Co-written with Bob Dylan during a stay at his house in Woodstock, NY. The opening track on Harrison’s first solo album All Things Must Pass. I’d Have You Anytime (All Things Must Pass)
The recorded featured an all-star cast of players including Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Peter Frampton, and members of Badfinger. Originally recorded by Billy Preston, this was also the first release from Harrison’s first solo album All Things Must Pass. The first single by an ex-Beatle to reach #1 on the charts in the US and the UK. Originally only a minute-and-a-half long, the finished song was doubled in post-production under the direction of Phil Spector. And the song that most directly addressed the growing friction within the band. The last song recorded by the Beatles before their 1970 breakup. Released as the lead single from Abbey Road in 1969, the song earned praise from bandmate John Lennon (he called it “the best track on the album”) and Frank Sinatra who deemed it “the greatest love song of the past 50 years.” “Something” was one of Harrison’s best moments as a songwriter in The Beatles, but he was so iffy on the song he gave it to Joe Cocker to record first. This and “Something,” both from Abbey Road, led Ringo Starr to note of his bandmate’s songwriting talent, “It’s interesting that George was coming to the fore and we were just breaking up.” Harrison knocked out one of his most indelible songs in one burst of creativity while walking through his friend Eric Clapton’s garden.
“It’s interesting to see how nicely people behave when you bring a guest in,” Harrison remembered. Legend has it that Harrison, frustrated with his Beatles bandmates’ indifference to recording this song, forced their hand by bringing his buddy Eric Clapton in to play the track’s stunning guitar solo. While My Guitar Gently Weeps (The White Album) He’s joined by members of London’s Asian Music Circle on percussion. And he used that instrument to psychedelic effect on this classic from Sgt. Harrison supposedly spent eight hours a day studying the sitar during a 1966 visit to India.