George Harrison Said He Felt ‘Very Subtly’ Held Down Creatively While in The Beatles
For many music lovers of all ages, The Beatles are the greatest musical act that ever existed. The talented foursome broke boundaries and set new records, kickstarting the famed British Invasion and revitalizing rock and roll music all over the world.
George Harrison was the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Known as the “quiet Beatle,” Harrison’s contributions were invaluable – but as he later revealed to talk show host Dick Cavett, he felt as though his creativity was hampered when he worked in the band.
George Harrison became famous as a member of the Beatles
Harrison, just like his bandmates in the Beatles, started playing music when he was very young. Inspired by a variety of musical styles, Harrison became very proficient at playing guitar. When he was around 15 years old, Harrison joined the group that would eventually become known as the Beatles.
The group didn’t experience instant popularity – in fact, they played in Hamburg, Germany, for a long stint, according to IMDb, all while they perfected their chemistry as a band. By the early ’60s, the Beatles had become a worldwide sensation.
Their record-breaking effect on American culture cannot be overstated, with hit songs like “She Loves You” and “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” rocking fans of all ages. Within the group, Harrison was widely credited with introducing Indian influences and stylings into the Beatles’ music, even utilizing Indian instrumentation. In his private life, Harrison was known as a devout Hindu, often eschewing the spotlight and rarely sitting down for interviews.
George Harrison felt ‘held down’ while in The Beatles
In 1970, after months of speculation and headlines, The Beatles announced that they had broken up in order to pursue solo projects. While Harrison rarely granted interviews about the breakup and what went on behind the scenes, he sat down with talk show host Dick Cavett not long after the Beatles disbanded to discuss his own feelings about it.
In the interview, which is available on YouTube, Harrison revealed that “over the years, I had such a lot of songs mounted up that I really wanted to do, but I only got my quota of one or two tunes per album.” The singer-songwriter told Cavett, “I would have had to record about a hundred Beatle albums just to get out the tunes I had in 1965.”
Cavett asked Harrison if he felt “held down” by the other members of the band, to which Harrison replied, “well, very subtly, yes … they didn’t strap me down or anything like that.” Harrison went on to note that there was no animosity there, explaining that it was just “the way things happened.”
George Harrison went on to have a successful solo career
Once the Beatles disbanded in 1970, Harrison took back his creative freedom and launched an incredibly successful career as a solo artist. In the years that followed, he released multiple albums, much of it material that he wrote during his days with the Beatles.
He also worked as an advocate on behalf of charitable organizations and maintained a particular fondness for any causes relating to India. Harrison worked steadily throughout the ’80s and ’90s, collaborating with other top artists such as Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, and Eric Clapton.
When Harrison died from cancer in 2001, he was only 58 years old. To this day, his influence lives on, with fans playing his music on a daily basis and remembering the “quiet Beatle” who had such a big impact on music.
