Dan’s Jams: George Harrison

      Saturday, February 24th marked the birthday of Beatles guitarist George Harrison. Harrison, encouraged by Paul McCartney, joined the band early on when they were still known as The Quarrymen. His songwriting contributions to The Beatles were absolutely underrated; most of his songs aren’t as iconic as those written by the iconic duo of Paul McCartney and John Lennon but he wrote what are honestly some of their best songs. Revolver’s “Taxman”, written by Harrison, is one of the highlights of the album, as is his sitar on “Tomorrow Never Knows” and “Love You To”. George Harrison’s use of the sitar throughout The Beatles’ discography, as early as “Norwegian Wood” from 1965’s Rubber Soul, really encapsulated his well-publicized interest in Indian culture and spirituality. Other notable contributions include “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” and of course, Abbey Road’s “Here Comes The Sun”.
      George would temporarily (and briefly) leave The Beatles in 1969. While The Beatles wouldn’t truly break up until 1970, the issues that George Harrison had with the band by that point- which were primarily the dominance of Paul McCartney and John Lennon over their creative process- would ultimately be a precursor to said break-up. Harrison really had his time to shine on his 1970 album All Things Must Pass, in my opinion the best work of any Beatle’s solo discography. Among the rather prestigious musicians who worked on this album were Beatles-associated bassist Klaipeda Voorman, guitarist Eric Clapton and producer Phil Spector. The single “My Sweet Lord” would become the U.K’s best-selling single of 1971 and All Things Must Pass is certified 7x platinum as of January 2022.