George Formby

One such notable pick is the singer and all-around musical hero of Harrison’s — George Formby. Now, we know what you’re thinking, didn’t he just play the ukulele? You’d be right to assume so, and there is plenty of discussion as to whether that qualifies Formby as one of Harrison’s favourite guitarists. However, when you balance the pros and cons, Harrison’s huge devotion to Formby means he simply has to get a mention.

Formby was a British music hall performer, and he routinely used the small instrument as part of his act, which in itself slowly became a worldwide smash. While most of the guitarists on this list would likely snort in derision at being included alongside Formby, there’s no doubt of his importance to Harrison. The former Beatle even became a member of the George Formby Society.

At one such meeting in 1991, Harrison was asked about Formby’s influence on him by the BBC, to which he replied: “The best thing about it for me is that it’s just funny music. It’s very light-hearted and it’ hard to play a ukulele or banjo without smiling, y’know it tends to lighten life up a bit. This is one extreme, The Formby Society, where everybody is thrashing away — that is good fun.” Harrison has been a longtime supporter of the ukelele, often handing them out to his friends and family and providing nearly everyone who graced his residence with their own version of the instrument. A lot of what he thought was great about the small guitar came from Formby.

Django Reinhardt

The Belgian jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt was a huge influence on most of the ’60s players. Harrison was no different, with many suggesting it was the axeman he and Paul McCartney first bonded over.

The duo may not have seen eye-to-eye on many things, but the wondrous talent of Reindhart was certainly one of them. The uniquely poised player would shape a whole generation of guitarists and inpsire Harrison with his subtle and deftly dependable playing. While some guitarists would de3sperately attempt to become virtuosos, Reindhart’s playing would encourage Harrison to showcase his work with more stealth, becoming the thinking man’s guitar hero.

Robin Nolan

One player who may not be as known as the others on this list is Robin Nolan. Known as a ‘Gypsy Jazz’ guitarist, Nolan is rightfully recognised as one of Harrison’s favourite players in the wake of Reinhardt’s own style.

“That happened from playing on the street, on the Leidseplein,” Nolan told Westword of how Harrison came to know of his music. “One of his ex-gardeners bought a CD and gave it to George, and then George called me up out of the blue. We played at a Christmas party, and then he loved this kind of music. We used to play together and just hang out at his place. That was awesome. He was very eclectic in his musical tastes. He really dug this kind of stuff.”

Chet Atkins

Chet Atkins wasn’t just a virtuoso guitarist; he was a sonic architect who reshaped the way the instrument was played. His influence rippled across generations, and few felt it more keenly than George Harrison. As The Beatles’ lead guitarist, Harrison absorbed Atkins’ fingerpicking finesse, blending it seamlessly with rock ‘n’ roll to forge his own distinctive style. Tracks like ‘All My Loving’ and ‘I’ll Be Back drip’ with Atkins’ influence, showcasing Harrison’s deft hybrid picking and melodic fluidity.

But it wasn’t just technique—Atkins’ smooth, expressive tone and effortless command of the instrument gave Harrison a new perspective on what the guitar could be. The Beatles’ early fascination with country and rockabilly owed much to Atkins’ pioneering sound, proving that behind every great guitarist stands another, casting a long shadow. For Harrison, that shadow belonged to Chet Atkins, the quiet genius who helped shape the quiet Beatle.

Chuck Berry

Of course, no list surrounding The Beatles’ inspiration would be complete without mentioning Chuck Berry. The duck-walking granddaddy of rock is more rigorously associated with John Lennon’s significant influences, and while that’s certainly correct, Harrison was a massive fan of Berry’s, too.

Like Keith Richards, Harrison was inspired by Berry’s unstoppable style. The Beatles’ guitarist had often pointed to Berry as one of his favourite artists and with the Fab Four first performing ‘Roll Over Beethoven’ as their opening number on their TV debut, it seems only fitting that his name is mentioned in this list.

Berry’s position as one of the most important guitarists of all time is untouchable, and while it is a little difficult to connect his swashbuckling style with Harrison’s more cultivated playing, there’s no doubt that Harrison practiced a duck walk of two in his time.

