"No Matter What" is a song originally recorded by

Badfinger Badfinger were a Welsh rock music, rock band formed in Swansea in 1961. Their best-known lineup consisted of Pete Ham (guitar), Mike Gibbins (drums), Tom Evans (musician), Tom Evans (bass), and Joey Molland (guitar). They are recognised for th ...

for their album ''

No Dice ''No Dice'' is the third studio album by British rock band Badfinger, issued by Apple Records and released on 9 November 1970. Their second album under the Badfinger name, but their first official album under that name, and first to include g ...

'' in 1970, written and sung by

Pete Ham Peter William Ham (27 April 1947 – 24 April 1975) was a Welsh singer, songwriter and guitarist best known as a lead vocalist of and composer for the 1970s rock band Badfinger, whose hit songs include "No Matter What (Badfinger song), No Matte ...

and produced by

Mal Evans Malcolm Frederick Evans (27 May 1935 – 4 January 1976) was an English road manager and personal assistant employed by the Beatles from 1963 until their break-up in 1970. In the early 1960s, Evans was employed as a telephone engineer, and ...

Recording

As a demo, "No Matter What" was originally recorded at a slower tempo by Ham on

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked, its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

(as heard on the posthumous Ham solo CD '' 7 Park Avenue''). A group demo version, played at the same tempo as Ham's acoustic demo, was recorded by Badfinger on 18 April 1970 with Mal Evans producing. The song was recorded again in a rockier fashion, at a faster tempo, by the band in May 1970 at

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, London, Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of ...

, and it was this version that appeared on the album and single. Although the song and recording was a favourite of Badfinger's shortly after it was completed, the hierarchy at

Apple Records Apple Records is a British record label founded by the Beatles in 1968 as a division of Apple Corps Ltd. It was initially intended as a creative outlet for the Beatles, both as a group and individually, plus a selection of other artists inclu ...

reportedly was not inclined to release it in any format. It was not until Al Steckler, the American director of Apple in New York, heard the tape in August 1970 and considered it a strong entry by the band, that it was remixed by engineer/producer

Geoff Emerick Geoffrey Ernest Emerick (5 December 1945 – 2 October 2018) was an English sound engineer and record producer who worked with the Beatles on their albums ''Revolver'' (1966), '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' (1967) and ''Abbey Road' ...

and slotted for the upcoming LP and as a single release.

Lyrics and music

According to

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

critic Ritchie Unterberger, the lyrics of "No Matter What" are essentially "a pledge of eternal love." Unterberger says that these lyrics are "sung with great infectious lilting cheer, pioneering the '

power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a subgenre of rock music and form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, ...

' style years before that was named by critics." Unterberger noted that the opening guitar chords are "not exactly hard rock and certainly not heavy metal, but dense and gripping." He also pointed out that similar to many

Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

songs, "the melody goes through a few different chord changes on the final line of the

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

than it does in the first half of the bridge, though retaining a similar progression." The song has a

false ending A false ending is a device in film and music that can be used to trick the audience into thinking that the work has ended, before it continues. The presence of a false ending can be anticipated through a number of ways. The medium itself might bet ...

, after the final chorus, where, after a short pause, the last line is repeated twice before the final ending chord.

Release

The single was released in the United States (12 October 1970), Canada, the Philippines and a few other countries, with the Tom Evans-Pete Ham song "Carry On Till Tomorrow" (the theme song for the movie '' The Magic Christian'') as the B-side. This was an edited version of the recording that had appeared on Badfinger's previous album, '' Magic Christian Music''. In all other countries, the single was backed with the Tom Evans- Joey Molland song "Better Days", which also appeared on ''

''.

