Paul McCartney Wrote This Pop Classic Overnight — In 1970, Badfinger Made It A Top 10 Hit

You may remember "Come and Get It" for its quintessentially Beatles vocal sound, or its catchy chorus, or just from its time on the radio in the spring of 1970, when it was released by Badfinger. "Come and Get It" was successful and reached the Top 10, and was also written in one sleepless night by the legendary rock 'n' roll musician Paul McCartney.

It all started in the summer of 1969, when McCartney was gripped by a new tune he'd thought of while lying in bed. Silently creeping downstairs to avoid waking his family and shutting himself away with a tape recorder, McCartney laid down the song, and did so with another band in mind. At the time, McCartney and the rest of the Beatles were working on "Abbey Road," the 1969 album many consider to be their very finest work, and so he put together a demo of "Come and Get It" for the band Badfinger, a mostly forgotten yet generation-defining band that was also part of the Apple Records label, to soon record.

Of course, Paul McCartney is known as a legendary songwriter, for both his work with the Beatles and in his later career, and is responsible for many hit songs — but his "Come and Get It," which is now a pop classic, ended up becoming an iconic hit for Badfinger.

Using the same setup as the "Abbey Road" recording sessions, Badfinger recorded the song under McCartney's guidance, and with little creative control. As McCartney said in "The Beatles: Anthology," "I said to Badfinger: 'OK, it's got to be exactly like this demo,' because it had a great feeling on it. They actually wanted to put their own variations on, but I said, 'No, this really is the right way.'" McCartney's vision would seem to be well-reasoned, since when "Come and Get It" was released in 1970, it found quick chart success, peaking at No. 7 and remaining on the Billboard Hot 100 for 15 weeks through the spring.

The song became one of Badfinger's biggest ever hits on the charts, only superceded by "Day After Day," which peaked at No. 4 two years later. The song would also be prominently featured in the film "The Magic Christian," which starred Ringo Starr, and for which the song had originally been intended.

"Come and Get It" is an extremely enjoyable listen over its short runtime of two and a half minutes, filled with compelling lyrics and memorable early '70s vocals. A common understanding of the track, one of Paul McCartney's many underrated songs, is that it reflects the Beatles' relationship with money and the music industry, as well as being a jab at the music industry's often predatory behavior: "If you want it, here it is, come and get it / Mm-mm-mm-mm, make your mind up fast / Did I hear you say that there must be a catch? / Will you walk away from a fool and his money?"

Until "Come and Get It" soared into the Top 10, Badfinger — previously known as the Iveys — had fallen short of mainstream success and had yet to break into the U.S. or U.K. Top 40. But after that boost from McCartney, the band enjoyed three more hits over the following couple of years, including "No Matter What," one of the best songs that nails '70s power pop.

Badfinger's version may have performed well on the charts, but rumors and bootlegs prompted fans to want the original version of the song, which was finally released in 1996 on the Beatles compilation album "Anthology 3."