1974 Dance Rock Hit That Made History 52 Years Ago Was Written in One Night
It's one of the most iconic opening scenes in movie history: Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) dancing around to the '70s smash hit, "Come and Get Your Love," in the beginning of Guardians of the Galaxy. Who can blame the Marvel hero for getting his groove on? It's hard to think of a tune with more of a feel-good vibe, which is probably why it shot to #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1974 - making the best kind of history in the process.
The dance rock band Redbone released "Come and Get Your Love" on their fifth studio album, Wokova, in 1973. Redbone was founded by brothers Pat and Lolly Vegas, who were of Native American heritage, and worked as session musicians for years before finding success with their own music. When the siblings started Redbone, they made the decision to include all Native and Mexican American players; they also chose to grow their hair long and wear Native dress on stage.
"Come and Get Your Love" was the first song by an all-Native and Mexican American band to ever crack the Billboard Top 10.
"My mom was proud of her Native American roots, and I was too," Pat Vegas told NPR's Elizabeth Blair. "So automatically, we knew what we wanted, and the sound came out that way, and it was beautiful. I just wanted to be real."
According to Vegas, he and his brother wrote "Come and Get Your Love" late one night while touring in Philadelphia. By the next day, the song was finished. (Apparently Lolly took sole songwriting credit, which was a point of contention between the siblings for years, but they eventually "got over it.")
'Come and Get Your Love' isn't actually about romance
Most people assume "Come and Get Your Love" is a love song of sorts, based on the title and the lyrics:
"Hey (hey) what's the matter with your head, yeah / Hey (hey) what's the matter with your mind and your sign and oh / Hey (hey) nothin' the matter with your head / Baby, find it, come on and find it / Bear with it, baby, 'cause you're fine / And you're mine, and you look so divine"
But while the song is about love, technically, it's probably not what you're thinking.
"It's love all around, in every facet and every part of your being, you know?" Vegas explained. "And that's the message: What's the matter with your mind and your sign? Come and get your love. In other words, where you come from and who you are doesn't matter as much as what you believe, and what you feel."
Related: 1974 Disco Anthem Was a Total Flop Before It Made History as a No. 1 Hit
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This story was originally published May 13, 2026 at 6:56 PM.