By the time George Harrison and Bob Dylan were in the Traveling Wilburys with Tom Petty, Roy Orbison, and Jeff Lynne in 1988, the two already had established a long friendship and collaborations, first co-writing, Harrison’s All Things Must Pass opening track “I’d Have You Anytime,” at Dylan’s home in Woodstock, New York, in November 1968.
“Bob Dylan is the most consistent artist there is,” said Harrison. “Even his stuff, which people loathe, I like. Every single thing he does represents something that’s him. He may write better songs tomorrow, sing high on this album and low on another, go electric or acoustic, go weird or whatever, but the basic thing that causes all this change is an incredible character named Bob Dylan.”
Both remained friends thorugh Harrison’s death in 2001 and collaborated on several more songs including co-writing several songs for the Traveling Wilburys, including “End of the Line” and “Handle With Care,” along with “Nowhere to Go” (“When Everybody Comes to Town”), a song they co-wrote in the late ’60s and recorded at Dylan’s home in Greenwich Village in New York in 1970.
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Though Dylan wrote “I Don’t Want to Do It,” he never released it himself. Instead, Harrison originally recorded an acoustic demo of the song during the All Things Must Pass sessions, and later released a more produced version by Dave Edmunds on the soundtrack to the 1985 comedy Porky’s Revenge!
From All Things Pass to Harrison’s through the early ’90s, the former Beatle also covered several Dylan songs along the way.
“If Not For You” (1970)
George Harrison first recorded a solo performance of Dylan’s “If Not For You” for co-producer Phil Spector in London during the All Things Must Pass sessions. Along with his co-write with Dylan, “I’d Have You Anytime” opening the album, Harrison’s cover of his New Morning track “It’s Not for You” appeared on side two of All Things That Pass. Dylan and Harrison later recorded “If Not for You” for possible inclusion in the Concert for Bangladesh, which was released on the concert film in 1972 and again on DVD in 2005.
In 1971, Olivia Newton-John also recorded a version of “If Not For You” as the title track of her debut album; the single went to No. 7 on the UK chart.
“I Don’t Want to Do It” (1985)
Though Harrison had originally recorded Dylan’s “I Don’t Want to Do It” during his All Things Must Pass sessions, it was later released on the soundtrack to the 1985 film Porky’s Revenge!
“Abandoned Love” (Recorded in 1984)
In 1975, Dylan recorded his song “Abandoned Love” but didn’t release it for another decade on his 1985 compilation album Biograph. A year earlier, Harrison recorded his demo version of “Abandoned Love,” but never officially released it. The Everly Brothers also released a version of the Dylan song on their 1985 album Born Yesterday, and more covers later emerged by Chuck Prophet, Paul Rodgers with Nils Lofgren, Willie Nile, and others.
“Absolutely Sweet Marie” (1993)
Harrison performed the Blonde on Blonde classic “Absolutely Sweet Marie” during The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration at Madison Square Garden in New York City in 1993, celebrating three decades of Dylan’s career.
Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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