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Home , Billy Preston, Dhani Harrison, Here Comes the Moon, Jeff Lynne, Savoy Truffle, Tribute To

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Remembering George Playlist 2015 w/special surprise call in from 9AM

The Beatles - Long Long Long - (Harrison) Lead vocal: George George, Paul and Ringo ran through 67 takes of George’s “Long Long Long,” then titled “It’s Been A Long Long Long Time,” on October 7, 1968. was not at any of the sessions for the . Harrison provided the lead vocal, accompanying himself on his Gibson J-200 acoustic guitar, Paul played , and Ringo played drums. George has said the “you” he is referring to in the song is God, and admits that the chords were taken from ’s “Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands,” which is on 2

Dylan’s 1966 album “Blonde On Blonde.” Chris Thomas: “There’s a sound near the end of the song which is a bottle of Blue Nun wine rattling away on the top of a Leslie speaker cabinet. It just happened. Paul hit a certain note and the bottle started vibrating. We thought it was so good that we set the mikes up and did it again. The Beatles always took advantage of accidents.” The rattling sound is best heard in the right channel of the stereo version.

George Harrison – Isn’t It A Pity (version one) - ‘70 Simple, effective, majestic – this track is one of the most magnificent tunes of George’s solo career. First composed during the “Let It Be” sessions, it was recorded on June 2nd, 1970. Some considered this to be a parody of “,” with it’s length and similar sounding backing chorus – but the song is anything but a parody – but another piece of firm evidence of George’s power as a master .

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George Harrison – All Things Must Pass - All Things Must Pass ‘70 Another track that was written and rehearsed during the “Let It Be” sessions, it was considered sub-par and never considered for a Beatles album. The wait did the song wonders, as George brought it back and gave it a thorough shine. The song was also inspired by ’s song, “The Weight.”

The Beatles - - Let It Be (Harrison) Lead vocal: George It should be noted that none of the Beatles’ rehearsals at Twickenham Studios in January 1969 were recorded on multi-track. Those official recordings took place at Apple headquarters, either in the studio set up in the basement or on the rooftop during their concert. In the “Let It Be” film George can be heard playing his song “I Me Mine” to Ringo while John and Yoko dance a waltz. He had composed the song the night before in five minutes flat. Unfortunately, George’s song was not one the group recorded when they went to Apple Studios to record the new album tracks. Because the song was being used in the film it needed to be recorded for the soundtrack album, prompting George, Paul and Ringo to return to Studios on January 3, 1970, to record the song. John was on vacation in Denmark. Had he been in it is doubtful he would have attended the session because he had quit the band in September 1969. Sixteen basic tracks were recorded with George playing acoustic guitar, Paul on bass guitar and Ringo on drums. Overdubs recorded that day were electric piano, electric guitar, new lead and backing vocals and a second acoustic guitar part. The original running time was 1:53. To flesh out the song for the “Let It Be” album, producer Phil Spector cleverly edited the song to repeat a section and extend it by 51 seconds. At the 1:53 mark, just after the line “flowing more freely than wine,” the song jumps back to the :32 mark to the line “all through the day.” This leads back into the hard-rocking “I me me mine” segment and continues past “flowing more freely than wine” until the song ends. He also added orchestration. The original shorter version of the song can be heard on the “Anthology 3” album.

The Beatles - While My Guitar Gently Weeps – demo July 25th 1968

QUIZ #1 George Harrison wrote that appeared on every British Beatles album except three….name the three Beatles albums George didn’t write song for.

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Please Please Me / AHDN –

George, will now tell us about the first song he ever wrote (Hit it)

The Beatles - Don’t Bother Me – (Harrison) Lead vocal: George George Harrison’s first recorded original song. While some may see it as a misfortune that Harrison was surrounded by two of the most gifted in history, this proximity gave him great insight into the mechanics of writing a song from scratch. His first attempt was more than a throwaway composition. He called “Don’t Bother Me” an “exercise” to see if he could write a song, and it was written while George was sick in a 5 bed at the Palace Court Hotel in Bournemouth where The Beatles were playing six nights at Gaumont Cinema in mid-August of 1963. It was during this engagement (on August 22) that photographer Robert Freeman took the iconic “artsy” cover photograph of the band in half lighting that would grace the cover of both the British “With The Beatles” album and the American “Meet The Beatles!” album.

