People forget that George Harrison often produced songs for other groups and artists. John Lennon was a big fan of a tune George produced for a band that wasn’t The Beatles. Despite the tune’s pedigree — and John’s endorsement of it — it remains obscure. The track sounds like it could’ve been written for the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.
John Lennon said a George Harrison-produced song was ‘amazing’
During a 1974 interview with Lennon on Lennon: Conversations With John Lennon, John discussed hearing George’s music on the radio. “Well, it was hours ago when we played these records, but we’ll tell you what was happening hours ago, ’cause if you’re like me, you wait and wait to hear what it was, you know,” he said. “Why don’t they tell you what it is? A few hours ago … oh, it’s not this list up there; oh, it’s not that bad.
“‘Gravy Train’ was that … the writing is amazing,” he said. “‘Gravy Train’ by Splinter on Dark Horse, brackets A&M, which was George Harrison’s production of Splinter. Sounds pretty good, too.” For context, Splinter was a folk-rock band. George produced the group’s first album, The Place I Love. That album is by far the most well-known in the group’s discography.
What George Harrison had to say about producing Splinter
George didn’t release solo material between putting out 1973’s Living in the Material World and 1974’s Dark Horse. During a 1974 interview from the book George Harrison on George Harrison: Interviews and Encounters, George explained that gap. “I’ve been busy working,” he said.
“I was busy being deposed,” he added. “I’ve been doing some tracks of my own, did the Splinter album, finished up Ravi’s album, been to India for two months, organized the music festival from India; I’ve done a million things.” George signed Splinter to his label: Dark Horse Records. He was asked if he wanted the label to become huge. “No, no!” he said. “I don’t want it to turn into a Kinney. I’d like it to be decently small.”
While George produced “Gravy Train,” it doesn’t sound much like his famous tunes, George is most famous for his folk-rock songs, while “Gravy Train” combined funk music with the horn-heavy sound of late 1960s/early 1970s top 40 music. In other words, “Gravy Train” is more similar to a late-period Elvis Presley hit than George’s big singles like “My Sweet Lord” or “Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth).”
.It’s also a bit of a surprise that John was such a big fan of “Gravy Train.” He was, frankly, picky when it came to music and he wasn’t always very complimentary toward his former bandmates. It’s also interesting that a song produced by George that received high marks from John has completely faded from the cultural memory.
“Gravy Train” has been lost in the sands of time but it shows George had a lot of musical range that remains unappreciated.
