"painting another sardonic self-portrait". In a December 1987 interview by Selina Scott on the television show West 57th Street, George Harrison stated that he wrote two lines of the song. Production Recording The Beatles taped the basic track for "Come Together" at EMI Studios (now Abbey Road Studios) in Studio Three on 21 July 1969, during the sessions for Abbey Road. George Martin produced the session, assisted by balance engineers Geoff Emerick and Phil McDonald. At McCartney's request, the session marked Emerick's first with the group since July 1968, having quit working with them during sessions for their 1968 album, The Beatles (also known as "the White Album"), due to what he found a tense and negative atmosphere. The session also marked Lennon's first new composition for the band in three months, having last recorded "The Ballad of John and Yoko" on 14 April. The group taped eight takes of "Come Together", with take six marked "best". The line-up consisted of Lennon singing lead vocal, McCartney on bass, George Harrison on rhythm guitar and Ringo Starr on drums. Starr placed tea towels over his tom drums to further dampen their sound. Without needing to use his hands to play guitar, Lennon added handclaps each time he sang "Shoot me!", also adding tambourine over both the solo and coda. Taped on 4-track recording equipment, at the end of the session, take six was copied over to 8-track tape in Studio Two, allowing for both overdubbing and the easy manipulation of EQ. Overdubbing and mixing Overdubbing for "Come Together" took place in the week following the recording of the basic track. On 22 July, Lennon sang a new lead vocal and again added handclaps, both being treated to a tape delay, with automatic double tracking added during the choruses. At Lennon's request, McCartney played a Fender Rhodes electric piano, with McCartney later recalling that Lennon "wanted a piano lick to be very swampy and smokey, and I played it that way and he liked that a lot". Harrison added a heavily distorted guitar during the refrains, while Starr added a maraca. Work on the track continued the next day, with more vocals added. On 25 July, McCartney contributed a harmony vocal sung below Lennon's part, and on 29 July, Lennon overdubbed a guitar during the song's middle climax. Work on the song finished the next day, with Harrison playing a lead guitar