Using the basic Lennon-McCartney song structure George crafted a “Beatles song” that was on par with the material the band was currently working up for their second album. Getting the other Beatles and producer to take his work seriously was another matter, and it would take years for Harrison to finally be given his due. Normally he was relegated to one or two songs per album.

Aside from the financial windfall George received from having an original composition on albums selling in the multi-millions worldwide, George said, “It showed me that all I needed to do was keep on writing and maybe eventually I would write something good. It did, however, provide me with an occupation.” Recorded on September 11 and 12, 1963. On U.S. album: Meet The Beatles! - Capitol LP

The Beatles - You Like Me Too Much - Help! (Harrison) Lead vocal: George Recorded in eight takes on February 15, 1965. The introduction features Paul and George Martin on a Steinway piano and John playing an electric piano. On U.S. album: Beatles VI - Capitol LP

George’s 2nd song from the HELP! LP

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The Beatles - I’m Happy Just To Dance With You - A Hard Day’s Night (Lennon-McCartney) Lead vocal: George Written by John and Paul specifically to give George a song in the movie “A Hard Day’s Night.” Completed in four takes on March 1, 1964, with filming slated to begin the next day. The b-side of “I’ll Cry Instead” in U.S. On U.S. album: A Hard Day’s Night - United Artists LP Something New - Capitol LP

George sings the words & music of L&M 7

The Beatles - I Need You - Help! (Harrison) Lead vocal: George Recorded in five takes on February 15, 1965, the first day of recording for what was to become the “Help!” album, with overdubs completed the next day. It is the second original George Harrison song to be recorded by the Beatles. Harrison wrote “I Need You” for his future wife, . The track is notable for the first use on a Beatles record of what is now known as a “wah-wah pedal.” George achieved this by playing his 12-string Rickenbacker through a foot-controlled volume pedal. Ringo provides cowbell percussion. On U.S. album: Help! - Capitol LP

George Harrison – (Harrison-Lynne) - Cloud Nine ‘87 While attending the Australian Grand Prix with in November 1986 – this track started out as “Aussie Fab.” George and Jeff would pull out the song every so often, tinkering with the sound and the now-famous piano riff (Jeff’s concept). “Ausie” was soon replaced with “When We Were,” which was then refined by to “When We Was.” To cement the “Fab” concept, Ringo added his first drumming contribution to a George record since “.” The song was released as the second single off the album, and did quite well, reaching the Top 25 in the Billboard charts.

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George Harrison – Wah-Wah - All Things Must Pass ‘70 Famously composed during the “Let It Be” sessions. On January 10th, 1969 – George left the Beatles and wrote the song during this period of estrangement. The title refers to the “wah-wah” (headache) he was receiving due to prolonged exposure to Macca-baiting and John and Yoko’s antics during the Twickenham rehearsals. The song obviously had some meaning to George, as he used it to open his section of the Concert for Bangladesh.

Welcome Randy Lewis

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Great piece on 45 Anniversary of ATMP… 9

George Harrison – - All Things Must Pass ‘70 This was the major smash hit of the album by Christmas 1970. It was originally intended for the Edwin Hawkins Singers (who had record, “Oh Happy Day,” which greatly influenced “My Sweet Lord.” George had also let release his own version before George’s – but it was George’s version that was the huge hit and remains the biggest single song success of his entire solo career.

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Unfortunately, George had gone back to his roots a little too closely when composing the tune, “unconsciously” nicking the basic melodic structure of the song from the Chiffon’s 1963, “He’s So Fine.” George was sued in court for plagiarism and lost. According to drummer , John Lennon supposedly played acoustic guitar on the tune, but this has been disputed.

George Harrison – - Thirty-Three & 1/3 ‘76 Still smarting from the “My Sweet Lord/He’s So Fine” debacle – which was coming to a conclusion (for which George lost the judgment); the track is sarcastic, but supplied with an upbeat melody and voice. A promo film was shot for the song (and first single off the album) during one night in a borrowed court room, with Ron Wood as a member of the audience and playing the judge.

