George Harrison’s 4 Best Secret Collaborations
Despite having risen to fame six decades ago, The Beatles still remain a household name today. The quartet, comprised of Paul McCartney, George Harrison, John Lennon, and Ringo Starr, had plenty of hits together, solo, and even with other artists — the latter of which were not always so clearly known.
Every now and then, The Beatles were known to disguise themselves under silly pseudonyms and take part in other bands’ tracks. George Harrison was no exception; his fans might be surprised to learn he had a number of secret collaborations.
Cream featured George Harrison in ‘Badge’
Eric Clapton and George Harrison might have been the 1960s duo we never knew we needed. It’s widely known that Clapton and Harrison collaborated at least once when Clapton made an appearance on Teh Beatles’1968 song “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” — still, Clapton never admitted the collaboration, and he didn’t ask for or receive credit on the song. However, one lesser-known piece of work between Harrison and Clapton came just about a year later, when Harrison appeared on Cream’s “Badge.” Harrison’s guitar form might be recognizable on the song, but it turns out he co-wrote the piece, too — all under the now-famous pseudonym L’Angelo Misterioso.
George Harrison produced Splinter’s ‘Costafine Town’
Though Harrison can’t actually be heard on this Splinter song, his creative genius allowed him to simultaneously work on it while still being signed to Apple Records. Splinter was the first band Harrison signed to his own record label, Dark Horse Records, back in the 1970s; he produced the band’s song “Costafine Town” but had to do so in disguise due to still being in contract with Apple Records.
If you look on the song’s credits, you’ll see three producers — all of whom are actually just Harrison in disguise. He went by the names Jai Raj Harrison, Hari Georgeson, and P. Producer (George), all of which are comically similar to his own real name. “Costafine Town” actually did quite well on the charts, winding up as a top 20 hit in England.
George Harrison appeared on Billy Preston’s ‘I Wrote a Simple Song’
Billy Preston’s sixth studio album, “I Wrote a Simple Song” low-key received some help from Harrison. Harrison has a distinct sound to his guitar playing, and any true fan who stopped and listened to Preston’s album might recognize that sound. Harrison actually stepped in to play guitar on most of the album’s tracks, though the pseudonyms are arguably even more obvious than any of the other secret collabs.
Harrison called himself “George H.” and “Harry Georgeson” on the album, the latter of which is a variation of his producer alter ego on “Costafine Town.”
George Harrison went by the alias Nelson Wilbury in The Traveling Wilburys
Alright, it’s no secret that Harrison was a member of the rock group The Traveling Wilburys. The star-studded group consisted of Harrison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, and Roy Orbison. Interestingly, the band was Harrison’s idea, and he and Lynne worked together to build it out into a five-member group. On their first single, “Handle With Care,” they all jokingly chose names by which they would be known in the group, and Harrison disguised himself as Nelson Wilbury.
