George Harrison Songs Ranked
George Harrison MBE (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer, songwriter, and music and film producer who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called “the quiet Beatle”, Harrison embraced Indian culture and helped broaden the scope of popular music through his incorporation of Indian instrumentation and Hindu-aligned spirituality in the Beatles’ work. Although the majority of the band’s songs were written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, most Beatles albums from 1965 onwards contained at least two Harrison compositions. His songs for the group include “Taxman”, “Within You Without You”, “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”, “Here Comes the Sun” and “Something”. Harrison’s earliest musical influences included George Formby and Django Reinhardt; Carl Perkins, Chet Atkins, and Chuck Berry were subsequent influences. By 1965, he had begun to lead the Beatles into folk rock through his interest in Bob Dylan and the Byrds, and towards Indian classical music through his use of the sitar on “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)”. Having initiated the band’s embracing of Transcendental Meditation in 1967, he subsequently developed an association with the Hare Krishna movement. After the band’s break-up in 1970, Harrison released the triple album All Things Must Pass, a critically acclaimed work that produced his most successful hit single, “My Sweet Lord”, and introduced his signature sound as a solo artist, the slide guitar. He also organized the 1971 Concert for Bangladesh with Indian musician Ravi Shankar, a precursor to later benefit concerts such as Live Aid. In his role as a music and film producer, Harrison produced acts signed to the Beatles’ Apple record label before founding Dark Horse Records in 1974 and co-founding HandMade Films in 1978. Harrison released several best-selling singles and albums as a solo performer. In 1988, he co-founded the platinum-selling supergroup the Traveling Wilburys. A prolific recording artist, he was featured as a guest guitarist on tracks by Badfinger, Ronnie Wood, and Billy Preston, and collaborated on songs and music with Dylan, Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, and Tom Petty, among others. Rolling Stone magazine ranked him number 11 in their list of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time”. He is a two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee – as a member of the Beatles in 1988, and posthumously for his solo career in 2004. Here are all George Harrison songs ranked.
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20. Dark Horse (Dark Horse, 1974)
“Title song from the patchy album of the same name, “Dark Horse” sees George eloquently remind us that it’s worth listening to the quiet man when he issues forth. A clever lyric, well thought out with a subtle complex melody and neat arrangement (especially the flute!) are of course all slightly let down by the infamous “dark hoarse” of a vocal.”
19. Old Brown Shoe (Abbey Road, 1969)
“This song is timeless no matter the generation this song will always relate to you in somehow because everyone goes through this feeling at some point. Its absolutely amazing.”
18. Within You Without You (Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1967)
“One of Harrison’s best for sure. Just an absolutely beautiful song if you really listen to it. Sharp and crisp sound, the lyrics much more recognizable.”
17. Beware of Darkness (All Things Must Pass, 1970)
“This song moves me deeply. It is not just the lush symphonic sweep of the song. The lyrics are worth taking to heart. George was all over that concept. With all his Krishna spiritual studies, and his experiences with the Beatles, he was very aware of the dark power of the material world. A mystic, a seeker of truth, the quiet one.”
See more: George Harrison Albums Ranked
16. When We Was Fab (Cloud Nine, 1987)
“A very well written song with just the right amount of poignancy, tongue in cheek, revelation and yearning. Ringo plays drums, as if you couldn’t tell. A glorious evocation of the halcyon Beatles days app. around Revolver. Sounds like it was fun to make, too.”
15. Taxman (Revolver, 1966)
“Taxman” opens the album, a rocking track that laments the British taxpayer’s plight. In an interesting role reversal, George lays out the bass line, and Paul the guitar solo.”
14. This Is Love (Cloud Nine, 1987)
“The best song from Cloud Nine and arguably one of Georges best songs that never made the top 10. It didn’t need to, it was the 3rd single issued over a year after the euphoria that was Cloud Nine which had a #1 hit followed by a top 25 hit.”
13. Crackerbox Palace (Thirty Three & 1/3, 1976)
“Crackerbox Palace” was considered by many as Georges’s breakaway from preachiness and entrance into the next phase of his solo career, enjoyable adult contemporary soft rock. The song is one of the most enjoyable and goofy songs of his career and musically it is a delight with exquisite slides and vocals which were an improvement from those on the 2 previous albums.”
