The “best rock ‘n’ roll” guitarist of all time, according to George Harrison
In the eyes of many, George Harrison embodied precisely what a rock ‘n’ roll guitarist should be. With The Beatles, he formulated a series of iconic riffs that live long in the hearts and souls of millions across the land. However, Harrison preferred to go about his business in the background rather than at the centre of attention and would never have claimed his right to the throne.
Harrison was never interested in being viewed as the greatest guitarist to ever live; he simply wanted to make music. He was more than content to quietly operate in the shadows while John Lennon and Paul McCartney received adulation from the masses. However, he did still appreciate guitarists who had flashier instincts than himself and were more comfortable in the limelight.
Few understood the ingredients it required to become an outstanding guitarist like Harrison. In his mind, nuance was the crucial component, a reason why he held Keith Richards in such high esteem and believed he was an untouchable force in the rock ‘n’ roll sphere.
While The Beatles and The Rolling Stones played up to the pantomime rivalry between them in the public eye, it was a different story behind closed doors. The band’s two guitarists only held respect for each other and never dared get into a slanging match. Not only did they admire one another as people, but also the technical ability that the other possessed in spades. Vitally, their personal tales overlapped significantly. Harrison and Richards were both born in 1943, therefore, they were raised on the same rock ‘n’ roll records during their youth. Despite growing up hundreds of miles apart, they were kindred spirits.
Notably, Harrison was responsible for The Rolling Stones signing with Decca Records after witnessing an early performance by the group in Richmond-upon-Thames. He later remembered, “We’d been at Teddington taping Thank Your Lucky Stars, miming to ‘From Me To You’, and we went to Richmond afterwards and met them. They were still on the club scene, stomping about, doing R&B tunes. The music they were playing was more like we’d been doing before we’d got out of our leather suits to try and get onto record labels and television. We’d calmed down by then”.
The Rolling Stones reminded him of his own band, and Harrison knew they were destined for the big time. While all of the band members played their own role in The Stones’ success, Harrison, as a guitarist, was particularly enamoured by Richards’ prowess. Stylistically, they were different. Richards claimed their ranking in the hierarchy of their respective groups was comparable, which he believed was at the heart of what “formed a special knowing bond between us.”
For Harrison, there was nobody better than Richards as a rhythm guitarist in rock music. The book George Harrison on George Harrison quotes the Beatle, saying: “I think he’s a great rhythm guitar player, Keith. You know, really, I think he’s probably one of the best rock ‘n’ roll rhythm guitar players”.
Harrison thought Richards had reached his pinnacle with explosive talents, such as Brian Jones and Mick Taylor, alongside him. He believed being the lead was never Richards’ speciality, but that doesn’t detract from his stellar skillset. Harrison continued: “I don’t think he’s very good at lead, but he’s played … this is the thing you see, what I feel about Keith and myself too, it’s not a comparison, but in some ways what we do is we make records, and the records have some good guitar parts on them, or have some good songs, or good lyrics or whatever, but basically you make records”.
The refined approach to their artistry that both Harrison and Richards were at the heart of their respective band’s success. It set a foundation for their bandmates to build upon and added an abundance of charm to their outputs. While they weren’t the frontmen of their groups, there’s no Beatles without Harrison and no Rolling Stones without Richards. Although it’s debatable whether Richards is the best rock ‘n’ roll guitarist, he’s certainly in the conversation, and Harrison was right to give him his flowers.
