Writer: John Lennon and Paul McCartney
Producer: George Martin
Recorded: July 1969 at EMI Studios, London
| Players: | John Lennon — vocals, guitar Paul McCartney — vocals, bass, piano George Harrison — guitar Ringo Starr — drums |
| Album: | Abbey Road (Apple, 1974) |
"Come Together" began as a theme song for Timothy Leary's campaign for governor of California against Ronald Reagan in 1969. Lennon started working on the song after Leary and his wife, Rosemary, visited John Lennon and Yoko Ono at their 1969 "bed-in" in Montreal, where the Learys added their voices to the chorus of "Give Peace A Chance." Lennon liked what he had come up with so much he fleshed out the song and recorded it with the Beatles.
The phrase "come together" is from the Chinese book of changes, the I Ching.
"Come Together" was released as the B-side of "Something," the first single from Abbey Road. It hit Number One on the pop chart.
The reference to "old flat top" comes from the Chuck Berry song "You Can't Catch Me." Berry sued for plagiarism, and it was settled out of court when Lennon agreed to record three songs for the publisher of "You Can't Catch Me."
Lennon performed the song at the One To One benefit concert on August 30, 1972, at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Aerosmith recorded "Come Together" for the 1978 film Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, which starred Peter Frampton and the Bee Gees. The Aerosmith version, performed as the Future Villain Band, hit Number 23 on the pop chart.
A cover version of the song has been featured prominently in an ad campaign for Nortel Networks.