12. Here Comes the Sun (The Concert for Bangladesh, 1971)
“I listen to this nearly every morning. Beautifully simple on the face of it it always brings a ray of sunshine to my soul!”
11. Isn’t It a Pity (All Things Must Pass, 1970)
“Besides the lyrics just the composition and wall of sound. I never get tired of this beautiful song. Definitely the best George Harrison song and criminally underrated”
10. Wah-Wah (All Things Must Pass, 1970)
“I want to hear The Flaming Lips cover this, because it sounds so perfectly like a song that they would write. The song’s structure, the vocal melody, the psychedelic sounds, the short occasional breaks of percussion…all of it! I wouldn’t be surprised if Wayne Coyne admitted that the band wrote all of their music after being inspired by this very song. Really cool tune that’s even cooler upon the realization that I’ve just had.”
9. All Things Must Pass (All Things Must Pass, 1970)
“There isn’t a whole lot for me to say about this song. It’s a standard folk rock ballad of sorts with a very nice jazzy accompaniment brooding in the background. Like in earlier songs, George sounds very sad. I feel like this song itself might be about the liquidation of the Beatles. Could it be? Perhaps (since the whole album is named after this song, I see no reason to assume otherwise). It’s a nice little tune, even if it’s a bit forgettable).”
8. Blow Away (George Harrison, 1979)
“Not the first song by George about sunshine after rain of course and if not quite in the class of “Here Comes The Sun”, this is still a lovely lilting uplifting song, sadly underrated, like so much of his solo work, post “All Things Must Pass”. Again, as so often before, the song’s solo is a wonder of brevity while one of his best vocals adds further heat to a genuinely warming track.”
7. All Those Years Ago (Somewhere in England, 1981)
“After John Lennon’s murder, Harrison retooled “All Those Years Ago” as a tribute to his fallen bandmate. Ringo Starr had already played drums on the track, and Harrison invited Paul and Linda McCartney to add backing vocals to make it a true reunion of the surviving members.”
See more: The Beatles Albums Ranked
6. Something (The Concert for Bangladesh, 1971)
“It’s one of those rare songs that can make you just drop whatever you’re doing and just listen to it. Do nothing else, and just listen.”
5. What is Life? (All Things Must Pass, 1970)
“Is that a statement or a question? Who cares, because all I can think about is the insanely good power pop opening that this song has. THAT was a big surprise, but what’s an even bigger surprise is that George’s entrance doesn’t kill this song’s momentum. By the time the verse turns into the chorus, I’m amazed at how well-crafted this whole thing is turning out to be. The chorus is something that might be considered proto-’80s rock? It’s like if you took the mediocrity out of a typical Foreigner song (no offense to the band, of course) and replaced that lukewarmness with a Beatle. The last song is completely overshadowed by how much I enjoy this one.”
4. Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth) (Living in the Material World, 1973)
“Beautiful and very sophisticated slide guitar playing by George. The song contains one of the outstanding bottleneck slide guitar solos of the entire rock era. Arguably one of the most peaceful songs I’ve ever heard!”
3. Got My Mind Set on You (Cloud Nine, 1987)
“A shocking return to the charts by a Beatle I thought had floated off into the ether. Maybe he missed the limelight. Or maybe he needed to recoup his Shanghai Surprise debts. Or maybe he just felt like covering an old obscure favorite of his, and accidentally ended up with a number one song. Despite the walloping drums, George basically fits into this one like an old favorite jacket.”
2. While My Guitar Gently Weeps (The Concert for Bangladesh, 1971)
“A song that captures the best sounds of the Beatles, with an added Eric Clapton taking it to that extra level! George’s voice is impeccable. The solo of Eric Clapton is incredible.”
1. My Sweet Lord (All Things Must Pass, 1970)
“After the last sixteen minutes of listening to guitar improvisation, I’ve almost forgotten what album I’m listening to. Harrison resuscitates the lighter, folkier pop/rock of earlier songs on this disc one side A track. It doesn’t jump out at me, but it’s got that nice George sound to it, so I mean…can I really complain? When it picks up in velocity during the second minute, it becomes a little bit cooler to hear. The backing of “Hallelujah” is the highlight of this song.”