The Beatles - - Abbey Road (Harrison) Lead vocal: George The second of two CLASSIC songs George Harrison delivered for the “Abbey Road” album. “Here Comes The Sun” and “Something” was a phenomenal one-two punch that had to have Lennon and McCartney wondering what else Harrison had up his sleeve. George wrote the song while walking around the sunny back garden of ’s home, strumming o0ne of Eric’s acoustic guitars. Harrison had skipped out of one of the many Apple business meetings that day. Recording in 13 takes on July 7, 1969, Ringo’s 29th birthday, with George on his Gibson J-200 acoustic guitar, Paul on his Rickenbacker bass guitar and Ringo on drums. John was sidelined for the week due to be hospitalized following a car accident in Scotland. The next day George overdubbed his lead vocal, 11

and Paul and George recorded their backing vocals twice, rather than simply double- tracking. Additions continued on July 16 (handclaps and harmonium), and August 6 and 11 (George’s acoustic guitar). George Martin’s orchestral score was recorded on August 15. George Harrison – Here Comes The Moon - George Harrison ‘79 This was considered “this little brother” to Here Comes the Sun. George wrote this in Hawaii in a psilocybin-induced state in February 1978.

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Jackie’s off this week… so we have time for another song lets end this theme set with another follow up song this time about the GUITAR. This version is cool as Ringo & Dhani Dave Stewart …and George bonus Extra Texture … 12

George Harrison – This Guitar (Can’t Keep From Crying) - Extra Texture /BONUS

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George Harrison – What Is - All Things Must Pass ‘70 George wrote this song in 1969 while traveling to a Billy Preston session at . This would be the second single released off the album, though it was listed as the B-Side for “My Sweet Lord,” in the UK. Although it should have been noted as a Double-A Single. Eric Clapton provides lead guitar.

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Re-mixes The only George song on the Beatles 1 PLUS

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The Beatles - Something - Abbey Road (Harrison) Lead vocal: George The Beatles’ twenty-first single release for EMI, and fourth on the label. Although initially crediting Lennon and McCartney as the songwriters, legendary crooner Frank Sinatra called George Harrison’s “Something” “the greatest song ever written.” Commonly referred to as George’s first Beatles A-side, some sales chart makers at the time considered the single a “double-A,” as both sides of the record received significant radio airplay, and charted both “Something” and its flip side (John’s “Come Together”) as one combined chart listing. The song is the first of two CLASSIC songs George delivered for the “Abbey Road” album, the other being “Here Comes The Sun.” It was a phenomenal one-two punch that had to have Lennon and McCartney wondering what else Harrison had up his sleeve.

George started writing “Something” during the sessions for the “White Album” in 1968. The opening line, “Something in the way she moves,” came from the title of a song on James Taylor’s first album. At the time, Taylor was an Apple recording artist. Producer Chris Thomas recalls Harrison playing the song for him during a break in the sessions for “” on September 19, 1968. George sang it while accompanying himself on harpsichord. George recorded an eight-track demo of the song on February 25, 1969, his 26th birthday, and the first proper recording took place on April 16. Unhappy with the 13 takes recorded, the band re-visited the song on May 2 and 36 takes were recorded with George on rhythm guitar (his Les Paul played through a Leslie speaker), John on piano, Paul on Rickenbacker bass guitar and Ringo on drums. At this stage the song had a long coda and the total running time was 7:48. On July 16, George recorded his lead vocal (replacing his lead vocal that was recorded on July 11), and Paul overdubbed backing vocals. On August 15, George re-recorded his guitar solo and the song was cut to 3:00, deleting the unnecessary instrumental coda. George’s February 25, 1969, demo can be found on the “Anthology 3” album. 15

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George Harrison – I Dig Love - All Things Must Pass ‘70 Some idiots have considered this the most “throwaway track” of the album. But for this master class in songwriting, this track is far from a throwaway.

For Sylvia

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George Harrison – Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll) - All Things Must Pass ‘70 This was a the former owner of George’s Henley-On-Thames estate. If you listen closely, you can hear George intoning, “Oh, Sir Frankie Crisp,” underneath the instrumental breaks between the verses.

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The Beatles - - Let It Be sessions (Harrison) Lead vocal: George Recorded on January 25, 1969, and completed in six takes. John Lennon provides the lead guitar part playing a lap steel guitar and using a shotgun shell as a slide. Paul McCartney plays piano. Nearly a year later, on January 8, 1970, George Harrison re- recorded his lead vocal to the already completed backing track. During the instrumental break he ad-libbed “go Johnny go” and “Elmore James’ got nothin’ on this baby” to give the impression he was singing live with the band. Immediately prior to the start of the song, John can be heard saying "Queen says no to pot-smoking FBI members." It is one of the few inclusions of film dialogue heard on the soundtrack LP. Written by George Harrison for his wife, Pattie, “For You Blue” was a straight-forward blues song. George: “It's a simple 12-bar song following all the normal 12-bar principles, except that it's happy-go-lucky!” “For You Blue” was the flip-side of the American “The Long And Winding Road” single, released on May 11, 1970. A new mix of take six was made in 2003 for “Let It Be... Naked” and an alternative take from the January 25, 1969, session is included on the “Anthology 3” album.

