| "Come Together" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) 1989 UK reissue picture sleeve | ||||
| Single bythe Beatles | ||||
| from the albumAbbey Road | ||||
| A-side | "Something" (double A-side) | |||
| Released | 6 October 1969 (1969-10-06) | |||
| Recorded | 21–30 July 1969 | |||
| Studio | EMI, London | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:19 | |||
| Label | Apple | |||
| Songwriter | Lennon–McCartney | |||
| Producer | George Martin | |||
| The Beatles singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Audio sample | ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Come Together" onYouTube | ||||
"Come Together" is a song by the English rock bandthe Beatles, written byJohn Lennon and credited toLennon–McCartney. The song is the opening track on the band's 1969 studio albumAbbey Road. It was also adouble A-side in the United Kingdom with "Something", reaching No. 4 in the UK charts, as well as No. 1 in theBillboard Hot 100.
The song has been covered by several other artists, includingIke & Tina Turner,Aerosmith,Eurythmics,Michael Jackson,Joe Cocker,Arctic Monkeys, andGary Clark Jr.
In early 1969,John Lennon and his wife,Yoko Ono, held nonviolent protests against theVietnam War, dubbed theBed-ins for Peace. In May, during theMontreal portion of the bed-in,counterculture figures from across North America visited Lennon. Among the visitors was the American psychologistTimothy Leary, an early advocate ofLSD whom Lennon admired.[4] Leary intended to run forGovernor of California in thefollowing year's election, and he asked Lennon to write him acampaign song based on the campaign's slogan, "Come Together – Join the Party!"[5] The resulting chant was only a line long: "Come together and join the party".[4] Lennon promised to finish and record the song,[4] and Leary later recalled Lennon giving him a tape of the piece, but the two did not interact again.[6]
In July 1969, during sessions forthe Beatles' albumAbbey Road, Lennon used the phrase "come together" from the Leary campaign song to compose a new song for the album.[7] Based on the 1956 single "You Can't Catch Me" by the American guitaristChuck Berry,[8] Lennon's composition began as an up-tempoblues number,[9] only slightly altering Berry's original lyric of "Here come a flattop / He was movin' up with me" to "Here come ol' flattop / He come groovin' up slowly".[10][11] Lennon further incorporated the phrase "shoot me" from his unfinished and unreleased January 1969 song "Watching Rainbows".[8] The authorPeter Doggett wrote that "each phrase [passes] too quickly to be understood at first hearing, the sound as important as the meaning".[11]
In a December 1987 interview bySelina Scott on the television showWest 57th Street,George Harrison stated that he wrote two lines of the song.[12]
The Beatles taped the basic track for "Come Together" at EMI Studios (nowAbbey Road Studios) in Studio Three on 21 July 1969, during the sessions forAbbey Road.George Martin produced the session, assisted by thebalance engineersGeoff Emerick andPhil McDonald.[13] At McCartney's request, the session marked Emerick's first with the group since July 1968; Emerick had quit working with the group during sessions for their 1968 album,The Beatles (also known as "the White Album"), due to what he found to be a tense and negative atmosphere.[14][note 1] The song was Lennon's first new composition for the band in three months, after he and McCartney recorded "The Ballad of John and Yoko" on 14 April.[13][note 2]
The group taped eight takes of "Come Together", with take six marked "best".[13][16] The line-up consisted of Lennon singing lead vocal, McCartney on bass,George Harrison on rhythm guitar andRingo Starr on drums.[13][17] Starr placedtea towels over histom drums to further dampen their sound.[16] Without needing to use his hands to play guitar, Lennon added handclaps each time he sang "Shoot me!",[13] also addingtambourine over both the solo andcoda.[17] Taped on4-track recording equipment,[17] at the end of the session, take six was copied over to 8-track tape in Studio Two,[13] allowing for bothoverdubbing and the easy manipulation ofEQ.[18]
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Overdubbing for "Come Together" took place in the week following the recording of the basic track.[19] On 22 July, Lennon sang a new lead vocal and again added handclaps, both being treated to atape delay,[16] withautomatic double tracking added during the choruses.[20] At Lennon's request, McCartney played aFender Rhodeselectric piano,[21] with McCartney later recalling that Lennon "wanted a piano lick to be very swampy and smokey, and I played it that way and he liked that a lot".[8][note 3] Harrison added a heavily distorted guitar during the refrains,[23] while Starr added amaraca.[24] Work on the track continued the next day,[13] with more vocals added.[20] On 25 July, McCartney contributed a harmony vocal sung below Lennon's part,[25] and on 29 July, Lennon overdubbed a guitar during the song's middle climax.[26] Work on the song finished the next day,[27] with Harrison playing a lead guitar solo with aGibson Les Paul during the song's coda.[28]
Mixing on "Come Together" was completed on 7 August in Studio Two.[20][29] Done on EMI's newsolid statemixing console, theEMI TG12345, Emerick later suggested that the console's "softer and rounder"sonic texture influenced the band's performances, with "the rhythm tracks ... coming back off tape a little less forcefully", the overdubs were subsequently "performed with less attitude".[30] He also suggests that, because McCartney's bass hits on the "me" of Lennon's line "Shoot me!", only "Shoot" is easily audible on the finished recording.[13] Tenstereo mixes were made during the process, with the first attempt marked "best".[29] Like the rest ofAbbey Road, the song was never mixed formono.[31]
Lennon later referred to "Come Together" as "one of my favourite Beatles tracks. It's funky, it's bluesy, and I'm singing it pretty well."[32] Martin said of the song:
If I had to pick one song that showed the four disparate talents of the boys and the ways they combined to make a great sound, I would choose 'Come Together'. The original song is good, and with John's voice it's better. Then Paul has this idea for this great little riff. And Ringo hears that and does a drum thing that fits in, and that establishes a pattern that John leapt upon and did the ['shoot me'] part. And then there's George's guitar at the end. The four of them became much, much better than the individual components.[32]
In May 2021,Ringo Starr said it was his favourite Beatles song in an interview onThe Late Show with Stephen Colbert.[33]
Apple Records, the Beatles'EMI-distributed record label, releasedAbbey Road on 26 September 1969,[34] with "Come Together" sequenced as the opening track.[35] The song was issued as a double A-side single (as Apple 2654) with Harrison's "Something" on 6 October in America.[35][36] Commercially, the single was a massive success, staying on the USBillboard Hot 100 chart for 16 weeks, and reaching No. 1.[37] It was released on 31 October 1969 in the UK (as Apple R5814) and reached No. 4.
