Which Beatles songs feature George Harrison on lead vocals?
The Beatles always worked best when they were a united front singing together. Even though it was heartbreaking to see all of them go their separate ways following their breakup, the biggest loss to the music community was not getting to hear John Lennon and Paul McCartney sing opposite each other for the rest of their lives. While ‘The Nerk Twins’ do have that signature vocal blend that made the girls scream back in the day, George Harrison was always the band’s secret weapon hiding in the background.
Whenever the band sang their signature three-part harmonies, hearing Harrison filling things out in the middle of tunes like ‘This Boy’ is what held each of them together. While he was usually satisfied with singing the odd song on an album during the band’s early years, seeing him blossom into one of the strongest songwriters of the band is fantastic to watch in real-time.
But Harrison wasn’t all that focused on hogging the spotlight like the rest of his bandmates. His one desire was to be in a band with his mates, and while he was a man of few words behind the microphone, people listened every time he did take a lead vocal, whether that was paying tribute to his heroes or introducing the world to Eastern textures that no one had ever heard before.
Then again, Harrison’s best moments in The Beatles weren’t all that different from what he did on guitar. His leads were an essential part of every song he played, and if he structured every single guitar solo like a conversation, his voice may as well have been an extension of the kind of melodic fragments he put into the Fab Four’s songs.
So, how many Beatles songs did George Harrison sing lead on?
Starting with the track ‘Chains’ from Please Please Me, Harrison took the mic for what would become 28 songs during his Beatles tenure, even if he was relegated to covers and album cuts for his first tracks. Even though he did a fine job working on Chuck Berry’s ‘Roll Over Beethoven’ or Carl Perkins’s ‘Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby’, hearing him lend his voice to a Lennon rocker like ‘I’m Happy Just To Dance With You’ was like a ray of sunshine in the middle of A Hard Day’s Night.
From the minute people heard ‘Don’t Bother Me’, though, they knew that Harrison was interested in bringing something different to the table. He was never one to write the traditional rock and roll love song, and even if not every one of his songs hit the mark, his compositions helped push the band forward at every opportunity.
…but how did The Beatles pick who sang the songs?
Prior to him getting the ball rolling with ‘Don’t Bother Me,’ every tune was dictated by who wrote the lion’s share of the track. While the cover songs catered around who’s voice was better suited to take on the tune, it was always clear when Lennon’s trippier compositions like ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ were balanced out by McCartney’s whimsical tunes. Even if Ringo Starr had the more lighthearted songs written for him, Harrison started blossoming the minute Help! came out.
After ‘I Need You’ established him as a songwriter on the same level as his bandmates, ‘Taxman’ and ‘Within You Without You’ brought something different to the table, each showing him immersing himself in Indian music by hanging on one chord for most of the tune and bringing different scales into the mix. While The White Album is still home to Harrison’s greatest composition, ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps,’ hearing his way with melody on Abbey Road on ‘Here Comes the Sun’ and ‘Something’ was enough to put both of his songwriting mates to shame.
So, by the time that the band decided to call it a day in 1970, it felt almost necessary for Harrison to grow into his own player. He had already become one of the greatest tunesmiths of his generation, and having to be relegated to only a handful of songs every time he put out an album would have been an absolute crime.
Every Beatles song with George Harrison on lead vocals:
- ‘Chains’ – Please Please Me
- ‘Do You Want To Know a Secret’ – Please Please Me
- ‘Don’t Bother Me’ – With The Beatles
- ‘Roll Over Beethoven’ – With The Beatles
- ‘Devil in Her Heart’ – With The Beatles
- ‘I’m Happy Just To Dance With You’ – A Hard Day’s Night
- ‘Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby’ – Beatles for Sale
- ‘I Need You’ – Help!
- ‘You Like Me Too Much’ – Help!
- ‘Think For Yourself’ – Rubber Soul
- ‘If I Needed Someone’ – Rubber Soul
- ‘Taxman’ – Revolver
- ‘Love You To’ – Revolver
- ‘I Want To Tell You’ – Revolver
- ‘Within You Without You’ – Sgt Peppers
- ‘Blue Jay Way’ – Magical Mystery Tour
- ‘Old Brown Shoe’ – single
- ‘The Inner Light’ – single
- ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’ – The White Album
- ‘Piggies’ – The White Album
- ‘Long Long Long’ – The White Album
- ‘Savoy Truffle’ – The White Album
- ‘Only A Northern Song’ – Yellow Submarine
- ‘It’s All Too Much’ – Yellow Submarine
- ‘I Me Mine’ – Let It Be
- ‘For You Blue’ – Let It Be
- ‘Something’ – Abbey Road
- ‘Here Comes The Sun’ – Abbey Road
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