Although they created so much excellent music together, The Beatles’ career ended in anything but harmony. Despite their efforts to reconcile through their attorneys, the Fab Four had grown too far apart for the band to salvage their relationships, resulting in repeated press sparring sessions. While John Lennon concentrated the majority of his venom on Paul McCartney at the end of the separation, he felt that George Harrison lacked the necessary qualities for a solo star on his first solo record.
Even while Lennon and McCartney were famous as the band’s twin energies, George Harrison was quietly becoming one of his generation’s most prolific composers. In contrast to his songwriting colleagues’ vast cache of songs, Harrison was on his crafting of unique masterpieces. He explored the sounds of Indian music on the tune ‘Within You Without You’. He also added his skills to famous Beatles compositions like ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’.
Despite Harrison’s ability to write fantastic songs, none of the band members gave him a chance. Even when working on music for what would become Let It Be in the latter stages of their careers, Harrison was continually fighting to get his songs heard. He made snarky remarks about no one joining in when performing ‘I Me Mine’.
As the rest of his bandmates struggled to find new material after the group split, Harrison had a stash of songs ready for All Things Must Pass. Harrison experienced years of musical constipation, as he described it. However, the album allowed him to extend his wings as a songwriter. He worked his magic on songs like ‘Wah-Wah’ and ‘My Sweet Lord’.
Lennon was the last Beatle to release a solo album with the Plastic Ono Band. However, what he heard from Harrison didn’t impress him. Of course, Lennon regarded Harrison with the affection one has for a younger brother. However, when he first saw the layout, he openly criticized his primitive approach to rock and roll.
Hearing that it would be a triple album, Lennon thought Harrison was doomed from the outset, with the guitarist stating, “I remember John was negative at the time, but I was away, and he came around to my house, and there was a friend of mine living there who was a friend of John’s.” He saw the album cover and thought, ‘He must be horrible for putting out three records. Look at the picture on the front; he resembles an asthmatic Leon Russell.”
Three records, however, proved to be the magic for Harrison. It propelled him to the top of the charts on both sides of the Atlantic and became one of The Beatles’ first success stories as solo artists. After the breakup, Harrison was the most successful of his bandmates. The rest of his former comrades caught up, from McCartney’s Ram to Ringo Starr’s Ringo.
The frosty climate between Lennon and Harrison did not endure long. Later Harrison contributed guitar parts to several songs on Lennon’s album Imagine. The Beatles may have faded into history, but Harrison rose from the ashes of his former band. Finally, he became one of the world’s most successful songwriters.
