“Something” was the first George Harrison composition to be featured as an A-side of a Beatles single. The B-side was “Come Together” (credited to Lennon/McCartney). Both songs were recorded and released in 1969, and appear as the first two tracks on the Abbey Road album.
Frank Sinatra was particularly fond of “Something;” declaring it “the greatest love song ever written”. It became a regular part of his repertoire and he sang it hundreds of times during his concerts. Sinatra mistakenly called “Something” his all-time favorite Lennon/McCartney song!
“Something” was the only George Harrison penned song to top the American charts while he was a member of The Beatles. Both John Lennon and Paul McCartney, the principal songwritings of the band, praised “Something” as one of the best songs Harrison had written.
“Flying”, from the 1967 release Magical Mystery Tour, was the first song credited as being written by all four members of The Beatles. The writing credit is attributed to “Lennon/McCartney/Harrison/Starr”. It’s a simple 12-bar blues chord progression instrumental track, though it does include some chanting.
It was rare for The Beatles to record instrumentals, and it was also rare for a song to be credited to all four members of the band.
“Flying” was originally titled “Aerial Tour Instrumental”.
Paul McCartney and George Harrison first met on a bus while the two were schoolboys. They rode the bus together going to and from the Liverpool Institute High School for Boys and found they shared an interest in music and playing guitars. Harrison recalled, “It was on that bus journey that I met Paul McCartney, because he, being at the same school, had the same uniform and was going the same way as I was so I started hanging out with him.”
When McCartney was in John Lennon’s skiffle band The Quarrymen, he strongly urged Lennon to allow Harrison to join the band as lead guitarist. After all, George could play “Raunchy” (by Bill Justice) and that was quiet impressive. Lennon thought the fifteen-year-old Harrison to be far too young, but eventually he relented.
“If I Needed Someone” was the only George Harrison composition ever performed live by the Beatles on stage. Otherwise, Harrison only sang covers during any of the Beatles’ tours. The song was performed in the Beatles’ Tokyo concerts in July 1966, as seen in a clip from the documentary The Compleat Beatles. The Beatles also performed the song during their very last concert, which was in San Francisco’s Candlestick Park on August 29, 1966. Although not confirmed, it is believed that “If I Needed Someone” was performed at every Beatles concert in 1966.
The Beatles recorded “If I Needed Someone” in October 1965 and it first appeared in the UK on 1965′s Rubber Soul album, and then later included on 1966′s Yesterday…and Today (released in the U.S.). The Hollies also recorded a version of the song as a single and it was released on the same day as Rubber Soul.
“All Those Years Ago” is a George Harrison song that was a tribute to the then recently assassinated John Lennon. It was released May 11, 1981, five months after Lennon’s death. The recording of the song featured all three remaining former Beattles (Harrison, Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney). It is one of only a few non-Beatles songs to feature those three in the lineup. Paul, with his wife Linda and their Wings bandmate Denny Laine, contributed backing vocals on the recording.
The writing and recording of the song actually began before Lennon’s death. George originally wrote the song with different lyrics for Ringo to record. Starr recorded it but felt the vocal range was too high for him to sing and he didn’t care for the lyrics. Harrison kept the track, and after John’s death, he rewrote the words to pay tribute to his friend and former bandmate. The song makes reference to a couple of Lennon compositions, “All You Need is Love” and “Imagine”.
The song went to #1 on the American adult contemporary chart. This was Harrison’s first #1 on this chart as a solo artist.
“All Those Years Ago” is available on the new CD compilation Let It Roll: Songs by George Harrison
