‘If Not For You’: how George Harrison honoured his hero
In 1970, George Harrison stepped out of the shadows. After a decade of being the quiet one in the biggest band on the planet, whether by nature or by force, as the rest of The Beatles routinely overlooked his talent, Harrison’s solo career was finally his chance to shine. But when the spotlight hit him, he decided to dedicate one track to someone else, sharing the glory with a musician who not only inspired him but had proved vital in getting him here.
All Things Must Pass was Harrison’s shot to finally get full creative control and finally have his own compositions heard. Throughout his time with The Beatles, the group repeatedly rejected his tracks. In the later years, this was the thing that made him snap as he wrote calmly and plainly in his diary on January 10th, 1969: “Got up went to Twickenham, rehearsed until lunchtime – left The Beatles – went home.” He’d had enough of being ignored in favour of John Lennon or Paul McCartney, stating about the group at that time, “Paul couldn’t see beyond himself.” He explained, “In his mind, everything that was going on around him was just there to accompany him. He wasn’t sensitive to stepping on other people’s egos or feelings.”
The majority of the musician’s solo album was made up of tracks that the band had rejected, like ‘Wah-Wah’, ‘Isn’t It A Pity’ and ‘Let It Down’. When it came to releasing his debut, the success of these songs and the power of their final produced form felt like a middle finger up at his old bandmates, telling them, “I told you so”, when they sounded great.
But amongst that, Harrison dedicated a slice of the record to someone else, sharing the limelight for a second even when the whole point of the album was to no longer do that. For the sixth track, he abandons his own words to sing Bob Dylan’s instead, doing a cover of ‘If Not For You’. The LP’s opening piece, ‘I’d Have You Anytime’, was also made in collaboration with Dylan as a co-write between the two.
It seems almost counterproductive to do so when Harrison was going solo for the exact reason of wanting more space and celebration of his own work and capabilities. But when it came to putting the album out, it felt only right for him to honour Dylan as man who had not only been a long-term musical hero, but became a vital inspiration and source of encouragement.
His connection to the folk star started in 1964 when Dylan met The Beatles and got them high for the first time. Back then, they were all willing to gush about their love for the American musician, with McCartney calling him “our idol”. But things got rocky when Dylan thought Lennon had ripped him off on ‘Norwegian Wood’, causing ongoing tension between them.
However, through that, and in the background, Dylan and Harrison formed a tight and enduring friendship born out of mutual respect. “Bob Dylan is the most consistent artist there is,” Harrison said, while Dylan always seemed to pick Harrison out as the special one in his old band’s lineup, stating, “If George had had his own group and was writing his own songs back then, he’d have been probably just as big as anybody.”
It feels like back when The Beatles were splitting, that’s exactly what Harrison needed to hear. As things were crumbling down, he retreated to Dylan’s Woodstock home and the pair jammed, eventually writing ‘I’d Have You Anytime’. Maybe it was just the encouraging power of a good song that spurred him on. But there seems to be something in the fact that Harrison, right when he’d made the decision to go it alone, found himself in a room with his idol, not only holding his own as a solo artist but impressing Dylan.
So when it came to forming All Things Must Pass, that song they wrote together made the cut, but so did a cover of ‘If Not For You’, carving out more space for his hero and somewhat mentor as if to continue to impress him by expanding the song into something bigger and fuller, or at least to say thank you.
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