Paul McCartney and George Harrison first met when they were still young, attending the same school. A few years later they were introduced to John Lennon, forming the core of The Beatles, which was completed in 1962 when Ringo Starr replaced drummer Pete Best. Although they became the most influential and successful band of all time, McCartney and Lennon dominated most of the songwriting, leaving limited space for George to show how talented he was in that area.
It was only after the band came to an end that Harrison released his most successful solo records, showing the world that he could have written many more remarkable songs for The Beatles. Over the years, Paul McCartney has spoken about his late friend and shared his opinion on Harrison’s solo career.
What is Paul McCartney’s opinion on George Harrison’s solo career
Paul McCartney likes George Harrison’s solo career and two songs he has praised over the years are “I Got My Mind Set On You” and “Marwa Blues”. The first one was mentioned in an interview around the time the track was released. When the interviewer read out the current Top 10 songs and mentioned George’s track, Paul said: “Very good”. He was then asked which artist on that list he considered the most talented. “Out of them? I wouldn’t dare to say, but I think George Harrison’s got to be in with a chance.”
“It’s a good hit parade, seems like good music you’ve got there, similar to England at the moment. Yeah, (what George is doing) is good. I like it. He’s a friend of mine. He’s very good for a young chap, he’s younger than me. So this makes him infinitely young, baby, just starting in the business. He’s a year younger than me. It’s a big difference,’ McCartney joked in an interview with Countdown in 1987 (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage).
Paul McCartney said Harrison’s “Marwa Blues” was one of his favorite songs of all time
Although the song is actually a cover of a 1962 track written by Rudy Clark and recorded by James Ray and the Hutch Davie Orchestra, George’s version became a worldwide hit. It was part of his 1987 album “Cloud Nine” and peaked at number one on the charts in several countries.
As for the instrumental track “Marwa Blues”, which was released on George’s posthumous album “Brainwashed” (2002), Paul included it on his list of favorite songs of all time. In 2004, Uncut magazine released a compilation album titled “Paul McCartney’s Glastonbury Groove” with one of its issues, featuring tracks selected by Paul himself. George’s song was chosen alongside tracks by Brian Wilson, Colin Hay, Donovan, Frank Sinatra and more. Interestingly, the compilation did not feature any songs from John Lennon’s or Ringo Starr’s solo careers. George passed away in 2001 at the age of 57 and “Brainwashed” was finished by his son Dhani Harrison and ELO’s Jeff Lynne.
Paul McCartney and Lennon felt George was beginning to peak as a songwriter by the end of The Beatles
George Harrison said on several occasions during his solo years that he resented Paul and John for not giving him and Ringo much space to present their songs. According to him, they first had to work through dozens of Lennon–McCartney compositions before they could focus on what he and Ringo had brought to the main songwriting duo.
But in McCartney’s view, as he said in the documentary “George Harrison: Living in the Material World” (2011), he thought his bandmate was not that interested in writing in their first years. He also said that he and Lennon later realized that Harrison was beginning to peak as a songwriter. “We didn’t underestimate George, we knew that he was peaking, as we got to those (later) records. He (was) not really interested (in writing) in the beginning (of the band), I don’t think.”
George Harrison continued:
“Because John and I done so much of the writing you could just leave it to us. I think he realized there was something in this, artistically and financially, it was a good thing to get into. So by that time we realized that he was really coming up with the goods,” Paul McCartney said (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage).
However, in George’s view, it was not a lack of interest, but rather a lack of space and attention to work on his ideas. “Well, now we don’t have any problems whatsoever as far as being people is concerned, and it’s quite nice to see him. But I don’t know about being in a band with him (Paul), how that would work out. It’s like, we all have our own tunes to do. And my problem was that it would always be very difficult to get in on the act. Because Paul was very pushy in that respect.”
“When he succumbed to playing on one of your tunes, he’d always do good. But you’d have to do fifty-nine of Paul’s songs before he’d even listen to one of yours. So, in that respect, it would be very difficult to ever play with him. But, you know, we’re cool as far as being pals goes,” George Harrison told Rolling Stone magazine in 1979.
Paul and George didn’t write together as solo artists
Although Paul recorded backing vocals for George’s 1981 song “All Those Years Ago”, they never wrote something together in their solo years. Back in the 1980s, when asked about a statement by Paul saying that he would like to reunite with George and write together, Harrison did not react well, remarking that after 30 years Paul had finally decided he wanted to write something with him.
“For the last few years, I’ve said my mind to him, whenever I felt something. Like ‘Broad Street’, I thought it was a big mistake. Not to make the film because I’ve quite enjoyed it myself. But the idea of trying to write and do everything yourself, that’s the mistake. Paul had asked, you know, had suggested, maybe, the chance of me and him writing together something. (Laughs)”
He continued:
“It’s pretty funny, really. Because, I mean, I’ve only been there for about 30 years in Paul’s life. It’s like, now he wants to write with me. I think it may be quite interesting sometime to do it,” George Harrison said. Curiously, the first Beatle to score a number one hit after the band broke up was George, with “My Sweet Lord” from his album “All Things Must Pass” (1970). Although McCartney released his first solo record that same year, he failed to achieve the same chart success as George.
As said, George didn’t like McCartney’s “Give My Regards to Broad Street” much, but a few years ago, he had praised when talking to Rolling Stone, the song ‘I’m Carrying” from the 1978 Wings album “London Town”. “I’ve always preferred Paul’s good melodies to his screaming rock & roll tunes. The tune I thought was sensational on the London Town album was ‘I’m Carrying’. But all the noisy, beaty things I’m not into at all. But then that’s not only with Paul’s music, that goes right across the board. I’m not a fan of that sort of punky, heavy, tinny stuff. I like a nice melody,” George Harrison said.