Come Together
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
-
For other uses, see Come Together (disambiguation).
| "Come Together" | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Single by The Beatles | ||
| from the album Abbey Road | ||
| Released | 31 October 1969 | |
| Format | vinyl record 7" | |
| Recorded | 21 July 1969 | |
| Genre | Rock | |
| Length | 4:20 | |
| Label |
Apple Records (UK) Apple Records (US) |
|
| Producer(s) | George Martin | |
| Chart positions | ||
|
||
| The Beatles singles chronology | ||
| "The
Ballad of John and Yoko" (1969) |
"Something"/"Come
Together" (1969) |
"Let
It Be" (1970) |
| Abbey Road track listing | ||
(-) |
"Come
Together" (1) |
"Something" (2) |
"Come Together" is a song by the rock band The Beatles. It was written mainly by John Lennon; Paul McCartney slowed it down and wrote the bass-riff, among other things. This song was 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 UK, their twenty-sixth in the US.
Contents
|
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 arrested for possession of marijuana. It was transformed by Lennon into a track with digs at McCartney and Harrison interspersed alongside tales of his Bagism movement with wife Yoko Ono. It was the subject of a lawsuit brought against Lennon by Chuck Berry's music publisher, Morris Levy, due to the fact that one line in "Come Together" closely resembled 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 other songs owned by Levy, all of which were released on Lennon's 1975 album Rock 'n' Roll. Perhaps the song refers to the late eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes. Lines such as "hair down to his knees" and "shoot coca-cola" parallel the billionaire's behavior at the time this song was written. The line "Got to be good lookin cause he's so hard to see" could refer to the billionaire's reclusiveness. Another, possibly apocryphal story is that John Lennon grew frustrated at the tendency of music critics to read heavily into and interpret his lyrics, and wrote nonsensical lyrics simply to spite them. The same story is also said to be the origin of "I Am The Walrus."
Lennon played rhythm guitar in addition to singing the vocal. Each exclamation of 'shoot' one hears during the opening bass line is actually 'shoot me', although 'shoot' is immediately followed by a handclap which drowns out the word 'me'. McCartney played bass and the electric piano (estimated as "southern" by John), Harrison lead guitar, and Ringo Starr drums and maracas. It was produced by George Martin and recorded at the end of July 1969 at Abbey Road Studios.
Rolling Stone ranked "Come Together" at #202 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Covers
Aerosmith version
| "Come Together" | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Single by Aerosmith | ||
| Released | 1978 | |
| Format | Record | |
| Recorded | 1978 | |
| Genre | Hard Rock | |
| Length | 3:46 | |
| Label | Columbia | |
| Producer(s) | Jack Douglas | |
| Chart positions | ||
|
||
| Aerosmith singles chronology | ||
| "Kings and Queens" (1978) | "Come Together" (1978) | "Remember (Walking in the Sand)" (1980) |
American hard rock band Aerosmith did 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, which the band also appeared in. 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 just months after on Aerosmith's live album Live! Bootleg. The song was also featured on Aerosmith's Greatest Hits, the band's mammoth-selling 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, and many rock fans regard it as equaling, if not bettering, the Beatles version. "Come Together" is still occasionally performed in concert by Aerosmith, as well.
Other Notable Covers
The song has since become one of the most covered songs of all time:
- Marilyn Manson Also covered the song while touring, never released.
- Tina Turner covered the song for the 1976 ephemeral musical documentary All This and World War II.
- Do As Infinity performed a live cover of a metal version of the song at Japan during a Beatles celebration event.
- Michael Jackson also covered "Come Together" and it is featured on his album HIStory.
- Axl Rose and Bruce Springsteen later played "Come Together" before his 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.
- Michael Ruff covered "Come Together" in a very funky way on the album Michael Ruff Band in 1992.
- Robin Williams and Bobby McFerrin recorded a unique cover version in which McFerrin performs the characteristic bass and guitar intro with his voice alone and Williams sings.
- Noel Gallagher and Paul Weller played with Paul McCartney on a version of the song for the 1995 HELP charity record.
- 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".
- There is also an instrumental version by Marcus Miller on his album Tales.
- The Korean hip-hop group Roo-Ra performed a breakbeat cover of the song.
- 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 made a cover of the song and published it in his 1997 single "Planeta Sur".
- Craig David, performed a live version on Top of The Pops 2 in 2003.
- Chairmen of the Board covered the song and is on one of their first LPs.
- Spiralmouth, a rock a cappella act, recorded an all-vocal cover on their eponymous album.
