For Millennials. By Millennials.
It has been 61 years since the Beatles broke up and almost 19 years since George Harrison left us. Yet, the impact they left on music can still be felt to this day. The Beatles took the world by storm in the 60s. Beatlemania dominated the entire world for a whole decade. Everyone on Earth knew about the Beatles, but many did not know how good George Harrison was. His talents always remained underrated as part of the band. His birthday recently passed on the 25th of February, and had he lived; he would have turned 77 today. Therefore, as a tribute, we will look at his incredible but underrated career!
Paul and John dominated in The Beatles.
Everyone knows that Paul McCartney and John Lennon dominated every Beatles album. The two of them made almost 80% of all the songs in an album. For example, in Abbey Road, John and Paul played in 14 of the 17 songs, whereas George was involved in just five songs. George’s creations were the two most famous songs from this album, “Something” and “Here Comes The Sun.” That is cruel for an artist of George Harrison’s caliber.
We can see the same trends in all the albums of the Beatles. In their final album, “Let it Be,” George barely got two songs out of a total of 12. Ringo didn’t even get a single one. And these were the final albums of the iconic band when things were already tense between all of the members.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that John and Paul were bullies by any means. The Beatles were like brothers, even after the breakup. The thing is, John and Paul had a fantastic partnership in writing and composing songs. They created masterpiece after masterpiece. However, it came at a cost. George’s talents were severely overlooked because of it. And that ultimately fueled the divide between the 4, which resulted in the breakup. Eric Schaal writes in this article why he struggled to write music in the Beatles; give it a read!
George’s solo career – More of the Best!
Even though the breakup of the Beatles broke countless hearts, the music never stopped. Each Beatle went on to have an illustrious solo career. However, George Harrison truly shined afterward!
The music he recorded in his solo career was breathtaking. Some of his best albums include “All Things Must Pass,” “Living in The Material World,” “Cloud Nine,” and many more. The most famous of the songs included “My Sweet Lord,” “All Things Must Pass Away,” “Beautiful Girl,” “Wah-Wah,” and “Isn’t it a Pity.” In these songs, George genuinely captured his spirituality with his music and left the audience in awe.
In a way, we can say that the Beatles’ breakup brought out the best in these brilliant artists. Without it, they would not have grown as musicians, and the world would have been deprived of some legendary music. George Harrison changed how musicians used the guitar forever with his riffs and guitar solos. Moreover, his music helped millions across the world connect with their soul. We wish the legend a happy birthday and hope his legacy lives on.