / "She's a Woman" 1965: "Ticket to Ride" / "Yes It Is" · "Help!" / "I'm Down" · "Day Tripper" / "We Can Work It Out" 1966: "Paperback Writer" / "Rain" · "Eleanor Rigby" / "Yellow Submarine" 1967: "Strawberry Fields Forever" / "Penny Lane" · "All You Need Is Love" / "Baby, You're a Rich Man" · "Hello Goodbye" / "I Am the Walrus" 1968: "Lady Madonna" / "The Inner Light" · "Hey Jude" / "Revolution" 1969: "Get Back" / "Don't Let Me Down" · "The Ballad of John and Yoko" / "Old Brown Shoe" · "Something" / "Come Together" 1970: "Let It Be" / "You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)" 1995: "Free as a Bird" / "Christmas Time (Is Here Again)" 1996: "Real Love" / "Baby's in Black" U.S.: (Vee-Jay, Swan, Tollie, Capitol, Apple Records) 1963: "Please Please Me" / "Ask Me Why" (VJ) · "From Me to You" / "Thank You Girl" (VJ) · "She Loves You" / "I'll Get You" (Swan) · "I Want to Hold Your Hand" / "I Saw Her Standing There" 1964: "Twist and Shout" / "There's a Place" (Tollie) · "Can't Buy Me Love" / "You Can't Do That" · "Do You Want to Know a Secret" / "Thank You Girl" (VJ) · "Love Me Do" / "P.S. I Love You (Tollie) · "Sie Liebt Dich (She Loves You)" / "I'll Get You" (Swan) · "A Hard Day's Night" / "I Should Have Known Better" · "I'll Cry Instead" / "I'm Happy Just to Dance with You" · "And I Love Her" / "If I Fell" · "Matchbox" / "Slow Down" · "I Feel Fine" / "She's a Woman" 1965: "Eight Days a Week" / "I Don't Want to Spoil the Party" · "Ticket to Ride" / "Yes It Is" · "Help!" / "I'm Down" · "Yesterday" / "Act Naturally" · "We Can Work It Out" / "Day Tripper" 1966: "Nowhere Man" / "What Goes On" · "Paperback Writer" / "Rain" · "Eleanor Rigby" / "Yellow Submarine" 1967: "Penny Lane" / "Strawberry Fields Forever" · "All You Need Is Love" / "Baby, You're a Rich Man" · "Hello Goodbye" / "I Am the Walrus" 1968: "Lady Madonna" / "The Inner Light" · "Hey Jude" / "Revolution" 1969: "Get Back" / "Don't Let Me Down" · "The Ballad of John and Yoko" / "Old Brown Shoe" · "Something" / "Come Together" 1970: "Let It Be" / "You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)" · "The Long and Winding Road" / "For You Blue" 1976: "Got to Get You into My Life" / "Helter Skelter" · "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" / "Julia" 1978: "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" ("With a Little Help from My Friends") / "A Day in the Life" 1982: "The Beatles Movie Medley" / "I'm Happy Just to Dance with You" 1986: "Twist and Shout" / "There's a Place" (reissue) 1995: "Free as a Bird" / "Christmas Time (Is Here Again)" 1996: "Real Love" / "Baby's in Black" [show]v • d • eAerosmith singles Aerosmith "Dream On" Get Your Wings "Same Old Song and Dance" • "Train Kept A-Rollin'" • "S.O.S. (Too Bad)" Toys in the Attic "Sweet Emotion" • "Toys in the Attic" • "Walk This Way" • "You See Me Crying" Rocks "Last Child" • "Home Tonight" • "Back in the Saddle" Draw the Line "Draw the Line" • "Kings and Queens" • "Get It Up" Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band soundtrack "Come Together" Live! Bootleg "Chip Away the Stone" Night in the Ruts "Remember (Walking in the Sand)" Rock in a Hard Place "Lightning Strikes" • "Bitch's Brew" Done with Mirrors "Let the Music Do the Talking" • "My Fist Your Face" • "Shela" • "Darkness" Permanent Vacation "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)" • "Angel" • "Rag Doll" Pump "Love in an Elevator" • "Janie's Got a Gun" • "What It Takes" • "The Other Side" Pandora's Box "Sweet Emotion" (re-release) Get a Grip "Livin' on the Edge" • "Eat the Rich" • "Fever" • "Cryin'" • "Amazing" • "Shut Up and Dance" • "Crazy" Big Ones "Deuces Are Wild" • "Blind Man" • "Walk on Water" Nine Lives "Nine Lives" • "Falling in Love (Is Hard on the Knees)" • "Hole in My Soul" • "Pink" • "Taste of India" • "Full Circle" Armageddon soundtrack "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" Just Push Play "Jaded" • "Fly Away from Here" • "Sunshine" O, Yeah! Ultimate Aerosmith Hits "Girls of Summer" Honkin' on Bobo "Baby, Please Don't Go" [show]v • d • eIke & Tina Turner Ike Turner · Tina Turner Studio albums The Soul of Ike and Tina Turner · Don't Play Me Cheap · It's Gonna Work Out Fine · Please Please Please · River Deep - Mountain High · Workin' Together · Feel Good · Nutbush City Limits Live albums Festival of Live Performances · The Ike & Tina Turner Review Live · Live! The Ike & Tina Turner Show Compilations Proud Mary: The Best of Ike & Tina Turner · Funkier Than a Mosquito's Tweeter · The Ike & Tina Turner Story 1960-1975 Singles "A Fool in Love" · "Whole Lotta Love" · "I Idolize You" · "It's Gonna Work Out Fine" · "Poor Fool" · "Tra La La La La" · "River Deep - Mountain High" · "A Love Like Yours" · "I've Been Loving You Too Long" · "Bold Soul Sister" · "Come Together" · "I Want To Take You Higher" · "Proud Mary" · "Nutbush City Limits" Videos Live in '71 Related topics Discography · The Ikettes · Albums · Songs Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Come_Together" Categories: The Beatles songs | 1969 singles | 1978 singles | Apple Records singles | Aerosmith songs | Michael Jackson songs | Soundgarden songs | Eurythmics songs | Ike & Tina Turner songs | Tina Turner songs | The Supremes songs | Diana Ross songs | Tom Jones songs | Marilyn Manson songs | Joe Cocker songs | Songs produced by George Martin | Songs written by Lennon/McCartney | Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles | Number-one singles in Australia | Number-one singles in Germany