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.
“His voice was just on another level, man,” said Casalena. “I don’t think there’s anyone specifically from the late [1960s] through the 70s era of rock and roll music that has as distinct of a voice as Joe Cocker. It’s just so soulful and soul-captivating.”
Casalenas has a special affinity for Cocker’s cover of “Come Together.” She said it even rivals the original.
“It’s just so heavy and bouncy,” Casalena said. “There’s something about his voice as he’s aged through the years that has a little bit more grit to it. And I think that just adds so much more depth to the song.”
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Ashley Locke produced and edited this interview for broadcast with Michael Scotto. Grace Griffin adapted it for the web.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
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