How Recording ‘Hey Jude’ Made George Harrison More Frustrated With Paul McCartney
Toward the end of The Beatles, George Harrison grew more frustrated with his creative restrictions. His music often took a backseat to John Lennon and Paul McCartney’s, and he believed McCartney had too much control. Paul’s stubbornness appeared during the “Hey Jude” recording session, further frustrating George Harrison.
George Harrison found it difficult to be in a band with Paul McCartney
The Beatles ended in 1970 as each member went in different ways musically. George Harrison might have been the most relieved to no longer be in the band as he had felt restricted in The Beatles. He wanted to bring unique sounds to the band but was often stifled by McCartney. In a 1979 interview with Rolling Stone, Harrison called McCartney “pushy” and said it wouldn’t be a good idea for them to be in another band together.
“We don’t have any problems whatsoever as far as being people is concerned, and it’s quite nice to see him. But I don’t know about being in a band with him, how that would work out,” McCartney said. “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. 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.”
McCartney wasn’t open to suggestions while recording ‘Hey Jude’
“Hey Jude” is one of McCartney’s babies. He wrote the track for Lennon’s son, Julian, whose parents were getting divorced. McCartney did feel attached to this track, which could explain why he was against changing anything. In the book Sound Pictures: The Life of Beatles Producer George Martin — The Later Years, 1966 – 2016 by Kenneth Womack, Martin commented that the recording process for “Hey Jude” was unorthodox because McCartney wanted to make the song an extensive length.
George Harrison backed up Martin’s comments, saying that Paul McCartney wasn’t open to any suggestions regarding “Hey Jude.” Harrison wanted the lead guitar to echo McCartney’s lyrics in a call-and-response style, but McCartney shot that down. McCartney’s stubbornness exemplified the “Something” singer’s frustrations with his bandmate.
“Personally, I’d found that for the last couple of albums, the freedom to be able to play as a musician was being curtailed, mainly by Paul,” Harrison stated. “Paul had fixed an idea in his brain as to how to record one of his songs. He wasn’t open to anybody else’s suggestions.”
A few of Harrison’s songs reflect his frustration with The Beatles and McCartney
The guitarist typically refrained from airing out his grievances in public, but he did throw jabs in his music. After briefly leaving The Beatles during the Let it Be sessions, George Harrison wrote the song “Wah-Wah,” which featured lyrics that hinted at being annoyed by John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
“Run of the Mill” is another song he wrote that provided insights into how running Apple Corps. led to disagreements between The Beatles. Both songs were featured on his triple album, All Things Must Pass, in 1970.
