In July 1969, Paul McCartney arrived early for a Beatles recording session at Abbey Road and used the empty studio to make a demo entirely by himself. Before long, another band would turn his new song into its first major hit.
Badfinger released “Come and Get It” later that year in the U.K., with the single becoming an international success in 1970. Written and produced by McCartney, the relentlessly catchy track gave the Welsh group its breakthrough and established a connection between Badfinger and The Beatles that would follow the band throughout its career.
McCartney’s original demo was remarkably complete.
He recorded the piano, vocals, maracas, and drums himself, layering each part to demonstrate exactly how he wanted the finished song to sound. The entire process reportedly took less than an hour, resulting in a polished blueprint rather than a rough sketch.
McCartney then offered the song to the Iveys, who were signed to the Beatles’ Apple Records.
There was one condition: the group needed to follow his demo closely.
“I said to Badfinger, ‘Look, lads, don’t vary, this is good, just copy this down to the letter,'” McCartney said in a 1988 interview. “It’s perhaps a little bit undignified for you, a little bit lacking in integrity to have to copy someone’s work that rigidly, but this is the hit sound. Do it like this and we’re all right, we’ve got a hit. No one will know anyway. And if they do say anything say, ‘Yes, Paul did the arrangement, big deal, it’s not unheard of.'”
Rather than extensively rearranging “Come and Get It,” the musicians largely recreated McCartney’s version, with Tom Evans handling the lead vocal. McCartney also produced their recording.
The timing coincided with a major change for the group.
The Iveys soon became Badfinger, and “Come and Get It” was featured in the 1969 film The Magic Christian, starring Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr. Two additional Badfinger songs, “Carry On Till Tomorrow” and “Rock of All Ages,” were also used in the movie.
“Come and Get It” gave the newly renamed band an immediate boost.
“The Iveys had put out some records before Come and Get It that didn’t really take off,” Molland told Guitar World. “People think that because the band was signed to Apple that they were just given a straight ride to success, but that wasn’t the case. It wasn’t until ‘Come and Get It’ came out that the perception changed for Badfinger. Then people started to think, ‘Ahh, they can be a big success for Apple.'”
The single reached No. 4 on the U.K. Singles Chart and climbed to No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1970. It became Badfinger’s first major international hit and opened the door to an impressive run that included “No Matter What,” “Day After Day,” and “Baby Blue.”
The band would remain closely connected to the Beatles’ circle. George Harrison later produced sessions for Badfinger, while members of the group contributed to projects by Harrison and other Apple artists.
Fifty-six years after its American breakthrough, “Come and Get It” still carries McCartney’s unmistakable melodic touch. Yet Badfinger made the song an essential part of its own story, turning a quickly assembled Abbey Road demo into the record that launched one of the early ’70s’ most memorable rock bands.
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