George Harrison Once Compared The Beatles’ Split to ‘Leaving Home,’ and He Was More Than Ready to Depart
It might not have been evident at the time, but George Harrison became an excellent songwriter with The Beatles. It’s just that Paul McCartney and John Lennon rarely let George put his songs on the albums. When he did, his tunes turned into a No. 1 hit single or signature songs such as “If I Needed Someone,” “Taxman,” and “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” Music fans mourned the end of the band, but George once compared The Beatles’ break-up to leaving home (in a good way).
George Harrison had to fight tooth and nail to put songs on Beatles albums
After years in the group, George eventually penned a No. 1 hit for The Beatles — on their final record as a true quartet. That was an exception to the rule. John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote most of the songs on Fab Four albums. George got the scraps, usually one or two per album.
He had a creative boom and wrote dozens of songs during his Beatles tenure. Still, George didn’t receive much support from producer George Martin or his bandmates as he fought for the band to record his songs. Frustrated, he walked out on his bandmates during the dual sessions for Abbey Road and Let It Be.
John said The Beatles’ break-up was a slow process akin to falling in love. Elevated tempers and bickering marred the end, but George had no regrets and said the break-up was like leaving home.
George compared The Beatles’ break-up to leaving home, and he meant it as a good thing
He technically released his first solo record before The Beatles broke up, but George was finally untethered once the band splintered in 1970. Even though the end included intra-band tension, George never regretted his time in the Fab Four.
George once said the end of The Beatles was a relief and compared it to leaving home in a certain sense during an appearance on The Dick Cavett Show in late 1971 (via YouTube):
“I don’t regret really anything. That’s what happened, and it was good, but it was also good to carry on and do something else. In fact, it was a relief. Some people can’t understand that, you know, because The Beatles were such a big deal. They can’t understand why we should actually enjoy splitting up, but there’s a time. There’s a time. People grow up and leave home or whatever they do. They go for a change, and it was really time for a change.”
George Harrison compared The Beatles’ split to leaving home
Even though each member seemed ready for a change, George was relieved to be on his own and proved he was prepared to “leave home,” as he put it.
George’s solo career proved he was primed for life after the Fab Four
John, Paul, and George all sprinted to release solo albums after The Beatles broke up. Paul put his solo debut on shelves first, but George won the race against his former bandmates.
All Things Must Pass from 1970 procured a single, “My Sweet Lord,” that stayed at No. 1 for four weeks and spent 14 weeks on the chart. The album went platinum six times over, far better than Paul’s McCartney record or John’s Plastic Ono Band. All Things Must Pass was the biggest solo debut for any of The Beatles.
George hit No. 1 on the Billboard hot 100 with “Give Me Love” in 1973, did it again with “Got My Mind Set on You” in 1988, and pieced together one of the greatest supergroups ever with The Traveling Wilburys in the late 1980s.
He had no regrets about his time with the Fab Four and said it was a relief to end the band and leave home. George Harrison proved the end of The Beatles was an event he was prepared to handle.
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