No Matter What (Badfinger song)

"No Matter What"

Cover of the 1970 UK single
Single by Badfinger
from the album No Dice
B-side "Better Days" (UK)
"Carry on Till Tomorrow" (US)
Released November 6, 1970 (1970-11-06)
Format 7"
Recorded April 1970
Genre Power pop[1][2]
Length 2:57
Label Apple
Writer(s) Pete Ham
Producer(s) Mal Evans
Badfinger singles chronology
"Come and Get It"
(1969)		 "No Matter What"
(1970)		 "Day After Day"
(1971)
"No Matter What"
Single by Def Leppard
from the album Yeah!
Released 2005
Format CD
Genre Hard rock
Label Bludgeon Riffola - Mercury
Writer(s) Pete Ham
Def Leppard singles chronology
"Four Letter Word"
(2003)		 "No Matter What"
(2005)		 "Rock On"
(2006)

"No Matter What" is a song originally recorded by Badfinger for their album No Dice in 1970, written and sung by Pete Ham and produced by Mal Evans.

Recording

As a demo, "No Matter What" was originally recorded by Ham on acoustic guitar and performed with a mambo beat (as heard on the posthumous Ham solo CD 7 Park Avenue). A similar sound to the original demo can be heard on an album track from their next album Straight Up called "Perfection". A rough, rockier version of the song was recorded by Badfinger in March 1970 and produced by Mal Evans. The song was recorded again by the band in April 1970 at Abbey Road Studios and it was this version that would appear on the album and single.

Although the song and recording was a favourite of Badfinger's shortly after it was recorded, the hierarchy at Apple 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 the summer of 1970 and considered it a strong entry by the band that it was slotted for the upcoming LP and as a single release.

This song is also noted for its false ending, after the final chorus, where, after a short pause, the song repeats the last line twice before its final ending chord.

Release

In the United States, the single was released 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 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 No Dice.

Personnel

Badfinger Version

Def Leppard Version

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 Billboard Hot 100.[4] 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, and "Day After Day", number 10 in the UK in January 1972.

The song is notable for being one of the first successful records associated with the power pop sound, utilising 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 categorising the band themselves as power pop.

In film and television

Cover versions

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Chart (1970–71) Peak
position
Australia[5] 8
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[6] 13
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[7] 7
Germany (Official German Charts)[8] 32
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[9] 24
New Zealand (Listener)[10] 5
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[11] 5
US Billboard Hot 100[12] 8

Year-end charts

Chart (1970) Rank
Canada [13] 98
Chart (1971) Rank
Australia [14] 73
U.S. (Joel Whitburn's Pop Annual)[15] 73

References

  1. ↑ Unterberger, Richie. Badfinger - No Matter What at AllMusic. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
  2. ↑ Runtagh, Jordan (April 8, 2016). "Catchy, Loud and Proud: 20 Essential Power Pop Tracks That Will Be Stuck In Your Head Forever". VH1. Retrieved July 29, 2016.
  3. ↑ Nick DeRiso. "Badfinger's 'No Matter What' didn't always have that crazy-cool solo | Something Else!". Somethingelsereviews.com. Retrieved 2016-10-03.
  4. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits: Eighth Edition. Record Research. p. 42.
  5. ↑ Steffen Hung. "Forum - Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts - 1980s (ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts)". Australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2016-10-03.
  6. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Badfinger – No Matter What" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  7. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 3733." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  8. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Badfinger – No Matter What". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  9. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Badfinger – No Matter What" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  10. ↑ "flavour of new zealand - search listener". Flavourofnz.co.nz. Retrieved 2016-10-03.
  11. ↑ "Archive Chart: 1971-01-31" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  12. ↑ "Badfinger – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Badfinger. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  13. ↑ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". collectionscanada.gc.ca.
  14. ↑ "Australian Chart Book". Austchartbook.com.au. Retrieved 2016-10-03.
  15. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-142-X.
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