The Beatles' breakup came at an unfortunate time for George Harrison. After years of being stifled by the Lennon-McCartney songwriting partnership, he was flourishing as a writer. Songs like “Something,” “Here Comes the Sun” and “Old Brown Shoe” demonstrated he could compose tunes as good as his bandmates, while his newfound talents as a guitarist showed him to be a singular stylist.
The release of All Things Must Pass, Harrison's ambitious and expansive 1970 solo album, was vindication for the years his talents were ignored. The record was the most successful of any former Beatles' album that year, buoyed by the singles “My Sweet Lord” and “What Is Life.”
Remarkably, Harrison hadn't soured completely on the Beatles. He revealed in a 1974 press conference that, while a reunion was a fantasy, he was open to forming a group with one of his former bandmates. At the time of the presser, Harrison was launching the tour for his solo album Dark Horse, with a band that included organist Billy Preston, bassist Willie Weeks, drummer Andy Newmark and a young Robben Ford.
“It’s all a fantasy, the idea of putting the Beatles back together again,” he said, as recounted in the book George Harrison on George Harrison: Interviews and Encounters. “If we ever do that, the reason will be that we are all broke. I’d rather have Willie Weeks on bass than Paul McCartney. That’s the truth, with all respect to Paul.
“Paul is a fine bass player,” he admitted, “but he’s a bit overpowering at times.”
Indeed, as documented in Peter Jackson's 2021 docu-series, The Beatles: Get Back, Harrison was straining under McCartney's bossy personality. There’s notable tension between the pair as the group works on the song “Two of Us."
“I’ll play whatever you want me to play," Harrison tells McCartney. “Or not at all. Whatever it is that will please you, I’ll do it.” Shortly after that dramatic moment, Harrison walked out on the band and temporarily quit.
Elsewhere in the press conference, Harrison expressed fondness for drummer Ringo Starr, calling him a drummer with “the best backbeat I’ve ever heard.”
But in the end, it was Lennon whom he held in the highest regard.
“John’s gone through all of his scene, but he’s like me, he’s come back around,” Harrison said. “To tell the truth, I’d join a band with John Lennon any day, but I couldn’t join a band with Paul McCartney. But it’s nothing personal. It’s from a musical point of view.”
Harrison may have also remembered Lennon's generosity in a September 1969 meeting, where he suggested future Beatles albums allow a more equal share of songs for each, and said he regretted not giving Harrison and Starr the lucrative B-sides to Beatles singles so that they might have greater exposure and make more money. Lennon quit the band some two weeks later, mooting his gesture.
The guitarist had already worked with Lennon on the latter's 1971 solo album, Imagine, where he contributed lead and slide guitar work across a number of tracks. He also played Dobro on "Crippled Inside," demonstrating the value he brought to the proceedings.
Aside from his work in the Traveling Wilburys, Harrison plowed on as a solo artist until his death in 2001.
In related news, Harrison pal and gypsy jazz guitarist Robin Nolan has recorded a new tribute album to his late friend, made at Harrison’s Friar Park mansion with some of his most prestigious guitars.
