B-side "Rock of All Ages" Recorded September 1969 Length 2:22 | Format 7" vinyl Genre Power pop, pop rock | |
Released 5 December 1969 (1969-12-05) (UK)
12 January 1970 (US) | ||
"Come and Get It" is a song composed by Paul McCartney for the 1969 film The Magic Christian. The song was performed by Badfinger, produced by McCartney and issued as a single 5 December 1969 in the UK, and 12 January 1970 in the US on the Beatles' Apple label.
Contents
The Beatles (Paul McCartney) version
Paul McCartney recorded a solo demo of the song on 24 July 1969, when he arrived early for a Beatles recording session for their Abbey Road album. He sang the double-tracked lead vocal and played all the instruments: he sang and played piano on the first take, sang again and played maracas on the first overdub, drums came third and bass guitar was added last. It took less than an hour to finish. The biggest differences are a slower tempo and slightly higher key on McCartney's demo and the use of three-part harmonies on Badfinger's single. Though McCartney was the only Beatle performing on the track, it was officially released as a Beatles song on the 1996 Anthology 3 compilation album after appearing on various bootlegs. In his book Revolution in the Head, Ian MacDonald described it as "by far the best unreleased Beatles recording".
Badfinger version
On 2 August 1969, McCartney presented his demo to Apple band Badfinger (then called The Iveys) telling them, "Okay, it's got to be exactly like this demo." His "carrot" for the band was his offer to produce this song and two other Iveys originals for the movie The Magic Christian, since he had a contract to supply three songs for it. The band followed his instructions.
McCartney auditioned each of the four Iveys to sing lead on "Come and Get It". Ultimately, he picked fellow Liverpudlian Tom Evans over the three Welshmen, Pete Ham, Ron Griffiths, and Mike Gibbins.
The single was released on Apple Records on 5 December 1969 in the UK, but not until 12 January 1970 in the US. "Come and Get It" was a hit single for the band, peaking at number 7 in the United States, and number 4 in the United Kingdom. It was the opening theme for the film The Magic Christian, starring Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr (it was also repeated during the movie's closing credits, with an additional string arrangement added). The UK picture sleeve for the single shows all four members of Badfinger that appear on the song, although bassist Ron Griffiths left the band before the single was released.
In 1978 a reformed version of Badfinger re-recorded "Come and Get It" for K-tel Records, with Evans again singing lead. This served to provide a demo recording to give to Elektra, and resulted in the Airwaves album in 1979.
The Beatles (Paul McCartney) version
Badfinger version
Other versions
The song was covered by Peruvian band We All Together on their 1972 first and self-titled album. There is also a version by Elton John, featuring on the 2009 album Spirit In The Sky: Rare Sessions 1969–70, and American alternative rock band Lazlo Bane.
This song has been covered in French by Céline Lomez under the title "Ce que tu veux, je l'ai" (1970).
This song was also produced by Maclen Music Inc. (BMI) on Epic Records (45rpm) album #5-10580 for release to radio stations on 4 March 1970 and performed by the Vic Lewis Orchestra and His Singers.
Warrant covered the song on their 2001 cover album, Under The Influence.
Paul McCartney performed the song live for the first time in Bologna, Italy on 26 November 2011.
Toots Hibbert and Sly & Robbie cover the song on The Art of McCartney covers album released in 2014.
Most recently, Paul McCartney shared lead vocals with Alice Cooper in the cover of the song by supergroup Hollywood Vampires, which appears on their debut album Hollywood Vampires, released September 11, 2015. In addition to Cooper, and McCartney on lead vocals, piano and bass, the band features guitarist Joe Perry, Johnny Depp and drummer Abe Laboriel Jr.