Gary Moore

Compared to some of the titans he admired, Moore remained a relative unknown, but for Harrison, the Northern Irish guitarist was in a league of his own. Born in 1952, Moore began his career in the late ’60s with Skid Row before joining Phil Lynott in Thin Lizzy, carving out a name as one of Ireland’s greatest guitarists.

Moore initially made waves with his blistering rock tone rather than the full scope of his technical brilliance. A virtuoso player shaped by Fleetwood Mac’s Peter Green and Eric Clapton, he often featured in the pantheon of greats. Bob Geldof once declared, “Without question, [Moore] was one of the great Irish bluesmen.”

When Harrison hit a wall recording ‘She’s My Baby’ with The Traveling Wilburys, he turned to Moore, much like he had done with Eric Clapton for ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’. Moore, dubbed ‘Ken Wilbury’ for the occasion, effortlessly delivered the solo Harrison couldn’t crack. In an interview, Harrison praised him: “That’s Ken Wilbury; I hope he’s listening in. Now, Ken Wilbury, you’re a very naughty boy; you didn’t play on the video, but we love him anyway—he’s an excellent guitar player.”

Later, Harrison called Moore one of “the world’s best guitar players,” not for his speed, but for his melodic instinct. “He doesn’t flap around the note like a lot of players,” Harrison observed—a remarkable accolade from a man who knew greatness when he heard it.

Eric Clapton

There’s nobody more important to George Harrison on this list than Eric Clapton. Undoubtedly Harrison’s best friend in music, Clapton not only provided the relief Harrison craved while he was in The Beatles, not only guided him through touring in his time after the Fab Four, but he also provided Harrison with some of the most impressive moments of his songwriting career. It is Eric Clapton that can be seen as the major theme running through at least two of George Harrison’s greatest songs for The Beatles.

Both ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’ and ‘Here Comes The Sun’ are drenched in Clapton’s work. While the latter song arrived in Harrison’s head after he and Clapton took a break in the country, it’s the former where Slowhand makes the biggest impression. The song features Eric Clapton as a guest artist and the lead guitarist. Though hesitant to be a part of the Beatles-machine, Clapton eventually decided to come on board. “I was driving into London with Eric Clapton,” Harrison remembered, “And I said, ‘What are you doing today? Why don’t you come to the studio and play on this song for me?’ He said, ‘Oh, no – I can’t do that. Nobody’s ever played on a Beatles record, and the others wouldn’t like it.’ I said, ‘Look, it’s my song, and I’d like you to play on it.”

In a 1987 interview with Guitar Player Magazine, Harrison was asked whether it had bruised his ego to ask Clapton to play on the song. “No, my ego would rather have Eric play on it. I’ll tell you, I worked on that song with John, Paul, and Ringo one day, and they were not interested in it at all,” he said. “And I knew inside of me that it was a nice song.” Clapton did play on the tune and turned it into perhaps one of The Beatle’s greatest-ever songs with his searing performance. It’s noted that Harrison regarded Clapton as not only a magnetic performer but also a dearly close friend.

Carl Perkins

Carl Perkins was one of the pioneers of rock ‘n’ roll. He had a sound that fellow musicians said personified the rockabilly era, and he was such a talent when crafting music that his tracks were covered by the likes of Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix and, of course, The Beatles.

“He said, ‘If it hadn’t have been for your daddy, I never would have picked up a guitar,’” says Stan Perkins, once again looking back to his father’s funeral. He spoke to George Harrison on the day, who confessed it was his father who was the reason he decided to learn how to play in the first place.

The proof that Harrison was such a big fan of Perkins can be seen throughout his career, not just in the words he spoke to Carl’s son at his funeral. Harrison embodied the Perkins sound incredibly well in the early Beatles records, and the band even covered three of his songs on their major studio releases.

The Beatles released ‘Honey Don’t’, ‘Matchbox’ and ‘Everybody’s Trying to Be My Baby’, which is more than any other artist whose songs they chose to perform. Harrison was such a fan of the rockabilly pioneer that when they were touring in Hamburg, he would tell everyone his name was Carl, not George. “No one knew him as George there,” recalled Stan, laughing, looking back at the story.