Badfinger - Songs

ABOUT

Badfinger was a highly acclaimed power pop/rock band with an energetic Beatlesque sound that became famous during the early 1970s. The band's best known songs include the catchy and sardonic "Come And Get It" (1970), the soaring "No Matter What" (1970), the wistful "Day After Day" (1971), and the upbeat yet poignant "Baby Blue" (1972).

Badfinger's history dates back to 1961 with the formation of The Iveys, a highly versatile pop/rock group from Swansea, Wales originally consisting of Roy Anderson (drums), Ron Griffiths (bass, vocals), David Jenkins (rhythm guitar, vocals), and lead guitarist/singer Pete Ham (April 27, 1947 - April 24, 1975) who served as the band's main songwriter and later penned most of Badfinger's biggest hits. Drummer Mike Gibbins (March 12, 1949 - October 4, 2005) joined the band in 1965, replacing Anderson, and guitarist/bassist Tom Evans (June 5, 1947 - November 19, 1983) replaced Jenkins in 1967. In 1968, The Iveys became the first act to be signed to The Beatles' newly-formed Apple Records label, and the following year, they released their debut album, "Maybe Tomorrow." The band soon after renamed itself Badfinger, a moniker reportedly inspired by the working title for The Beatles' "With A Little Help From My Friends" which was dubbed "Bad Finger Boogie" for a brief time because John Lennon had composed this song on piano using his middle finger after having injured his forefinger. In late 1969, Griffiths left Badfinger and was replaced by guitarist Joey Molland, completing the band's classic hitmaking lineup.

The band had its first charting song in the U.S. in 1969 as The Iveys with "Maybe Tomorrow," the title song from their debut album. Their fame took off in 1970 with "Come And Get It," which made the Top 10 and became their first hit as Badfinger. Written and produced by Paul McCartney, this song is part of the soundtrack to "The Magic Christian" (1969) co-starring Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr. Badfinger's fame continued to soar worldwide with "No Matter What" (1970), "Day After Day" (1971), and "Baby Blue" (1972), and the band also had a minor hit in 1974 with "Apple Of My Eye." Badfinger re-emerged years later on the charts in 1979 with "Love Is Gonna Come At Last," and the band had one final hit in 1981 with "Hold On." Other songs for which Badfinger became famous include their original non-charting version of the Ham/Evans-penned "Without You" from their 1970 album, "No Dice." This extensively-covered romantic ballad, which won Ham and Evans an Ivor Novello award, topped the charts for Harry Nillson in 1972 and, many years later, also became a top hit for Mariah Carey in 1994.

At the height of their commercial fame, Badfinger toured extensively and released five albums on Apple before the label began to fold in 1973, saddling the band with numerous insurmountable legal, managerial, and financial problems that led to Ham's suicide in 1975 and Badfinger's subsequent dissolution. In 1978, Molland and Evans reformed Badfinger with several other musicians, but continued unresolved issues and tensions within the band eventually caused Evans to take his life in 1983. Although relatively short-lived, this hugely popular but ill-fated band, once regarded as a likely successor to The Beatles, has sold 14 million albums to date. Molland remains the last surviving member of the classic lineup.

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SONGS

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Badfinger

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