Come Together
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| “Come Together” | |||||
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| Single by The Beatles | |||||
| A-side | "Something" | ||||
| Released | 31 October 1969 (UK) | ||||
| Format | 7" | ||||
| Recorded | Abbey Road Studioes: 21 July 1969 |
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| Genre | Rock | ||||
| Length | 4:18 | ||||
| Label | Apple Records | ||||
| Writer(s) | Lennon/McCartney | ||||
| Producer | George Martin | ||||
| The Beatles singles chronology | |||||
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| “ | 'Come Together' changed at the session. We said, 'Let's slow it down. Let's do this to it, let's do that to it,' and it ends up however it comes out. I just said, 'Look, I've got no arrangement for you, but you know how I want it.' I think that's partly because we've played together a long time. So I said, 'Give me something funky and set up a beat, maybe.' And they all just joined in. | „ |
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—John Lennon, 1969 |
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| “ | On the new album I like 'Come Together,' which is a great one of John's. | „ |
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—Paul McCartney, 1969 |
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| “ | Come Together" was one of the last ones to be recorded. John was in an (automobile) accident, so he was off for a period of time. Then when we got back, which was only a week or so before we finished the album, we did this one. I think he wrote it only a month or so ago, so it's very new. It's sort of twelve-bar type of tune, and it's one of the nicest sounds we've got, actually. Nice drumming from Ringo. And it's sort of up-tempo. I suppose you'd call it a rocker. Rocker-beat-a-boogie. | „ |
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—George Harrison, 1969 |
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| “ | 'Come Together' is me — writing obscurely around an old Chuck Berry thing. I left the line 'Here comes old flat-top.' It is nothing like the Chuck Berry song, but they took me to court because I admitted the influence once years ago. I could have changed it to 'Here comes old iron face,' but the song remains independent of Chuck Berry or anybody else on earth. The thing was created in the studio. It's gobbledygook — 'Come Together' was an expression that Tim Leary had come up with for his attempt at being president or whatever he wanted to be, and he asked me to write a campaign song. I tried and I tried, but I couldn't come up with one. But I came up with this, 'Come Together,' which would've been no good to him — you couldn't have a campaign song like that, right? Leary attacked me years later, saying I ripped him off. I didn't rip him off. It's just that it turned into 'Come Together.' What am I going to do, give it to him? It was a funky record — it's one of my favorite Beatle tracks, or, one of my favorite Lennon tracks, let's say that. It's funky, it's bluesy, and I'm singing it pretty well. I like the sound of the record. You can dance to it. I'll buy it! | „ |
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—John Lennon, 1980 |
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John Lennon performing Come Together in Madison Square Garden in New York City, on August 30, 1972, with his band Elephant's Memory, and with Yoko Ono on keyboards. A great performance:
