Love and Theft #1: George Harrison

When it comes to playing the guitar, there has been no one that I have stolen more from than George Harrison. None of the four Beatles were ever known as virtuous technical musicians, and even though rock and roll was young, there were already flashier musicians in the genre before The Beatles released their first single. Yet, any rock and roll connossieur would almost certainly have the wisdom to mention John, Paul, George, and Ringo when asked about the greatest players of all time for each of their respective instruments. Each Beatle is a songwriter with a sharp knack for rhythm and melody so all their parts are only for the purpose of serving the song, and accenting the melodic foundation set by whichever Beatle wrote the given song. As a songwriter and guitarist myself, George is the one that I am most fascinated by as I write and record my own music.

George’s talent for complimenting vocal melody and solifdifying chord progressions with his lead guitar playing is a gift. Think of him as a philosopher that one can study in an effort to widen his or her perspective and adapt the teachings and ideas into their own lives. When I record my music, lead guitar typically comes last, so I am building parts that fit within the rest of the song I am playing over. I often intuitively morph into George Harrison as I dive into my rock and roll intuition which results in the “stealing” that defines this Love and Theft series. My subconcious is thinking “what would George do here?”. I will give you a few examples. In my song “Clawing at the Glass”, I play ascending lead guitar licks with lots of sliding and accenting each chord tone thereby giving it a sixties feel to my Beatles inspired 6/8 song that (despite a large discrepancy in quality) could end up on The White Album or Abbey Road. Now listen to “Clawing at the Glass” and Abbey Road’s “Something” with my George Harrison-isms in mind. You can sort of hear it right?

I have another song called “High and Mighty”; it is another Beatles-inspired tune on my album Need a Vacation. Towards the end of the song, I play a guitar solo where I am once again a thief. George’s bending is an element of his guitar playing that has fascinated me ever since I really dug into Beatles’ records with some guitar proficiency under my belt. The bends are not that difficult or dramatic but they do have a signature idiosynracy. I love that George rarely resolves his bends (ending with the tonic note in the key he is playing) because many guitarists are programmed to do that. George is totally thinking out of the box, which is why even the most rudimentary Beatles songs never get a lick boring. It is weird without being complicated which takes so much talent. My guitar tone and the notes I play are straight out of this playbook. If you listen, can you imagine how bad it would have been if I played anything else? If I decided to shred? Or play cleanly? I find myself asking those questions whenever I hear a song like “Dig a Pony” or that mini solo he plays in “You Never Give Me Your Money.”

At the end of the day, I understand I write about trying to emulate or lifting certain characteristics of George Harrison’s playing, but the fact is that his unique and instantly recognizable voice on the guitar is what makes him a legend. I don’t have his fingers or indiviual musicality to accomplish what he does. You know when its George Harrison playing. I also appreciate George’s use of a diverse lineup of electric guitars as guitar nerd. When you think of Jimi Hendrix you think of his Fender Stratocasters, Keith Richards with his Fender Telecasters, Angus Young with his late 60s Gibson SG. George has multiple signature guitars like his rosewood Telecaster, his funky Stratocaster, his Gibson SG Style Les Paul, his Gretsch, the red refinished Les Paul, Lucy. Maintaining such a distinct voice and play style regardless of the instrument in his hands is super special. All hail George and may he Rest in Peace.