The first take of the song, recorded on 21 July 1969, with slightly different lyrics, was released in 1996 on the outtake compilationAnthology 3,[17] and take five of the song was released on theAbbey Road 50th Anniversary release.
Tony Barrow, reviewingAbbey Road for theLiverpool Echo, referred to "Come Together" as "magnificently funky" and highlighted "its intriguing lyrics".[38] A reviewer for theWestern Daily Press named "Come Together" as one of the album's best tracks,[39] and Jack Batten ofThe Toronto Star noted the song's "eminently hummable little melodic riff".[40]
"Come Together" has frequently appeared on numerous publications' lists of the Beatles' best songs. In 2006,Mojo magazine placed it at No. 13 in their list of the Beatles' 101 best songs.[41] Four years later,Rolling Stone ranked it No. 9 on their list of the band's 100 greatest songs.[32][42] Meanwhile,Entertainment Weekly andUltimate Classic Rock ranked it at No. 44 and No. 20, respectively.[43][44] In 2015,NME[citation needed] andPaste placed it at No. 20 and No. 23 in their respective lists of the band's best songs.[45]
Rolling Stone ranked "Come Together" at No. 202 on their list ofthe 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2004,[46] re-ranking it No. 205 in the 2010 revised list.[citation needed] In 2024,Consequence ranked the song's bassline as the best of all time.[47]
In late 1969, "Come Together" was the subject of acopyright infringement claim brought against Lennon by Big Seven Music, the publisher ofChuck Berry's "You Can't Catch Me".[48]Morris Levy, the owner of Big Seven Music, contended that it sounded similar musically to Berry's original and shared some lyrics (Lennon sang: "Here come ol' flattop, he come groovin' up slowly", and Berry's had sung: "Here come a flattop, he was movin' up with me"). Before recording, Lennon and McCartney deliberately slowed the song down and added a heavy bass riff in order to make the song more original.[49] The case was settled out of court in 1973, with Levy's lawyers agreeing that Lennon would compensate by recording three Big Seven songs for his next album.[50] A brief version of "Ya Ya" with Lennon and his sonJulian was released on the albumWalls and Bridges in 1974. "You Can't Catch Me" and another version of "Ya Ya" were released on Lennon's 1975 albumRock '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 $6,795.00. Lennon countersued after Levy released an album of Lennon material using tapes that were in his possession and was eventually awarded $84,912.96. The album was calledRoots: John Lennon Sings the Great Rock & Roll Hits.[51]
According to Kevin Howlett:[52]
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Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[82] | Gold | 30,000‡ |
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[83] | Gold | 45,000‡ |
| Italy (FIMI)[84] sales since 2009 | Platinum | 70,000‡ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[85] | 2× Platinum | 60,000‡ |
| Spain (PROMUSICAE)[86] | Platinum | 60,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[87] sales since 2010 | Platinum | 600,000‡ |
| United States | — | 1,750,000[88] |
| Summaries | ||
| Worldwide original release | — | 2,500,000[88] |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
| "Come Together" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 French picture sleeve | ||||
| Single byIke & Tina Turner &the Ikettes | ||||
| from the albumCome Together | ||||
| B-side | "Honky Tonk Women" | |||
| Released | December 1969 (1969-12) | |||
| Length | 3:37 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter | Lennon–McCartney | |||
| Producer | Ike Turner | |||
| Ike & Tina Turner singles chronology | ||||
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| The Ikettes singles chronology | ||||
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A month after the original version by the Beatles was released,Ike & Tina Turner began performing their rendition of "Come Together," most notably atMadison Square Garden in November 1969.[89] Due to the public response to their live performances,Minit Records rushed the release of a studio version.[90] The single, also credited tothe Ikettes, was released in December 1969.[91] It reached number 57 on theBillboard Hot 100 and number 21 on theBillboard R&B Singles chart.[92][93] The B-side features another soul-infused rock cover, "Honky Tonk Women" bythe Rolling Stones.[94]
"Come Together" is the lead single from Ike & Tina Turner's 1970 albumof the same name.[95] The song has been released on various compilations, includingGreatest Hits (1976),Proud Mary: The Best of Ike & Tina Turner (1991), andThe Ike & Tina Turner Story: 1960–1975 (2007). A live version was recorded atL'Olympia in Paris on 30 January 1971, and released later that year on their live albumLive in Paris.