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QUIZ #2 Name the song from ATMP that was written in 1968 in Woodstock New York by George Harrison and a folk singer who was born Duluth Minn….Name the song.

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Winner

George Harrison – I’d Have You Anytime (co-written with Bob Dylan) – All Things Must Pass ‘70 This composition began at Bob Dylan’s home in Woodstock, New York during Thanksgiving 1968. George completed the song when he returned to England.

George Harrison – Mama You’ve Been On My Mind (demo) - Early Takes Vol.1 ‘12

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The Beatles - Think For Yourself - (Harrison) Lead vocal: George The fifth original composition by George Harrison to be recorded by The Beatles was completed on November 8, 1965 in one take with overdubs under the working title “Won’t Be There With You.” The song features Paul playing his bass through a fuzz box to give it a distorted sound. On U.S. album: Rubber Soul - Capitol LP 20

The Beatles - - The Beatles (Harrison) Lead vocal: George 21

George took his inspiration for his fourth song on the “White Album” from a box of chocolates, specifically a Mackintosh’s Good News double centre chocolate assortment box, said by George to be Eric Clapton’s favorite brand. Most of the candies mentioned by George in the song came from the specific candies found in the box. Confections such as Creme Tangerine, Montelimart, Ginger Sling, Coffee Dessert and Savoy Truffle were part of the assortment. Cool Cherry Cream and Coconut Fudge were Harrison creations. When George sings “But you’ll have to have them all pulled out after the Savoy Truffle,” it is a warning to his friend Eric Clapton that he will have to have his decaying teeth pulled out. After some rehearsal, the backing track was recorded in one take on October 3, 1968, at . With George playing electric piano, Paul on Rickenbacker bass, and Ringo on drums. Harrison’s lead vocal was recorded at Trident Studios on October 5. Chris Thomas’ score for saxophones (distorted at Harrison’s request) was recorded at Abbey Road on October 11. The final overdubs for “Savoy Truffle” on October 14 were also the last instruments recorded during the “White Album” sessions: organ, , bongos, and George playing a lead guitar part on his Fender Telecaster. This is the third of four Harrison songs on the “White Album” that John Lennon does not appear on.

The Beatles - Taxman - Revolver (Harrison) Lead vocal: George Completed in 11 takes on April 21, 1966. Written by George when he started realizing the majority of his money was going to the British government in the form of taxes. George went to John Lennon for some help with the lyrics, and Lennon was especially pleased with his line “Now my advice for those who die: declare the pennies on your eyes.” Featuring a nice lead guitar solo by Paul on his Epiphone Casino. The ‘pennies’ lyrical reference derives from Greek mythology – it is the payment to Charon (the ferryman of the underworld) to ferry the deceased to their destination in the underworld. To pay the ferryman, the deceased person's relatives place a coin on each eye of the deceased. The Mr. Wilson and Mr. Heath mentioned in the song were real people. Harold Wilson was the Prime Minister Married 2 kids and Edward Heath not married was head of the opposition party at the time the song was recorded. It is the first time a George Harrison composition opens a British Beatles album. On U.S. album: Revolver - Capitol LP

3 in a row from GH and his Beatles !

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George Harrison – Run Of The Mill - All Things Must Pass ‘70 A lovely acoustic-driven song – George was to later use the horn line on the song for another tune nine years later on his George Harrison album.

George Harrison – Beware Of Darkness - All Things Must Pass ‘70 A stunning composition, this track shows a huge leap George had made with his song-writing (since “You Like Me Too Much,” five years earlier).

Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne. Stevie Winwood, , – While My Guitar Gently Weeps – Live 2004

*Olivia Harrison calls in!!! (surprise)

George Harrison – Apple Scruffs - All Things Must Pass ‘70 This was a salute to the girls (and sometimes boys) who stood vigil at Apple, Abbey Road and anyplace a Fab was to likely to be. Upon recording the tune, George invited the “Apple Scruffs,” into the studio to have a listen.

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