Come and Get It (Badfinger song)

"Come and Get It" is a song composed by English singer-songwriter 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. It was the band's first release under the Badfinger name (having previously recorded as The Iveys) and was their international breakthrough, hitting the top 10 in both the UK and US singles charts.

"Come and Get It"
UK picture sleeve
Single by Badfinger
from the album Magic Christian Music
B-side"Rock of All Ages"
Released5 December 1969
Recorded2 August 1969
GenrePower pop, pop rock
Length2:22
LabelApple
Songwriter(s)Paul McCartney
Producer(s)Paul McCartney
Badfinger singles chronology
"Dear Angie"
(1969)		 "Come and Get It"
(1969)		 "No Matter What"
(1970)

The Beatles (Paul McCartney) version
"Come and Get It"
Song by the Beatles
from the album Anthology 3
Released28 October 1996
Recorded24 July 1969
StudioEMI Studios, London
GenreRock, pop
Length2:30
LabelApple
Songwriter(s)Paul McCartney
Producer(s)George Martin

Paul McCartney recorded a solo demo of the song on 24 July 1969, after arriving early for a Beatles recording session for their Abbey Road album. Singing the double-tracked lead vocal and playing all the instruments, he laid down the vocals and piano on the first take, sang again and played maracas on the first overdub, then added drums, and finally put in the bass guitar track. It took less than an hour to finish.[1] The biggest differences between the McCartney and Badfinger versions are a slower tempo and slightly higher key on the demo, and the use of three-part harmonies on the Badfinger 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 and the 2019 Abbey Road re-release, having already appeared on various bootlegs. The 2019 re-mix featured a significant improvement in the recording's sonic quality.[2]

In his book Revolution in the Head, Ian MacDonald described the song as "by far the best unreleased Beatles recording".

Badfinger version

On 2 August 1969, McCartney produced the studio version at EMI (Abbey Road) Studios by the 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.[3]

McCartney auditioned each of the four Iveys to sing lead on "Come and Get It". Ultimately, he picked Tom Evans over the other three band members, 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.[4] "Come and Get It" was a hit single for the band, peaking at number 7 in the United States,[5] and number 4 in the United Kingdom.[6] 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 a kaleidoscopic montage of all four members of Badfinger that appear on the song, although bassist Ron Griffiths left the band before the single was released.

Cash Box called it "a fine teen track."[7] Billboard called it "powerful."[8]

Ultimate Classic Rock critic Michael Gallucci and Classic Rock History critic Janey Robert both rated "Come and Get It" as Badfinger's greatest song.[9][10] Gallucci called it the highlight of Magic Christian Music.[9] Roberts called it Badfinger's signature song.[10] Classic Rock critic Rob Hughes rated it as Badfinger's 3rd greatest song, saying that the band "added lustrous three-part harmonies" to McCartney's original.[11]

In 1978 a re-formed 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 Records, and resulted in the Airwaves album in 1979.

Personnel

The Beatles (Paul McCartney) version

Badfinger version

Chart performance

References
  1. Lewisohn, Mark (1988). The Beatles Recording Sessions. New York: Harmony Books. p. 182. ISBN 0-517-57066-1.
  2. "The Unheard 'Abbey Road': An Exclusive Preview of Beatles' Expanded Final Masterpiece". Rolling Stone. 8 August 2019.
  3. The Beatles Anthology, p. 289
  4. Castleman, Harry; Podrazik, Walter J. (1977). "1969 – "But If Paul's Alive, How Did He Die?"". All Together Now – The First Complete Beatles Discography 1961–1975 (Second ed.). New York: Ballantine Books. p. 82. ISBN 0-345-25680-8.
  5. "allmusic – Badfinger – Billboard singles". Retrieved 20 February 2009.
  6. "The Official Charts Company – Badfinger – Come And Get It". Official Charts. Retrieved 20 February 2009.
  7. "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. 24 January 1970. p. 34. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  8. "Spotlight Singles" (PDF). Billboard. 24 January 1970. p. 79. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  9. Gallucci, Michael (26 April 2013). "Top 10 Badfinger Songs". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  10. Roberts, Janey (6 September 2019). "Top 10 Badfinger songs". Classic Rock History. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  11. Hughes, Rob (26 June 2016). "The top 10 best Badfinger songs". Classic Rock. Louder Sound. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  12. "Come And Get It". beatlesbible.com. 14 March 2008. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
  13. "The Beatles Rarity » Beatles Rarity of the Week – "Come and Get It" (True stereo demo, 1969)". Archived from the original on 17 January 2017. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
  14. "Songs from the Year 1972". Tsort.info. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
  15. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Come and Get It". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  16. "flavour of new zealand – search listener". Flavourofnz.co.nz. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
  17. "Top 100 Hits of 1970/Top 100 Songs of 1970". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
  18. "Top 100 Year End Charts: 1970". Cashbox Magazine. Archived from the original on 22 September 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
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