"Come Together" was the only Beatles song Lennon sang during his 1972 Madison Square Garden concerts. It was Lennon's only full-length concert performance after leaving the Beatles.[96] He was backed by the bandElephant's Memory.[97] This version of the song appears on the concert albumLive in New York City,[98] recorded on 30 August 1972 and released in 1986.
| "Come Together" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byAerosmith | ||||
| from the albumSgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band | ||||
| B-side | "Kings and Queens" | |||
| Released | 31 July 1978 (1978-07-31) | |||
| Recorded | 1978 | |||
| Length | 3:46 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Songwriter | Lennon–McCartney | |||
| Producer | Jack Douglas | |||
| Aerosmith singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Come Together" (audio) onYouTube | ||||
Americanhard rock bandAerosmith recorded one of the most successful cover versions of "Come Together" in 1978. The band performed the song in the 1978 filmSgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band; their recording appeared on its accompanyingsoundtrack album.[99] Released as a single in July 1978, Aerosmith's version was an immediate success, reaching number 23 on theBillboard Hot 100,[100] following on the heels of a string ofTop 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.
Another recording of the song was released several months later on Aerosmith's live albumLive! Bootleg. The song also featured onAerosmith's Greatest Hits, the band's firstsingles compilation released in 1980. Their live performance from the33rd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was released in a Grammy compilation CD. The song has also surfaced on a number of Aerosmith compilations and live albums since then, as well as on thesoundtrack for the filmArmageddon.[101]
Godsmack released "Come Together" in 2012 on theLive & Inspired album. An official music video was released and the single entered the Hard Rock Charts at number 11, then in 2017 resurfaced to land at position No. 1 on Billboard's Hard Rock Digital Song Sales chart.
| "Come Together" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byGary Clark Jr. &Junkie XL | ||||
| from the albumJustice League: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | ||||
| Released | 8 September 2017 (2017-09-08) | |||
| Length | 3:13 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter | Lennon–McCartney | |||
| Producer | Junkie XL | |||
| Gary Clark Jr. singles chronology | ||||
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| Junkie XL singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Come Together" (Official Music Video) onYouTube | ||||
American musicianGary Clark Jr. and Dutch composerJunkie XL released a cover version of "Come Together" as the first single from thesoundtrack of the 2017 superhero filmJustice League on 8 September.[102][103] A music video featuring Gary Clark Jr. on guitar and vocals interspersed with cuts of footage from the film was released on 27 October.[104] The single reached No. 27 on theBillboardDigital Songs Sales and No. 7 on theBillboardHot Rock & Alternative Songs.[105][106]
Weekly charts
| Chart (2017) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Wallonia)[107] | 17 |
| USAlternative Airplay (Billboard)[108] | 39 |
| USDigital Song Sales (Billboard)[109] | 27 |
| USHot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[110] | 7 |
| USMainstream Rock (Billboard)[111] | 15 |
| USRock & Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[112] | 31 |
McCartney recorded an updated version of "Come Together" withNoel Gallagher andPaul Weller for the 1995 charity albumHelp, under the name the Smokin' Mojo Filters (derived from a line in the song).[113] Weller performed the lead vocal duties, with McCartney and Gallagher providing backing vocals, harmonies and bass and guitar. Their rendition reached No. 19 on the UK Singles Chart in December 1995.[114]
Michael Jackson also covered the song in 1986. The song was recorded forBad (1987), but was scrapped and instead put onHIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I (1995). It was also included as a B-side on Jackson's "Remember the Time" CD single. It was featured at the end of the 1988 filmMoonwalker and also had an official video. Notably, it was the only Beatles song covered by Jackson on an official release. Jackson hadpurchased the publishing rights to the Beatles' catalogue in 1985 and thus owned the rights to "Come Together" at the time he covered the song.
Arctic Monkeys covered the song for the2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, it was released on the albumIsles of Wonder and reached No. 21 on the UK Singles Chart.[115][116]
Foo Fighters,Liam Gallagher and Aerosmith's Joe Perry covered "Come Together" at the CalJam Festival in San Bernardino, California in 2017. Gallagher forgot the words during the performance, later explaining that he thought they were performing "I Am the Walrus".[117][118]
It's a surface-heavy blues-rock tune, flanging and wailing away…
U.S.A sales went to around 1,750,0000. The global tally around 2,500,000
