Call us heathens, call us wrong; we get it. It’s wild to claim that anyone other than John Lennon and Paul McCartney were the best songwriters in The Beatles. However, we think George Harrison deserves some love for penning some really, really good songs here and there. Let’s look at five times George Harrison wrote a song that rivaled the main songwriters of The Beatles!
1. “Beware Of Darkness”
This 1970 track from All Things Must Pass is a great example of what Harrison could do as the center focal point of a music project. The song itself is lyrically rich and almost meditative at times as Harrison tries to overcome the difficulty of being human. “The pain that often lingers” is a short but profound line from this song.
2. “Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)”
Many diehard George Harrison fans say that “Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)” is his very best song, and may even be better than much of his work in The Beatles. (Again, matter of opinion and taste.) This 1973 track from Living In The Material World has become a collectively-loved song through the decades.
Like a few other entries on this list, it included quite an ensemble of musicians, from Gary Wright to Nicky Hopkins. Harrison once described the song as a “prayer and personal statement between me, the Lord, and whoever likes it.” It is very much spiritual, and that energy comes down to Harrison’s top-notch songwriting.
3. “What Is Life”
“What Is Life” is one of Harrison’s very best rock songs from his multi-platinum debut record. Not only is the songwriting up to par but so is the ensemble he brought together to complete the track. Badfinger, Bobby Whitlock, and Erick Clapton contribute their talents to this song.
4. “When We Was Fab”
This 1987 Cloud Nine classic is one of many songs that Harrison penned to poke fun at The Beatles and his past work. And if he wasn’t intending to poke fun at his past, he was likely reflecting on an insane, history-making career. This is probably the best example of how good Harrison was at hammering out the details, as he included everything from strings to backward-playing tapes to a sitar. It doesn’t sound muddled; it’s a really cohesive piece of work.
5. “Handle With Care” by Traveling Wilburys
This song was mostly written by Harrison, though the writing credit for the song lists all five members of the iconic supergroup Traveling Wilburys: Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, and Tom Petty.
Much of Harrison’s best songwriting explored the notion of resilience in hard times, and “Handle With Care” is an excellent example of that. To think this song was almost buried on a B-side for “This Is Love”!
