The only number one song George Harrison ever secured
The waning days of The Beatles painted both John Lennon and Paul McCartney in a bit of a dark light. With Lennon falling prey to heroin addiction and McCartney starting to lose touch with one of his best friends, it looked like one of the greatest songwriting partnerships of all time was slowly falling apart. As the rest of the band was descending, however, George Harrison was ascending one song at a time.
Ever since working on his own material, Harrison had blossomed into one of the most thoughtful tunesmiths of his generation, only to be stifled whenever Lennon or McCartney wanted to work on one of their songs instead. Once the dust had settled on The Beatles’ breakup, though, Harrison felt comfortable finally getting his songs to the public on the album All Things Must Pass.
While working on songs about the dissolution of his old band, like ‘Wah-Wah’ and the title track, Harrison also got in touch with his spiritual side throughout the record. Despite religion not faring as well with the listening public, Harrison got his only major hit in the UK charts with ‘My Sweet Lord’. Playing off The Chiffons’ hit ‘He’s So Fine’, Harrison delivers a plea to see his creator, lamenting how long it will take before he reaches paradise.
The rapid success of Harrison’s debut single also gave him the first number one album by an ex-Beatle. Although Lennon and McCartney would have varying degrees of success with their debut solo outings, Harrison looked like he would become the breakout star of the group with his one hit.
Harrison’s fondness for spirituality would only continue as the years went on, spawning off other hits like ‘Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)’. Though none of his other hits would land at the top spot, Harrison would end up writing more pointed material as the years went on, from details about his divorce on Dark Horse to a touching tribute to John Lennon on ‘All Those Years Ago’.
While the machine-like structure of the industry left Harrison disillusioned with being a musician for decades, his work with The Traveling Wilburys and his comeback album Cloud Nine made him a living legend all over again, garnering success with a cover of the 1960s classic ‘Got My Mind Set On You’. Though Harrison was riding high for a while, nothing could stop his health from catching up to him.
Following a cancer diagnosis, Harrison set about putting together his final album, creating Brainwashed with the help of Jeff Lynne and his son, Dhani. Though Harrison would not be around to see his final album’s release, his death in November of 2002 helped bring his most famous hit back into the public eye.
After a reissue, ‘My Sweet Lord’ began to climb the UK charts again, peaking at number one in 2002. Although Harrison would not be around to see his music enjoyed all over again, his second chance on the charts was the perfect postscript for his career. Having spent decades trying to find spiritual salvation, hearing ‘My Sweet Lord’ following Harrison’s death sounds like his spirit being lifted into heaven.
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