1 Rock Star Played on George Harrison’s ‘All Things Must Pass’

George Harrison came into his own as a rock star with All Things Must Pass. He wasn’t the only rock star who performed on that record. It took a shocking number of acoustic guitars to get the soundscape of All Things Must Pass just right.

A rock star and a major producer worked on George Harrison’s ‘All Things Must Pass’

Peter Frampton played guitar on All Things Must Pass. Interestingly, the record was produced by Phil Spector. Spector gave us classic 1960s pop hits like The Ronette’s “Be My Baby” before working on The Beatles’ Let It Be.

During a 2013 interview with Guitar World, Frampton discussed All Things Must Pass. “My contribution was acoustic guitar,” he recalled. “I was involved in five of the basic tracks with Badfinger, all playing acoustic guitars, including George and myself. So there were about three of them. Well, there were at least five of us. You’re talking about Phil Spector, so ‘More is more’ [laughs].”

Frampton said the album involved way more acoustic guitar than you might think. “There were at least five of us on acoustic guitars, and then Pete Drake, the steel player, came over halfway through during those five tracks, and we did some of the more country ones, like ‘If Not for You,’ which Bob Dylan had written,” he said.

Peter Frampton revealed his favorite part of working with George Harrison

Frampton revealed that Spector was a little demanding. “After I’d done those, which I believe were the last tracks George did on the album, he called me up after a few weeks and said, ‘Phil wants more acoustic guitars on the tracks,'” he said. “I remember laughing at the time. This time it was just me and George at Abbey Road, the same studio where The Beatles had done Sgt. Pepper.”

Frampton spent a lot of time jamming with George while crafting All Things Must Pass. Frampton had a lot of fun during those jam sessions. He said they were the highlight of his time working on All Things Must Pass. 

‘All Things Must Pass’ hit everyone like a steamroller

All Things Must Pass was George’s biggest hit in the United States. That record topped the Billboard 200 for seven weeks. It lasted on the chart for 41 weeks altogether.

All Things Must Pass spawned two singles. One was a double single of “My Sweet Lord” and “Isn’t It a Pity.” That double single topped the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks, lasting on the chart for 14 weeks in total. The other single was the underrated soul song “What Is Life.” That tune reached No. 10 and charted for nine weeks. 

All these years later, All Things Must Pass is often seen as George’s crowning achievement as a solo artist — and it’s regularly included on lists of the greatest albums of all time. George had spent his time with The Beatles as the third fiddle to John Lennon and Paul McCartney. After All Things Must Pass came out, his songwriting was more respected than ever before. The commercial success of the record and its singles revealed that the quiet Beatle didn’t need any help from John or Paul to create popular music.

All Things Must Pass is an enduring classic — and it wouldn’t be the same without Frampton.