On this day (December 26) in 1970, George Harrison topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart with his debut solo single “My Sweet Lord.” The song spent four weeks at No. 1 in the United States and topped the UK Singles chart as well. This made Harrison the first former Beatle to top the chart in either country.
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Paul McCartney made the end of The Beatles public knowledge in April 1970. The next month, Harrison began work on his triple album All Things Must Pass. While it was not his first solo effort, it was his first release after the Fab Four went their separate ways. “My Sweet Lord” was the first single he released as a solo artist and his biggest hit. It reached No. 1 in the United States, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Switzerland, Canada, Australia, Germany, Ireland, Norway, and the Netherlands.
Harrison originally gave “My Sweet Lord” to Billy Preston. The track, co-produced by Harrison, appeared on Preston’s 1970s album, Encouraging Words.
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George Harrison’s First Solo Single Was Spiritual
According to Songfacts, George Harrison found inspiration for “My Sweet Lord” in his religious studies. At the time, he was deeply into Eastern religions. As a result, the song contains a call and praise to the Hindu god Krishna. He places the mantra “Hare Krishna” alongside “Hallelujah” in the song, juxtaposing the two seemingly different religious expressions. However, he was attempting to show that they are “quite the same thing.”
“First, it’s simple,” Harrison said. “The thing about a mantra, you see, mantras are, well, they call it a mystical sound vibration encased in a syllable,” he explained. “It has this power within it. It’s just hypnotic.”
Harrison initially didn’t believe this song would be a hit. He worried about how the public would react to the song’s spiritual content. Most of the musicians who worked with him on the song agreed. However, Phil Spector, who co-produced All Things Must Pass with Harrison, disagreed. He knew “My Sweet Lord” would be the biggest hit on the album.
Despite Harrison’s worries, it became his biggest solo hit. It was also the best-selling single in the UK in 1971.
Featured Image by Steve Kagan/Getty Images
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