Frank Chacksfield, born Francis Charles Chacksfield (May 9, 1914 - June 9, … Read Full Bio ↴Frank Chacksfield, born Francis Charles Chacksfield (May 9, 1914 - June 9, 1995) was a popular conductor in the "easy listening" style.

He was born in Battle, East Sussex, England and is remembered by many music lovers and record collectors for his numerous albums and appearances on radio and television during the era following the second world war.

From the 1950s onwards, Chacksfield was one of Britain's most famous orchestra leaders, and his fame spread around the world. Early in his career he was fortunate to have several big sellers in the USA, which firmly established his reputation world-wide.

During his recording career with Decca alone, it is estimated that he sold 20 million copies.

Chacksfield learned to play the piano as a boy and became the deputy organist for the local church. Though his parents discouraged his pursuit of music as a career, he persevered. In the late '30s, when he was in his mid-20s, he was leading small musical bands in Britain. During World War II, he was assigned to the British Army entertainment unit, and after the war he became a regular performer on the BBC.

In 1953, he formed an orchestra he called "The Tunesmiths" and won a contract with Parlophone Records. Within two years, he expanded the group from a traditional big band into an orchestra with strings and released a series of "mood music" albums. His sound was similar to Mantovani and Melachrino. His biggest hits, in both the UK and the US, were "Ebb Tide" and "Limelight."

Chacksfield was also responsible for the musical arrangement of the first ever British entry into the Eurovision Song Contest, "All" by Patricia Bredin in 1957. Only because BBC musical director Eric Robinson insisted on accompanying Bredin to the contest in Frankfurt, Chacksfield did not get the chance to perform as a conductor on this international stage.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s Chacksfield recorded a large number of instrumental recordings for Starborne Productions. The recordings were licensed for use by "Easy Listening" radio stations and functional music companies. The vast majority of these recordings were not made commercially available to the general public until 2007 by Starborne Productions.

Chacksfield had two giant US hits in 1953, "Ebb Tide" and "Terry's Theme from Limelight". A third single that year, "Golden Violins" appeared in the Cashbox charts (Billboard only ranked to 20 positions at that time.)

Come Together
Frank Chacksfield & His Orchestra Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Here come old flat top
He come groovin' up slowly
He got joo joo eyeballs
He one holy rollers
He got hair down to his knee
Got to be a joker
He just do what he please

He wear no shoeshine
He got toe jam football
He got monkey finger
He shoot Coca Cola
He say I know you, you know me
One thing I can tell you is
You got to be free
Come together, right now
Over me

He bad production
He got walrus gumboot
He got Ono sideboard
He one spinal cracker
He got feet down below his knees
Hold you in his armchair
You can feel his disease
Come together, right now
Over me

He roller coaster
He got early warning
He got muddy water
He one Mojo filter
He say one and one and one is three
Got to be good looking
Cause he's so hard to see
Come together right now
Over me

Come together, yeah
Come together, yeah
Come together, yeah
Come together, yeah
Come together, yeah
Come together, yeah
Come together, yeah

Come together, yeah
Come together, yeah

Overall Meaning

The song "Come Together" by Frank Chacksfield and His Orchestra was originally written by John Lennon and released by The Beatles in 1969. The lyrics of the song are a mixture of Lennon's stream of consciousness and wordplay, making it difficult to pinpoint their exact meaning. However, it is speculated that the song is a call for unity and freedom while celebrating individuality and diversity.

The first verse of the song introduces "old flat top" who is described as grooving up slowly with "joo joo eyeballs" and being a "holy roller" with long hair. "Flat top" is understood to be a reference to electric guitar and rock music. He does things his own way and rejects the conventional norms of society, making him a "joker." The second verse focuses more on his physical appearance, with mentions of toe jam, monkey fingers, and Coca-Cola. However, he also emphasizes the importance of individual freedom and the need to be free.

In the third verse, "flat top" is described as having bad production, walrus gumboots, and a sideboard belonging to Yoko Ono. He is a "spinal cracker" who holds "you" in his armchair and "you can feel his disease." Despite this, he is also a "roller coaster" with early warnings and a "Mojo filter," ultimately encouraging unity with the repetition of "come together over me."

Line by Line Meaning

Here come old flat top
Here comes a person wearing a flat top hat

He come groovin' up slowly
He walks in with a groovy pace

He got joo joo eyeballs
He has strange, psychedelic eyes

He one holy rollers
He is a religious fanatic

He got hair down to his knee
He has long hair

Got to be a joker
He probably likes to play pranks on others

He just do what he please
He does whatever he wants

He wear no shoeshine
He's not concerned about dressing up

He got toe jam football
He has dirty, funky toes

He got monkey finger
He has long, flexible fingers

He shoot Coca Cola
He likes to drink Coca Cola