George Harrison Didn’t Consider Himself a ‘Guitar Hero’ — He Was so Wrong
George Harrison said he didn’t consider himself a “guitar hero” for several reasons. Many other things sidetracked him on his guitar-playing journey, and he only played his instrument when necessary. However, George couldn’t have been more wrong about his self-assessment. He’s one of the best guitarists in rock ‘n’ roll.
George Harrison said he wasn’t a ‘guitar hero’ because he was OK with relinquishing his guitar-playing rights to other guitarists
During a 1989 interview with Mark Rowland (per George Harrison on George Harrison: Interviews and Encounters), George said, in a way, he knew he was supposed to be a guitar player, but he didn’t feel like one.
He only picked up the guitar to write a tune or make a record. Most of the time, George was happy to relinquish his guitar-playing rights to another guitarist if it meant he got to work with that person. For instance, George often allowed his friend Eric Clapton to appear in his songs because he just liked working with him.
Clapton usually knew what George wanted, which made it easier. George explained that he wasn’t like that. Clapton was good at knowing how to play others’ songs. “For me, I have to really figure out what I’m going to do and even learn maybe a part because I’m just not that fluent with it,” George said.
George claimed that Clapton did things on the guitar that took him ages to figure out. He said, “Well, I’m certainly not a guitar hero. [Chuckles.] If you read the lists of great guitar players …”
George added that he liked to have input from other people. He said, “So when I have a song that calls for a kind of Eric Clapton guitar part, I dare say I could practice for an hour or so and do a solo decent enough, but then all I’m ending up doing is denying having the opportunity of having Eric around and hanging out with him for a bit.”
George also didn’t rate himself as a ‘guitar hero’ because other things got in the way, and he didn’t want to go on the road
During his interview with Rowland, George said also he didn’t rate himself as a “guitar hero” because his life had led him to many other things, including religion and Indian music. In the mid-1960s, George started playing the sitar. Once he realized he’d never be good at that, he returned to the guitar but felt out of touch with it. To give his guitar playing a fresh sound, George started playing slide guitar and became good at it.
Suddenly, people wanted George to play slide on their records. On top of that, musicians also started emulating his slide guitar on their records. It surprised George.
He told Guitar Player, “Then people would come up and say, ‘Would you play slide on my record?’ I’m thinking, ‘Really? Are you sure?’ Then, I don’t know, I started hearing people sort of imitating me doing slide–which is very flattering. But, again, like I was saying about the sound–’How did you get that sound?’–I didn’t think it was that good.”
Even though his slide guitar skills soared, George constantly felt disconnected from the guitar. In 1977, George didn’t pick up the instrument once and said he didn’t miss it. He liked Indian music more than any other genre, including rock. George also believed he wasn’t a guitar hero because he didn’t want to keep touring and performing.
“At the same time, you can’t be everything in life,” he said. “I’m just thankful I’m still here, and whatever it is I do, you know, that’s it.”
George said he was never trying to be the best guitar player. He confessed he didn’t care about it. Even the great guitar players still didn’t compare to some of the Indian musicians he loved.
George underestimated himself
The former Beatle might not have been too interested in the guitar or being a “guitar hero,” but he definitely underestimated himself and his talents.
Since George was in The Beatles, other guitarists tried to emulate his playing. Once he started playing slide, they admired him even more. George once admitted that he’d black out on great slide guitar solos. If that’s not a sign of greatness, we don’t know what is.
Before George’s death in 2001, Queen’s Brian May told Guitarist Magazine (per his website) that he thought the guitar community underrated George. “I wish I’d had the balls to say what I really wanted to at the time,” May said of his meeting with George.
“I hold George in such reverence and I think he’s so underrated by the guitar community. Everyone raves about people who play fast, but if you look at the catalog of stuff he’s produced, it’s colossal.”
May was right. Many people have underrated George in the guitar community. However, he underestimated himself many times. George did say once that his life was “self-deprecating.” Still, we wish he truly got to see how much he influenced others on the guitar.
