'Something,' Ranked Among the Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time, Was First Offered to Joe Cocker

George Harrison is the best Beatle. There, I said it. Perhaps the most underrated, too. He penned some of the Fab Four’s most iconic tracks, from “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” and “Here Comes the Sun” to “Within You Without You” and “I Me Mine.”

One of his songs, “Something,” from the Beatles’ eleventh studio album, Abbey Road, marked a noticeable shift for Harrison. He became a talented solo artist in his own right post-Beatles breakup, but “Something” was proof positive that he belonged in the same conversation as songwriting powerhouse duo John Lennon and Paul McCartney. It was also Harrison’s first A-side single.
George Harrison First Offered ‘Something’ to Joe Cocker

However, before recording “Something” for Abbey Road, Harrison first offered the beloved tune to Joe Cocker, who recorded a demo in March 1969. Harrison found it difficult to get more than two of his compositions onto any given Beatles record, and McCartney, Lennon, and producer George Martin were initially unimpressed by the tune.

But Harrison was able to get “Something” onto Abbey Road, and on May 2, 1969, the band recorded a whopping 36 takes. Harrison returned to the studio after his brief departure from the four-piece rock outfit in January 1969 with renewed self-assurance. The aforementioned three eventually came to embrace “Something” and respect Harrison as a gifted lyricist and composer on the same level as Lennon and McCartney.
‘One of the Best Love Songs’

Released as a single on Oct. 6, 1969, “Something” was universally praised by critics, with the consensus that Harrison’s guitar solo was his best. Decades later, Rolling Stone ranked Harrison’s solo at No. 32 on the 2026 edition of its “The 100 Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time” list.

Source: newsobserver.com/Melody McCune

Read More<<<