A Mistake by Frank Sinatra Proved George Harrison’s ‘Peculiar’ Position in The Beatles
Frank Sinatra could be harsh in his criticism of new music trends, but he had no problem with George Harrison. The American singer loved the Harrison-penned song “Something” and would often perform it at his shows. During one performance, though, he misattributed the song to two other musicians. Harrison joked that this perfectly summed up his position in The Beatles.
The American singer didn’t think The Beatles would make it in the United States
The Beatles were successful in England when they made their American debut in 1964. They had recently achieved their first No. 1 hit in the United States with “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” Though the song had only been No. 1 for several days, it was clear that they had made their mark on the country. When they arrived in New York, thousands of screaming fans were there to greet him.
After a performance on The Ed Sullivan Show — a show that many other musicians have described as life-changing — the band cemented its place as the biggest band in the country. Given their explosive popularity in England, this wasn’t too big of a surprise. Sinatra, however, did not expect them to succeed.
“I thought the Beatles would die in New York,” he wrote, per the book George Harrison on George Harrison, adding, “I was very surprised by the reception they got. I guess I was wrong.”
George Harrison joked that a Frank Sinatra error showed his position in The Beatles
Sinatra covered a number of songs in his career, and he embraced The Beatles’ “Something.” In 1989, Harrison spoke with Musician Magazine’s Mark Rowland, and Sinatra’s cover of the song came up.
“I remember watching a Frank Sinatra special on television about fifteen years ago, and Frank said that he wanted to pay tribute to one of the great songwriting teams, John Lennon and Paul McCartney, by singing one of the songs from their great songbook,” Rowland said, “and he proceeded to sing ‘Something,’ and I thought in some way that sort of … summed up your peculiar position in the band.”
Harrison’s bandmates often overlooked his talent, something that endlessly frustrated him. He agreed that Sinatra’s mistake felt like an example of this. He noted that it wasn’t the first time this had happened, either.
“I met Michael Jackson years ago after the Jackson 5 had split up but before he was as big as he is now, and somewhere I met him in the BBC in London and the disc jockey asked — said something about ‘Something,’ and he [Jackson] turned around and said, [imitates Jackson’s voice] ‘You wrote ‘Something’? I thought that was Lennon/McCartney.'”
Frank Sinatra often performed the George Harrison song in concert
Sinatra made his love for “Something” clear. He performed it frequently in concerts. He even corrected his earlier mistake during a show, crediting the song to Harrison.
“It’s a great song by George Harrison of The Beatles,” he told the audience, adding, “It’s one of the best love songs I believe to be written in 50 or 100 years. And it never says ‘I love you,’ in the song, but it really is one of the finest.”
