"Join Together" was a hit for singer
Steve Allen
Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen (December 26, 1921 – October 30, 2000) was an American television personality, radio personality, musician, composer, actor, comedian, and writer. In 1954, he achieved national fame as the co-cre ...
in 1974. The song was chosen for the
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...
that year. It was released on the
Viking
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
record label.
Background
Allen had previously had a no 1 hit in New Zealand with his version of "
Top Of The World".
"Join Together" was recorded in winter at Wellington in the EMI studios in the winter of 1973. The backing track was recorded with just four musicians. It had Allen on piano, drummer, Mike Conway,bassist, Dave Orams, and organist Mike Le Petit. The other parts were added later. It was an entrant in the Studio One competition. Competing against "Country Spring" by Larry Philip, "Take My Life" by
, "Natural Man by
Bunny Walters
Bunny Te Kokiri Miha Waahi Walters (31 May 1953 – 14 December 2016) was a New Zealand singer who had a number of New Zealand hits during the 1970s. He is best known for the hits "Brandy" and "Take the Money and Run".
Background
Of Ngāi Te Ra ...
, "What Do You Do" by
Lutha, and "Games Spirit" by
Nash Chase
Nash Chase is a former pop singer from New Zealand who recorded for the Ode and HMV labels. He released a string of singles in the early 1970s. He is remembered for " What Greater Love", " Today I Killed a Man I Didn't Know" and " Anderson and W ...
, it won by a margin of 30,000. The song made it to no 2 in the Top 20, and was kept from the no 1 spot by
Helen Reddy
Helen Maxine Reddy (25 October 194129 September 2020) was an Australian-American singer, actress, television host, and activist. Born in Melbourne to a showbusiness family, Reddy started her career as an entertainer at age four. She sang on rad ...
's
Delta Dawn
"Delta Dawn" is a song written by musician Larry Collins and country songwriter Alex Harvey. The first notable recording of the song was in 1971 by American singer and actress Bette Midler for her debut album. However it is best known as a 19 ...
.
The song was banned in South Africa because the words freedom, race, peace, black and white were deemed unsuitable.
[''The Commonwealth Games: Extraordinary Stories behind the Medals'', By Brian Oliver ]
Page 102
/ref>
References
1973 singles
1973 songs
Steve Allen (singer) songs
1974 British Commonwealth Games
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