Paul McCartney Wrote Badfinger’s ‘Come and Get It’ and Didn’t Want Them to Change It
Paul McCartney wrote classic rock songs for numerous artists besides The Beatles. For example, he penned Badfinger’s “Come and Get It.” Subsequently, Paul revealed what he thought of the song and the band.
Paul McCartney left Linda McCartney in bed to write Badfinger’s ‘Come and Get It’
In the 1997 book Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now, Paul discussed how “Come and Get It” came together. “I wrote this very late one-night at Cavendish Avenue, leaving Linda in bed and saying, I’ve got an idea for a song,” he recalled.
Paul had a positive reaction to the song immediately. “I went downstairs and just whispered it into my tape recorder,” he said. “I played it very quietly so as not to wake her.” Paul described the tune as “a very catchy song.” Notably, The Beatles recorded a demo of “Come and Get It” that appears on some copies of the album Abbey Road. It’s interesting to image the song becoming a hit for the Fab Four.
Badfinger wanted to change the song but Paul McCartney insisted it worked as it was
Paul had some advice for Badfinger. “I ran in and did it very, very quickly with Phil MacDonald, the engineer,” he said. “And I said to Badfinger, ‘You should copy this faithfully.’
“They said, ‘But we’d like to change it a little bit,'” he said. “I said, ‘No, it’s absolutely the right arrangement.’ They said, ‘But — ‘I said, ‘Change the size, or change all the other stuff on the album, make those all yours, but please don’t change this. I can guarantee it’s a hit.'” Paul’s advice was probably very good considering he proved over and over again in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s that he knew how to write hits.
Paul discussed what he thought of the band. “They had Pete Ham with them, who was a very good songwriter and wrote a marvelous song for [Harry] Nilsson called ‘Without You,'” he said. Paul expressed sadness at Ham’s suicide. Though Ham only lived for 27 years, he left behind a tremendous musical legacy that is cherished by classic rock fans to this day.
How ‘Come and Get It’ performed in the United States and the United Kingdom
“Come and Get It” became a big hit in the United States. The tune reached No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed on the chart for 15 weeks. It became the band’s highest-charting single in the U.S. with the exception of “Day After Day,” which hit No. 4.
According to The Official Charts Company, “Come and Get It” peaked at No. 4 in the United Kingdom and remained on the chart for 11 weeks. Notably, the group released two more top 10 hits in the U.K.: “No Matter What” and “Day After Day.” Notably, “Come and Get It” helped make power pop a mainstream genre in the U.S. and the U.K.
“Come and Get It” became one of the most important tunes of Badfinger’s career and it wouldn’t exist without Paul’s musical genius.
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