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All Together Now (Beatles song)

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For other uses, see All Together Now (Beatles song) (disambiguation).

"All Together Now"
Song

"All Together Now" is a song by the Beatles written primarily by Paul McCartney[1][2] and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The song was recorded during the band's Magical Mystery Tour period, but remained unreleased until it was included on the Yellow Submarine soundtrack.[3] It was released as a single in 1972 in several European countries, including France and Germany, backed by "Hey Bulldog."

McCartney described the song as a children's sing-along with the title phrase inspired by the music hall tradition of asking the audience to join in.[1] He also described a "subcurrent" in the song, a dual-meaning where "we are all together now."[1] According to music critic Tom Maginnis of Allmusic, McCartney created the song "to match the same light-hearted spirit" of "Yellow Submarine".[4] "Yellow Submarine", the song, was from the prior year, 1966.

This song was composed by McCartney for use in the worldwide telecast of the UK segment of Our World TV special. "All Together Now" appears in an animated sequence in the film Yellow Submarine, and is also introduced by the Beatles themselves in a final live-action scene of the film, during which translations of "All Together Now" into various languages appear written on-screen (likely a nod to its inception as part of the aforementioned international show segment).

Recording

The track was recorded on 12 May 1967 at Abbey Road Studios and mixed the same day, but was not released until 13 January 1969, when it appeared on the soundtrack album.[3] George Martin was absent from this session, leaving recording engineer Geoff Emerick in charge of the control room.[5] The song took less than six hours to record and was recorded in nine takes, with the ninth one being the "best."[5]

Personnel

Personnel per Ian MacDonald[3]

Mark Lewisohn reported that the "party-style" backing vocals were provided by "whoever happened to be around."[5]

Cover versions

Paul McCartney performed the song live for the first time by any Beatle on his 2013 Out There! Tour.

"All Together Now" has been covered by various artists. Versions intended for children have been released by the Sugarbeats,[6] the Bingo Kids[7] and others.[8][9]

A German group, Joy Unlimited, did a heavy funk-rock version that music critic Richie Unterberger of Allmusic described as "an oddball obscure Beatles' cover."

The Muppets covered the song as the final track for their 1994 album Kermit Unpigged.

Rapper/singer Andre 3000 of the duo OutKast covered it for inclusion in a Nike commercial that ran during the 2010 NBA Finals.

Kenny Loggins covered it on his 2009 album All Join In.

In 2011, Sprint began using versions of the song to promote its wireless services in the US Portuguese mobile phone company Optimus has also used it this year as part of a new advertising campaign.

Tally Hall performed a cover of this in conjunction with Casey Shea and Speak as a planned encore at the 7th Street Entry stop on their Good & Evil tour.

Glove & Boots made a video of the song, with the puppet Mario coming up with his own lyrics while Fa-Fa and the rest sing a reasonably faithful version of the song.

In December 2014, The Peace Collective did a version of the song marking the 100th anniversary of the Christmas Day Truce during World War One, the events that inspired the writing of the song. The track, which was recorded by an all-star cast that included Clean Bandit, Gorgon City, Suggs, Mick Jones, David Gray, Julian Lennon, The Proclaimers, Gabrielle, Jah Wobble, Leo Sayer, John Power, Holly Johnson and Engelbert Humperdinck and others. The charity Christmas song was in aid of the British Red Cross and The Shorncliffe Trust.[10]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Miles 1997, p. 481.
  2. ^ Sheff 2000, p. 201.
  3. ^ a b c MacDonald 2005, p. 259.
  4. ^ Maginnis 2009.
  5. ^ a b c Lewisohn 1988, p. 112.
  6. ^ Phares 2009a.
  7. ^ Allmusic 2009a.
  8. ^ Phares 2009b.
  9. ^ Allmusic 2009b.
  10. ^ The Official Charts: Why All Together Now should be Christmas No.1, by The Peace Collective: “We are the underdogs”

References

  • "Overview of The Bingo Kids Sing Beatles Hits for Kids, Vol. 2". Allmusic. 2009a. Retrieved 5 September 2009.
  • "Overview of Drew's Famous Pick Your Own Halloween Hits". Allmusic. 2009b. Retrieved 5 September 2009.
  • Lewisohn, Mark (1988). The Beatles Recording Sessions. New York: Harmony Books. ISBN 0-517-57066-1. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • MacDonald, Ian (2005). Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties (Second Revised ed.). London: Pimlico (Rand). ISBN 1-84413-828-3. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Maginnis, Tom (2009). "Review of "All Together Now"". Allmusic. Retrieved 5 September 2009. {{cite web}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Phares, Heather (2009a). "Review of 21 Cool Songs". Allmusic. Retrieved 5 September 2009. {{cite web}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Phares, Heather (2009b). "Review of All You Need Is Love: Beatles Songs for Kids". Allmusic. Retrieved 5 September 2009. {{cite web}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Sheff, David (2000). All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-25464-4. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Unterberger, Richie (2009). "Review of Joy Unlimited". Allmusic. Retrieved 5 September 2009. {{cite web}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

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