A Celebrity Said The Beatles’ ‘Come Together’ Ripped Him Off
The Beatles‘ “Come Together” was inspired by a campaign slogan for a celebrity’s run for office. The star felt John Lennon ripped him off. Subsequently, John said that interpretation of events was ridiculous.
The Beatles’ ‘Come Together’ was inspired by a writer who advocated the use of LSD
Timothy Leary was an author and notable advocate of LSD. Leary was famous for The Psychedelic Experience, a book about drugs based on The Tibetan Book of the Dead. He exerted a considerable influence over the psychedelic 1960s counterculture, including The Beatles. For example, he briefly ran for governor of California and John tried to write a campaign song for him.
The book All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono features a 1980 interview. In it, John was asked about “Come Together.” “The thing was created in the studio,” he said. “It’s gobbledygook; ‘Come Together’ was an expression that Tim Leary had come up with for his attempt at being president or whatever he wanted to be, and he asked me to write a campaign song.
“I tried and I tried, but I couldn’t come up with one,” John continued. “But I came up with this, ‘Come Together,’ which would’ve been no good to him — you couldn’t have a campaign song like that, right?”
John Lennon dismissed the idea that The Beatles ripped off Timothy Leary
John revealed Leary didn’t like “Come Together.” “Leary attacked me years later, saying I ripped him off,” he said. “I didn’t rip him off. It’s just that it turned into ‘Come Together.’ What am I going to do, give it to him?”
John revealed his opinion of “Come Together.” “It was a funky record — it’s one of my favorite Beatle tracks, or, one of my favorite Lennon tracks, let’s say that,” he said. “It’s funky, it’s bluesy, and I’m singing it pretty well. I like the sound of the record. You can dance to it. I’ll buy it!”
How ‘Come Together’ performed in the United States and the United Kingdom
“Come Together” peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for a week, lasting on the chart for 16 weeks. “Come Together” appeared on the classic album Abbey Road, which topped the Billboard 200 for 11 weeks. The album lasted on the chart for a whopping 489 weeks.
According to The Official Charts Company, “Come Together” peaked at No. 4 in the United Kingdom. Altogether, the tune spent 12 weeks on the chart. Later, it recharted at No. 84 for a single week. On the other hand, Abbey Road reached No. 1 in the U.K. for 17 weeks. It remained on the chart for 97 weeks in total.
“Come Together” inspired covers by numerous acts, including Michael Jackson and the Arctic Monkeys. Perhaps the most famous cover of “Come Together” is Aerosmith’s. Their version is faithful to the Fab Four’s original, though Steven Tyler sings it in his inimitable way.
“Come Together” wouldn’t exist without Leary — even though he wasn’t a fan of the tune.
