Exploring the countless covers of 'Come Together' by the Beatles
Many artists have covered the 1969 Beatles classic “Come Together” over the years, for better or worse.
John Lennon originally wrote “Come Together” as a song for Timothy Leary’s 1969 campaign for governor of California against incumbent Ronald Reagan. Leary didn’t end up using the song or winning his bid for office. When the Beatles began recording their album “Abbey Road,” Lennon started singing “Come Together” in the studio and fleshed out the rest of the lyrics.
Em Casalena, a music writer for American Songwriter, admitted that those lyrics are pretty nonsensical, and Beatles fans have been trying to parse through them for years to find meaning. Still, Casalena said, the song became a hit and inspired countless musicians to cover it.
Joe Cocker, the late rock and blues singer, was recently posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in part for his covers of Beatles hits. Paul McCartney even wrote a letter of support about Cocker to push for his induction.
Source: wbaa.org/Ashley Locke, Peter O'Dowd
