Although he was never officially a member of the Fab Four, fellow British rocker Eric Clapton played a pivotal role in the creation of some of the most iconic Beatles songs—namely, the ones that George Harrison wrote. Harrison and Clapton were close friends, and their relationship only grew tighter in the final, increasingly tense years of the Beatles’ tenure together.
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Sometimes, Clapton contributed to the Beatles’ discography by way of studio performance. Other times, he merely provided the backdrop for Harrison to stretch his creative muscles. In the case of the Abbey Road classic, “Here Comes the Sun,” the backdrop in question was Clapton’s backyard garden.
George Harrison Decided To “Slag Off” Apple
The final years of the Beatles’ time together were particularly tense and arduous. The Fab Four was at the height of their fame. That also came with its fair share of business logistics and meetings that were more of a chore than a pleasure for the musicians, who only wanted to spend their time enjoying the fruits of their labor and creating more music. Pair that with the gloominess of English winter, and the stress became almost unbearable for George Harrison.
“Apple was getting like school,” Harrison recalled in his memoir, I Me Mine. “We had to go and be business men, all this signing accounts, and ‘sign this’ and ‘sign that.’ Anyway, it seems as if winter in England goes on forever. By the time spring comes, you really deserve it. So, one day I decided I’m going to sag off Apple, and I went over to Eric [Clapton’s] house. I was walking in his garden. The relief of not having to go and see all those dopey accountants was wonderful.”
The “quiet Beatle” recalled walking through Clapton’s backyard garden with one of his friend’s acoustic guitars. As he plucked out melodies on the high strings of the instrument, Harrison came up with the opening lines for “Here Comes the Sun.”
Eric Clapton Recalls The Beatles Song Coming To Life
Eric Clapton had watched other Beatles songs come to life before, like after tracking his guitar solo for “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” the George Harrison ballad on the Beatles’ eponymous “White Album.” But there was something special about watching Harrison stroll through a garden, acoustic guitar strapped across his chest, creating what would become one of the Beatles’ most enduring tracks from Abbey Road.
“It was one of these beautiful spring mornings,” Clapton recalled in the Harrison documentary, George Harrison: Living in the Material World. “I think it was April or something like that. We were just walking round my garden in the Surrey hills with our guitars. And I don’t do that. This is what George brought to the situation. He was just a magical guy. He would show up, get out of the car with his guitar, and come in and start playing. You’d have a cup of tea. We walked down in the garden and started playing.”
“The sun was shining,” Clapton continued. “It was a beautiful morning, and he just started to sing, here comes the sun, the opening lines, and I just watched this thing come to life. I felt very proud that it was my garden that was inspiring it.”
Photo by Bettman/Getty Images
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