- Toxic Audio covered the song on their album Captive Audience.
| Preceded by: "Wedding Bell Blues" by The Fifth Dimension |
Billboard Hot 100
number one single November 29, 1969 (The Beatles version of Come Together) |
Succeeded by: "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" by Steam |
| The Beatles |
|---|
| Singles |
| 1962:
Love Me Do | 1963:
Please Please Me |
From Me to You |
She Loves You |
I Want to Hold Your Hand | 1964:
Can't Buy Me Love |
I Feel Fine |
Twist and Shout |
A Hard Day's Night | 1965:
Ticket to Ride |
Help! |
Day Tripper |
We Can Work It Out |
Yesterday | 1966:
Paperback Writer |
Eleanor Rigby |
Yellow Submarine | 1967:
Strawberry Fields Forever |
Penny Lane |
All You Need Is Love |
Hello, Goodbye | 1968:
Lady Madonna |
Hey Jude | 1969:
Get Back |
Ballad of John and Yoko |
Something | Come Together
| 1970:
Let It Be |
The Long and Winding Road | After 1970: The Beatles Movie Medley (1982) | Free as a Bird (1995) | Real Love (1996) |
| B-sides |
| 1962: P.S. I Love You | 1963: Ask Me Why | I'll Get You | Thank You Girl | 1964: Baby's in Black | I Don't Want to Spoil the Party | She's a Woman | This Boy | You Can't Do That | 1965: I'm Down | Yes It Is | Rain | 1966: What Goes On | 1967: Baby You're a Rich Man | I Am the Walrus | 1968: The Inner Light | Revolution | 1969: Don't Let Me Down | Old Brown Shoe | 1970: For You Blue | You Know My Name (Look up the Number) |
| Aerosmith |
| Steven Tyler | Joe Perry | Brad Whitford | Tom Hamilton | Joey Kramer |
| Ray Tabano | Jimmy Crespo | Rick Dufay |
| Discography |
|---|
| Studio albums: Aerosmith | Get Your Wings | Toys in the Attic | Rocks | Draw the Line | Night in the Ruts | Rock in a Hard Place | Done with Mirrors | Permanent Vacation | Pump | Get a Grip | Nine Lives | Just Push Play | Honkin' on Bobo |
| Live albums: Live! Bootleg | Classics Live I and II | A Little South of Sanity | Rockin' the Joint |
| Compilations: Aerosmith's Greatest Hits | Gems | Pandora's Box | Big Ones | Box of Fire | Young Lust: The Aerosmith Anthology | O, Yeah! The Ultimate Aerosmith Hits | Devil's Got a New Disguise - The Very Best of Aerosmith |
| Singles: "Mama
Kin" | "Dream
On" | "Same Old Song and Dance" | "Train
Kept A-Rollin'" | "Sweet
Emotion" | "Last
Child" | "Home Tonight" | "Walk
This Way" "Back in the Saddle" | "Draw the Line" | "Kings and Queens" | "Come Together" | "Chip Away the Stone" | "Remember (Walking in the Sand)" | "Lightning Strikes" "Let the Music Do the Talking" | "Shela" | "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)" | "Hangman Jury" | "Angel" | "Rag Doll" | "Love in an Elevator" | "Janie's Got a Gun" "What it Takes" | "The Other Side" | "F.I.N.E." | "Monkey on My Back" | "Eat the Rich" | "Livin' on the Edge" | "Fever" | "Cryin'" | "Amazing" | "Shut Up and Dance" "Deuces are Wild" | "Crazy" | "Blind Man" | "Walk on Water" | "Nine Lives" | "Falling in Love (Is Hard on the Knees)" | "Hole in My Soul" | "Pink" | "Taste of India" "Full Circle" | "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" | "What Kind of Love Are You On" | "Angel's Eye" | "Jaded" | "Fly Away from Here" | "Sunshine" | "Just Push Play" "Girls Of Summer" | "Baby, Please Don't Go" | "Devil's Got a New Disguise" |
| Videography |
| Videos: Live Texxas Jam '78 | 3 x 5 | Aerosmith Scrapbook | Things That Go Pump in the Night | The Making of Pump | Big Ones You Can Look At | You Gotta Move |
| Concert tours |
| Toys in the Attic Tour | Rocks Tour | Draw the Line Tour | Night in the Ruts Tour | Rock in a Hard Place Tour | Back in the Saddle Tour | Permanent Vacation Tour | Pump Tour | Get a Grip Tour | Nine Lives Tour | Just Push Play Tour | Girls of Summer Tour | Rocksimus Maximus Tour | Honkin' on Bobo Tour | Rockin' the Joint Tour | Route of All Evil Tour |
| Related content |
|
Achievements and Awards |
Contributions to Pop Culture |
Toxic Twins |
The Joe Perry Project |
Rock 'n' Roller Coaster |
Flaming Moe's |
Quest for Fame |
Revolution X Jack Douglas | Bruce Fairbairn | Desmond Child | John Kalodner | Mark Hudson | Jim Vallance | Richie Supa | Tim Collins | Marti Frederiksen Category:Aerosmith songs | Category:Aerosmith albums | Category:Aerosmith tours |
Categories: The Beatles songs | 1969 singles | Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles | Number-one singles in Germany | Apple Records singles | Songs produced by George Martin | Number-one singles in Australia | Aerosmith songs | Cover songs