George Harrison Wrote ‘Old Brown Shoe’ and ‘Something’ on the Piano Because ‘Nothing Seemed Fresh’ on the Guitar
Even as one of rock ‘n’ roll’s best guitarists, George Harrison sometimes turned to the piano to write his songs. The Beatle relied on ivory keys to give him a fresh sound when writing “Old Brown Shoe” and “Something,” not tight strings.
George Harrison wrote ‘Old Brown Shoe’ on the piano
According to Far Out Magazine, George turned to the keys around 1967. He wrote songs like “Blue Jay Way” and “Only a Northern Song” on the Hammond Organ.
In his 1980 memoir, I Me Mine, George said he wrote “Old Brown Shoe” on the piano. Although, he wasn’t familiar with the instrument.
He wrote, “‘Old Brown Shoe.’ I started the chord sequences on the piano (which I don’t really play) and then began writing ideas for the words from various opposites: ‘I want a love that’s right/ But right is only half of what’s wrong.’ Again it’s the duality of things–yes-no, up-down, left-right, right-wrong, etc.”
During a 1992 interview with Timothy White for Goldmine, George said he also wrote his famous song, “Something” on the piano. He also revealed his reason for sliding onto the piano bench for such creations.
George started writing songs on the piano because ‘nothing sounded fresh’ on the guitar
Interestingly, George started writing songs on the piano because the guitar wasn’t giving him the right sound he wanted.
George explained during his interview with White, “I wrote it [‘Old Brown Shoe‘] on the piano, as I did with ‘Something.’ ‘Cause sometimes I was getting to where I knew the guitar so much nothing seemed fresh, and then I’d just go on the piano and play some chords and they’d sound great.”
The Beatle also dabbled on the bass
During his time with The Beatles, George swapped instruments with his bandmates whether he wanted to or not. If they needed him to play bass because Paul McCartney stormed out of the recording studio or for some other reason, he stepped in.
George played bass on “Old Brown Shoe,” “Bungalow Bill,” “Back in the U.S.S.R.,” and “She Said She Said.”
On “Old Brown Shoe,” George said, “It’s like a lunatic playing.” Creem’s J. Kordosh pointed out, “It sounds like McCartney was going nuts again.” George said it was him going nuts. He added, “I’m doing exactly what I do on the guitar.”
However, according to Song Facts, fans still debate whether George or Paul played bass on “Old Brown Shoe.”
“The various editing sessions in the studio muddy the waters quite a bit,” Song Facts writes. During the Let It Be sessions, The Beatles did two recordings, one with George and his piano accompaniment, and one with the whole group plus Billy Preston.
“They rehearsed the song eight more times for these sessions, and there’s some bootlegs of these tapes out there,” Song Facts continued. “Then a complicated hail of edits on different tracks ensued when they actually went to record ‘Old Brown Shoe,’ with Harrison replacing two guitar tracks with his own and wiping Lennon’s rhythm guitar in favor of a Hammond organ.”
Whoever played bass, “Old Brown Shoe” turned out great, as did all of the songs George wrote on the piano.
