The George Harrison song that helped form Eric Clapton’s band
George Harrison was often overlooked in The Beatles. As the band were taking the world by storm, the songwriting partnership of John Lennon and Paul McCartney became one of the most sacred bonds in sound, to the point that despite Harrison being a prolific writer himself, the songs he put forward that didn’t often fit the mould the band had shaped for themselves were dismissed.
When The Beatles eventually broke up, George Harrison already had a range of tracks ready to be made. They had previously been finalised and put to the band but turned down, so now, free from the shackles of the strict template that mapped out a Beatles song, Harrison was free to let his ideas run wild, and thus, we were given the classic album All Things Must Pass.
The Beatles’ breakup wasn’t pretty, but it wasn’t as ugly as some of the other musical disagreements we have seen. There was tension within the band, and the members wanted to go in different creative directions, so it only made sense that they split. Despite a few arguments here and there, they stayed friends for the most part, which meant that former friends of the band were keen to work with the various members in their ongoing solo projects.
When George Harrison started working on All Things Must Pass, musicians who knew how excellent and overlooked he was started lining up to contribute to the record. Eric Clapton stepped in to lend a hand with ‘Thanks For the Pepperoni’, an instrumental jam track based on a Lenny Bruce comedy album.
On the track, he worked with a range of artists, including Jim Gordon on drums, Dave Mason on electric and acoustic guitar, Carl Radle on bass, and Bobby Whitlock on organ. The group seemed to gel very effectively, and taking part in the instrumental track made them decide to start their own band. After that, Derek and the Dominos were formed.
“We made our bones,” said Clapton when talking about starting the band following their jam session, “Really, on that album with George.” Though the band was short-lived, only making music together between 1970 and 1971, they had moderate success. Tracks like ‘Layla’ and ‘Bell Bottom Blues’ are still listened to frequently by blues lovers around the world, as the exciting guitar, catchy choruses, and raw energy are tough to ignore.
The song they made on All Things Must Pass ended up being one of the most underappreciated on the album; however, this is probably because of its instrumental nature. People really connected with Harrison’s lyrics, so having music that didn’t contain any words didn’t appeal to a lot of fans. That being said, the mere fact that it led to the creation of other classic blues rock tracks is enough to solidify its importance in Harrison’s catalogue.
