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The 8 Greatest Beatles Songs of George Harrison

A Tribute to the Quietest Member of The Beatles

By Tzvi MPublished 6 years ago 5 min read
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I've always been a fan of the underdog. And I've always been a fan of The Beatles. So it should come as no surprise that my favorite member of the legendary group is music's equivalent of the perpetual bronze medalist: The late, great guitarist, George Harrison.

Harrison was a great guitarist and his contributions to some of The Beatles' most memorable songs should not go unnoticed. His solos on the legendary hits "Can't Buy Me Love," "A Hard Day Night," and "Let It Be" helped cement them as musical icons.

But while Rolling Stone ultimately ranked Harrison as the 11th Greatest Guitarist of All-Timein 2015, the comparatively quiet member of The Beatles doesn't have the same level of adoration that the late John Lennon, Paul McCartney, or even Ringo Starr have.

Lennon and McCartney are two of the greatest composers in the history of music, so it should come as no surprise that neither Harrison nor Starr were able to hold a candle to the charismatic, de facto leaders of The Beatles in terms of musical production (let alone popularity among fans).

However, despite his work being comparatively buried under the weight of the Lennon-McCartney musical genius, Harrison had some truly memorable hits while he was with the group.

Granted, few of Harrison's songs changed music itself the same way as "Eleanor Rigby," "A Day in the Life," "Helter Skelter," or "Let It Be," but his work is still awesome, and should be sufficient to cement his status as a true musical icon.

Well, today it's my mission to show that Harrison had the musical chops to get the same level of respect that fans have given to John, Paul, and even Ringo.

Here are the eight greatest Beatles songs of George Harrison:

George's only song on the legendary Magical Mystery Tour is also one of the album's most psychedelic (and that should be saying something).

Interestingly, Harrison departs from the guitar and sitar in favor of a Hammond organ for "Blue Jay Way."

A comparatively unassuming track on the first side of Rubber Soul, "Think for Yourself" may not have the exciting speed of "Drive My Car" or "Nowhere Man," or the elegance of "Michelle," but it's yet another example of Harrison quietly being excellent while making not-so-subtle political commentary.

The longest song on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, "Within You Without You" opens side two with probably the best sitar performance in the history of rock music.

Lyrically it's on point and in theme with the rest of the legendary album.

Additionally, the similarities between "Within You Without You" and "Tomorrow Never Knows" from Revolver resulted in the two songs being put together in a mashup on the 2006 remix album Love.

One of the final tracks recorded by the group (sans Lennon) before the final split in April 1970, Harrison wrote "I Me Mine" as a commentary on the selfishness of Lennon and McCartney that preceded the demise of the group.

With Paul on the electric organ, George plays a final lamentation for the most influential band of all time.

The opening track to Revolver is where Harrison really shows off his guitar skills.

A political commentary on high taxes in England, Harrison angrily wrote the song in response to a 95 percent supertax imposed on The Beatles' earnings.

Though Lennon and McCartney were more than happy to contribute some lyrical ideas to the song, Harrison really started coming into his own as a composer on just the sixth song contributed to a Beatles album.

"Here Comes the Sun" is a rather interesting track.

It's the first track on side two of Abbey Road and interrupts what could have otherwise been a flawless transition between "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" and "Because." (Maybe that was intentional. Then again the whole album was kind of a mess in the first place.)

Nonetheless, "Here Comes the Sun" is certainly one of the more uplifting tracks in the entire Beatles catalog.

The song was written during Harrison's 1969 hiatus from the Beatles while he was hanging out at Eric Clapton's house.

"Something" may be George Harrison's most celebrated song, but "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" is a true testament to Harrison's brilliance on the guitar.

The Beatles' 1968 album The Beatles was kind of a absolute mess that ultimately marked the beginning of the end of the group as a whole. However, the album has some absolute gems on it as well, and there's a very strong argument to be made that "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" is its best song.

With the help of Eric Clapton, Harrison proceeds to create a memorable guitar riff that actually makes his guitar appear to cry.

A part of me always hopes that Paul McCartney, having churned out a plethora of epic love songs and ballads for nearly a decade to that point, was quietly (or even openly) furious at how George Harrison and "Something" blew all of his songs in that style out of the water.

Written in tribute to his then-wife Patti, George proceeds to play one of the greatest guitar solos of all-time.

The song has the distinction of being the second most covered Beatles song ever (with "Yesterday" claiming the top spot), with such legends as Elvis, Frank Sinatra, James Brown, Tony Bennett, Ray Charles, and of course Eric Clapton all paying tribute to Harrison's music genius.

Lennon adored it, Sinatra considered it one of the best love songs ever (even though he inadvertently attributed it to Lennon and McCartney), and much of the musical world acknowledges "Something" as a true musical masterpiece.

Simply put, "Something" is George Harrison's magnum opus, Beatles or otherwise.

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Tzvi M

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