Whilst they might have had an oscillating personal relationship, there is no doubt that John Lennon and Paul McCartney had the most potent songwriting partnership the world has ever known. Off the back of their creations, The Beatles meteorically rose as the most famous band on the planet and changed the world with their music.
It was The Beatles who laid many of the foundations of modern popular music as we know it. From now ubiquitous approaches to songwriting to the way aesthetics and album covers are now central to an artist’s brand, many aspects that are central to the modern music industry can be traced back to them. In short, they were much more than just a musical group.
However, the Beatles would have been nothing without the music, as that was the basis of all their success. Establishing an extensive oeuvre in their decade in the sun, the Liverpudlian quartet embarked on one of the most compelling creative arcs in rock music history. What started with the sugary pop of their early days ended with the compositional grandeur of their final chapter.
One of the finest tracks by The Beatles is ‘Come Together’. From the bassline to the central lyrical refrain, it is a classic in every sense and was a fitting way to open 1969’s penultimate album, Abbey Road. Credited to the storied Lennon-McCartney partnership, the primary authorship of the track is widely attributed to John Lennon; however, McCartney maintains it was he who made it the “genius record” that fans love.
McCartney made his comments when speaking to The Washington Post in 2017. “We had a very easy manner where both of us knew that the other was only in it to help and we were pooling our resources,” he said. “So many times I would help John out with a problem in his song, but conversely, he’d do exactly the same with me. We knew that we would do that, and it was perfectly allowed”.
“It’s not a question of pushing,” McCartney continued. “It’s a question of just being. I’m writing, ‘It’s getting better all the time’ and John comes in with, ‘Couldn’t get no worse.’ Instead of going, ‘Oh, you’re spoiling my lovely song.’ I go, ‘Genius, great.’
“I would do the same thing for him,” he added. “John famously brought in ‘Come Together’ sounding very much like a Chuck Berry song called ‘You Can’t Catch Me.’ I said, ‘That’s Chuck Berry.’ He went, ‘Yeah.’ I said, ‘No, no, no.’ And we swapped it out and slowed it down and made a genius record. I’m allowed to say that now.”
Listen to ‘Come Together’ below.
