Why George Harrison Didn’t Like Paul McCartney’s Music Following The Beatles

While George Harrison and Paul McCartney made fantastic music together with The Beatles, the two made contrasting music following the band’s split. Harrison gravitated toward more softcore rock, while McCartney created harder and gritter rock n’ roll tunes. Despite the two remaining friends until Harrison died in 2001, Harrison once said he wasn’t a fan of McCartney’s music in his solo career. 

George Harrison preferred more ‘subtle’ music to ‘guitars screaming and distorting’

In a 1979 interview with Rolling Stone, Harrison discussed how rock n’ roll was evolving to become more hardcore. The “Something” singer said he’s always been more of a fan of the quieter, more subtle type of rock music rather than the loud and abrasive form that became more popular during the 1970s. 

“I’d rather hear someone like Little Richard or Larry Williams,” Harrison said. “I never liked all that stuff in the late Sixties after Cream had broken up – all those Les Paul guitars screaming and distorting. I like more subtlety – like Ry Cooder and Eric Clapton. Eric is fantastic. He could blow all those people off the stage if he wanted to, but he’s more subtle than that. Sometimes it’s not what you do, it’s what you don’t do that counts. And personally, I’d rather hear three notes hit really sweet than to hear a whole lot of notes from some guitar player whose ears are so blown out he can’t hear the difference between a flat and a sharp.”

George Harrison didn’t like Paul McCartney’s music during his solo career

After The Beatles split, McCartney went off on his solo career with his debut album, McCartney. He later formed Wings and made hit songs like “Jet” and “Band on the Run.” While Paul McCartney developed his own audience outside The Beatles, George Harrison wasn’t one of them. He enjoyed a few of McCartney’s songs but found the “Live and Let Die” singer’s music to be “inoffensive.”

“I think it’s inoffensive. I’ve always preferred Paul’s good melodies to his screaming rock & roll tunes,” Harrison explained. “The tune I thought was sensational on the London Town album was ‘I’m Carrying,’ but all the noisy, beaty things I’m not into at all. But then that’s not only with Paul’s music, that goes right across the board. I’m not a fan of that sort of punky, heavy, tinny stuff. I like a nice melody.”

Harrison said it was hard to be in the same band as McCartney

Toward the end of The Beatles, tensions were high between all four members. Eventually, they all were on good terms, but Harrison said he would be hesitant ever to form another band with McCartney. While he said the two remained “pals,” he found McCartney to be “pushy” and always preferred to play his own songs over anybody else’s. 

“I don’t know about being in a band with him, how that would work out. It’s like, we all have our own tunes to do. And my problem was that it would always be very difficult to get in on the act because Paul was very pushy in that respect,” Harrison stated. “When he succumbed to playing on one of your tunes, he’d always do good. But you’d have to do fifty-nine of Paul’s songs before he’d even listen to one of yours. So, in that respect, it would be very difficult to ever play with him. But, you know, we’re cool as far as being pals goes.”