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While my guitar gently weeps (1968): Harrison's strongest song as a member of the Beatles!

"...I immediately forgot about the book, and started working on the song..."

While my guitar gently weeps as the best creation of the iconic Beatle ...

The legendary Beatles are still legendary to this day... But, unfortunately, many people remember only two of their members - John Lennon and Paul McCartney. In fact, George Harrison deserves no less attention! After all, it was he - a brilliant musician and songwriter, who gave birth to the big hits of the band! "If I needed someone", "Here comes the sun", "Something" - all these compositions are undeniably beautiful... But one of Harrison's strongest works can be justifiably called the song "While my guitar gently weeps"!

New Project 2020 05 13t011245.706
George Harrison is ranked #21 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time!

The story of the creation of ...

George started writing this light composition at his parents' house, where he had come to stay for a while. At that time, the musician was fascinated by a Chinese fortune-telling book... Opening the first page, Harrison noticed the phrase "gently weeps"... Seemingly so ordinary, this phrase fascinated the famous musician so much that he immediately threw the book aside and started composing the lyrics of his future hit!

Harrison gained his greatest fame as the lead guitarist for The Beatles.
Harrison gained his greatest fame as the lead guitarist for The Beatles.

He later recalled:

"...I immediately forgot about the book, and started working on the song..."

When the piece was finished, George noticed that "While my guitar gently weeps" was very close to the falk style. It was for this reason that the initial takes of the composition had a very lyrical and, one could even say, relaxing character... The author's own guitar solo was a worthy embellishment. All sounds united into a single harmonious ensemble, thus revealing to the world an unquestionable masterpiece...

It was this version of "While my guitar gently weeps" that completed the band's "white" album. The song was later included on the "Anthology 1" compilation album.

And everything seemed to be fine! But the other members of the cult band did not immediately accept this piece... Neither Lennon nor McCartney saw the new song as a potential hit... The atmosphere in the band was heated by the fact that Yoko Ono became a regular guest in the studio. By the way: Harrison's colleagues did not see him as an outstanding composer... And for nothing.

Yoko Ono is believed to be the one who broke up the legendary band....
Yoko Ono is believed to have been the one who broke up the legendary band....

George himself resented the way the Beatles arranged his new creation... For this reason he even enlisted his star mate Eric Clapton to add a guitar solo to the work! Clapton refused at first, but in the name of friendship... You can't do anything in the name of friendship! His appearance at the studio brought the rest of the Beatles to their senses. Lennon began to behave more respectfully towards Harrison, and McCartney even played a magnificent piano intro!

"Having Clapton on the record was a good idea! His appearance made everyone else sound better!" - Harrison later recounted.

Meanwhile, "While my guitar gently weeps" became a worthy diamond of the Beatles' "White" album! By the way: the composition was released on a single long before the disc, but the record was not sold in the United Kingdom and in the States....

When the band broke up, Harrison played the song about "His Guitar" at almost every solo concert (often featuring his old friend Clapton)!

Regardless - two legends on the same stage!
Regardless - two legends on the same stage!

"While my guitar gently weeps" was later included in Rolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".

As for the Beatles as a whole, it was as a team that the legendary four were strong! Harrison composed many beautiful pieces for John and Paul, while Lennon and McCartney gave each of them a stunning arrangement... Undoubtedly: George Harrison is a great musician, but perhaps without the support of that very team, many of his creations would not have sounded as powerful and exciting... That's it!

The legendary Liverpool four ...
The legendary Liverpool four ...

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