Reception

It was the band's first UK Top 10 single to be composed by Badfinger, reaching number 5 in the UK in January 1971. In the US it peaked at number 8 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In South Africa it topped the charts. The band also scored with " Come and Get It", number 4 in the UK in January 1970, which was composed by

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

, and " Day After Day", number 10 in the UK in January 1972. ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' described the song as sounding "as though it might have come from a '65

LP" with "bright vocals and strong instrumentals." ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' said that "millions are going to love Badfinger's new single. The boys have a certain vocal sound that sets them apart." AllMusic critic Ritchie Unterberger said that "No Matter What" "boasted a strong McCartney-esque melody and very

que

vocal harmony Vocal harmony is a style of vocal music in which a consonant note or notes are simultaneously sung as a main melody in a predominantly homophonic texture. Vocal harmonies are used in many subgenres of European art music, including Classical ...

and guitars but felt that "derivative of McCartney it might have been, yet 'No Matter What' rocked a darn sight better than most of the songs McCartney himself put out in the early '70s." ''

Ultimate Classic Rock Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wit ...

'' critic Michael Gallucci rated it as Badfinger's 3rd best song, saying that it "features one of pop's all-time mightiest hooks" and that "from the terrific opening riff to the false ending, it's pure pop heaven." ''

Classic Rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...

'' critic Rob Hughes rated it as Badfinger's 4th best song, calling it "a declaration of loyalty and affection with a

middle eight The 32-bar form, also known as the AABA song form, American popular song form and the ballad form, is a song structure commonly found in Tin Pan Alley songs and other American popular music, especially in the first half of the 20th century. Th ...

and the kind of

hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved/bent back or has a deeply grooved indentation, which serves to grab, latch or in any way attach itself onto another object. The hook's d ...

that became synonymous with the soulful power pop of

Big Star Big Star was an American rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee in 1971 by Alex Chilton (vocals, guitar), Chris Bell (vocals, guitar), Jody Stephens (drums), and Andy Hummel (bass). They have been described as the "quintessential American ...

and The Raspberries." Hughes also praised Molland's guitar solo. ''Classic Rock History'' critic Janey Roberts also rated it as Badfinger's 4th best song. The song is notable for being one of the first successful records associated with the

sound, using all of the elements attributed to the genre. A subsequent single released by Badfinger, " Baby Blue" ( ''Billboard'' number 14, 1972), along with several album tracks in a similar vein, succeeded in categorizing the band themselves as power pop. This song is ranked number 1 on

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...

's "20 Essential Power Pop Tracks That Will Be Stuck In Your Head Forever".

Personnel

– lead vocals, rhythm guitar * Joey Molland – lead guitar, rhythm guitar,

lap steel guitar The lap steel guitar, also known as a Hawaiian guitar or lap slide guitar, is a type of steel guitar without pedals that is typically played with the instrument in a horizontal position across the performer's lap. Unlike the usual manner of pla ...

, backing vocals * Tom Evans – bass, backing vocals * Mike Gibbins – drums

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Def Leppard version

English rock band

Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drummer), Rick Allen (drums), Phil Collen (guitar, ...

covered "No Matter What" in 2005, recorded at Joe's Garage, Dublin and distributed by UML (Universal Music Group). It was included on their 2005 compilation album Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection and also on its 2006 album, '' Yeah!''.

began playing the song on their 2005 tour in support of their compilation album '' Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection'' along with a cover of David Essex's " Rock On" which appeared on the album. It reached the 24 place in the US Billboard Adult Top 40 Chart.

Personnel

* Joe Elliot – lead vocals *

Phil Collen Philip Kenneth Collen (born 8 December 1957) is an English musician who is best known as the co-lead guitarist for the rock band Def Leppard. Collen joined the band in 1982 during the recording of the ''Pyromania'' album. Before joining Def Le ...

– lead guitar *

Vivian Campbell Vivian Patrick Campbell (born 25 August 1962) is a Northern Irish musician. He came to prominence in the early 1980s as the guitarist of Dio. He has also been the guitarist of Def Leppard since 1992 (replacing Steve Clark after his death). C ...

– rhythm guitar * Rick Savage – bass * Rick Allen – drums * Ronan McHugh – engineer, producer

References

{{authority control 1970 songs 1970 singles 2005 singles Apple Records singles Mercury Records singles Badfinger songs Def Leppard songs Songs written by Pete Ham Number-one singles in South Africa