George Harrison Said There Was ‘No Comparison’ Between Him and Keith Richards
The Beatles’ George Harrison and The Rolling Stones‘ Keith Richards were the only people on Earth who knew what it was like to be the leading guitarists for two of the biggest rock ‘n’ roll groups of the 1960s.
While they had their own fickle opinions about each other, George claimed there was “no comparison” between them.
George Harrison and Keith Richards had a bond as leading guitarists
In the special edition of Rolling Stone called “Remembering George,” Richards said he and George had a “bond.”
“George and I kind of formed — without talking too much about it, although we did have a laugh here and there — a bond, in that we felt we were kind of fulfilling the same role within our respective bands,” Richards said. “It was a nod and a wink to say, ‘Well, they’d be nowhere without us.’
“So George and I always used to have that thing of, ‘Well, how’s your end holding up?’ He was a very quiet and enigmatic guy in many ways. He had a very sly sense of humor, very quiet. But there was always this unspoken bond between us.”
George said there was ‘no comparison’ between him and Richards
Despite having a “bond,” George and Richards were often critical of each other’s work. In some interviews, they’d compliment each other. In others, they’d shred one another to pieces.
During a 1989 interview with Mark Rowland (per George Harrison on George Harrison: Interviews and Encounters), George said there was “no comparison” between him and Richards.
Rowland pointed out, “I picked up Spin the other day — that magazine, Spin — in which Keith Richards, on one hand, compliments you for revitalizing the British film industry…”
George interjected, “And knocks me down for something else.” Rowland added, “And in the second sentence… yeah, he said he’s never been able to take you guitar playing and you’ve never been able to stand his, and I thought that was interesting.”
“I think he’s a great rhythm guitar player, Keith,” George said. “You know, really, I think he’s probably one of the best rock’n’roll rhythm guitar players. I don’t think he’s very good at lead, but he’s played … this is the thing you see, what I feel about Keith and myself too, it’s not a comparison, but in some ways what we do is we make records, and the records have some good guitar parts on them, or have some good songs, or good lyrics or whatever, but basically you make records.”
“He’s not, to me, like a guitar player who that’s all he does is go out and play guitar. He writes songs, and he makes records and within that—you know, like, you can’t beat a riff to ‘Satisfaction,’ you know what I mean?”
“It’s the simple little things like that, and I think he’s—you know, I like Keith enormously. I mean, he’s great, but you know, I don’t think he’s an Albert King or a B. B. King or anybody else. But then again, it’s adequate for what he does. And you know, the main thing about him is he has the confidence—so even if it’s s***** he doesn’t care.”
The pair remained friends
After George died in 2001, Richards seemingly set aside his negative thoughts on his rock ‘n’ roll counterpart. In “Remembering George,” Richards said he loved George’s guitar playing and said it spoke for itself.
“George was an artist who was, because he didn’t write that many songs but the ones he did write were very meaningful, very well worked out, and well thought about, an incredibly meticulous man with respect to his work and to what he wanted to do,” he said.
“The record speaks for itself-‘[While My] Guitar Gently Weeps,’ ‘Something,’ ‘My Sweet Lord.’ When he did put something out, he worked on it a long time and got it right the way he wanted it, which is a very difficult thing to do, especially when you’re part of something else… George was an artist, but he was also a f***ing craftsman… This was a guy who could come out with a great song or a great record anytime.”
George might have changed his views of Richards as well. In a 1988 interview with MTV, George said he liked Richards a lot.
“I haven’t seen Keith in years,” George said. “He’s lived, I presume, in Jamaica and New York. I haven’t seen him for a long time. Yeah, I like Keith a lot. We occasionally send T-shirts to each other.”
Despite what George and Richards thought of each other, they both made marvelous music.
