Many artists have over the years, for better or worse.
John Lennon originally wrote 鈥淐ome Together鈥� as a song for Timothy Leary鈥檚 1969 campaign for governor of California against incumbent Ronald Reagan. Leary didn鈥檛 end up using the song or winning his bid for office. When the Beatles began recording their album 鈥淎bbey Road,鈥� Lennon started singing 鈥淐ome Together鈥� in the studio and fleshed out the rest of the lyrics.
, a music writer for American Songwriter, admitted that those lyrics are pretty nonsensical, and Beatles fans have been trying to parse through them for years to find meaning. Still, Casalena said, the song became a hit and inspired countless musicians to cover it.
Joe Cocker, the late rock and blues singer, was recently posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in part for his covers of Beatles hits. Paul McCartney even wrote a letter of support about Cocker to push for his induction.
鈥淗is voice was just on another level, man,鈥� said Casalena. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think there鈥檚 anyone specifically from the late [1960s] through the 70s era of rock and roll music that has as distinct of a voice as Joe Cocker. It鈥檚 just so soulful and soul-captivating.鈥�
Casalenas has a special affinity for Cocker鈥檚 cover of 鈥淐ome Together.鈥� She said it even rivals the original.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just so heavy and bouncy,鈥� Casalena said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 something about his voice as he鈥檚 aged through the years that has a little bit more grit to it. And I think that just adds so much more depth to the song.鈥�
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