George Harrison is best known as the guitarist of The Beatles, but he was so much more than a single component in the biggest band of the 20th century. Both as part of The Beatles and throughout his eclectic solo career, George Harrison proved that he knew his way around songwriting… and killer guitar solos. Let’s look at just four times George Harrison proved he was a genius when it came to guitar solos!
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1. “Let It Be”
“Let It Be” is one of the Fab Four’s most well-known songs from the tail end of their career. This 1970 song also features one of George Harrison’s finest guitar solos.
Fun fact: There are actually two versions of this song. Both come from the same initial session take, but each song features a different guitar solo from Harrison. He used his Telecaster for the first solo, and his Les Paul Standard for the second. Both, naturally, sound amazing.
2. “I’m Only Sleeping”
This song is a great example of the early implementation of reverse guitar solos, and George Harrison wasn’t playing around with this one. In preparation for recording “I’m Only Sleeping”, Harrison wrote a typical guitar solo and then performed it from end to beginning so it could be reversed on tape.
After hours of trying to get it to work, the results weren’t satisfactory. According to engineer Geoff Emerick, it took nine hours to finally deliver a solid, reversed guitar track. When played backward, the solo has a very ethereal, dream-like sound to it and is perfect for the final cut.
3. “Beware Of Darkness”
This solo comes from George Harrison’s 1970 solo album, All Things Must Pass. “Beware Of Darkness” is an incredible piece of work on its own, but the guitar solo is what really makes it pop. Few guitarists know how to choose the perfect arrangement of notes, but Harrison made it look easy. On “Beware Of Darkness”, you can really hear that melodic Indian influence.
4. “A Hard Day’s Night”
George Harrison has been great at guitar solos since the very beginning, and the 1964 hit “A Hard Day’s Night” is the perfect example of that. That opening chord is super recognizable and was played on Harrison’s famous 12-string Rickenbacker.
The guitar solo, which kicks off toward the end of the song, is actually double-tracked. It was a smart production move, as the short but sweet solo is one of the most memorable moments of the whole song.
Photo by Lester Cohen/Getty Images
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