"Join Together" was a hit for singer

Steve Allen Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen (December 26, 1921 – October 30, 2000) was an American television and radio personality, comedian, musician, composer, writer, and actor. In 1954, he achieved national fame as the co-creator and ...

in 1974. The song was chosen for the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

that year. It was released on the

Viking Vikings were 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 settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

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

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

in the

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

studios in the winter of 1973. The backing track was recorded with just four musicians. It had Allen on piano, vocals and drums, Mike Conway on drums, Dave Orams on bass, 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 Desna Sisarich, "Natural Man by Bunny Walters, "What Do You Do" by Lutha, and "Games Spirit" by Nash Chase, 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 show business family, Reddy started her career as an entertainer at age four. She sang on ra ...

'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 '' The Divine Miss M''. However i ...

'. 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 {{1970s-pop-song-stub