George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord"

He really was a talented song writer.

Even in the 80's, one of my favorite songs was "Got My Mind Set On You."

[quote]It is a pretty song, though.

It has its moments

It’s about Hare Krishna OP… not a conservative Baptist Church or something.

Harrison wrote "My Sweet Lord" in praise of the Hindu god Krishna, while intending the lyrics as a call to abandon religious sectarianism through his blending of the Hebrew word hallelujah with chants of "Hare Krishna" and Vedic prayer.

Yikes, R3.

Sounds controversial.

[quote] I didn't realize he was a churchy.

This was his church and the sweet lord he was praising.

My favourite song of all time. Just love it.

My favorite song of all time is "Something" by George Harrison. I love "My Sweet Lord", too; it has an airy 70s feel.

George Harrison is the most interesting Beatle.

I didn't realize he died so young. I wonder if he wasn't stabbed, maybe he might have lived longer?

The most fascinating thing I read on his Wiki page was this:

[quote] For most of the Beatles' career the relationships in the group were close. According to Hunter Davies, "the Beatles spent their lives not living a communal life, but communally living the same life. They were each other's greatest friends."

[quote] Harrison's ex-wife Pattie Boyd described how the Beatles "all belonged to each other" and admitted, "George has a lot with the others that I can never know about. Nobody, not even the wives, can break through or even comprehend it."

[quote] Starr said, "We really looked out for each other and we had so many laughs together. In the old days we'd have the biggest hotel suites, the whole floor of the hotel, and the four of us would end up in the bathroom, just to be with each other." He added, "there were some really loving, caring moments between four people: a hotel room here and there – a really amazing closeness. Just four guys who loved each other. It was pretty sensational.

[quote]I wonder if he wasn't stabbed, maybe he might have lived longer?

Harrison died of lung and brain cancer caused by 40+ years of smoking, not stabbing.

Another beautiful song (his best, I think) from this same album is also spiritual, in less of a Hare Krishna way. He supposedly wrote this about his relationship with Paul:

Everyone has choice When to or not to raise their voices It's you that decides Which way you will turn While feeling that our love's not your concern It's you that decides No one around you Will carry the blame for you No one around you Will love you today and throw it all away Tomorrow when you rise Another day for you to realize me Or send me down again As the days stand up on end You've got me wondering how I lost your friendship

My favorite Harrison song is this, my first year in college, lots of acid and grass.

[quote] one of my favorite songs was "Got My Mind Set On You."

That was the last #1 song by a Beatle.

When the Beatles broke up in 1970, it was always assumed that Paul and John would immediately find the most success. Surprisingly, George was the first to get a number 1 song (My Sweet Lord) and album (All Things Must Pass). George was hitting his peak, having ended his Beatles era with "Something" and "Here Comes The Sun". Although Paul would go on to be the most successful of the four (with nine number one songs), he started his solo career with a bland first release "Another Day". John was doing those awful Plastic Ono Band records like "Power To The People" and "Give Peace A Chance". Ringo (who nobody thought would do well as a solo act) surprised everyone with "It Don't Come Easy" and "Back Off Boogaloo", then really hit it big with two number one songs "Photograph" and "You're Sixteen".

Paul eventually had 9 number ones (Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey; My Love; Band On The Run; Listen To What The Man Said; With A Little Luck; Say, Say, Say; Ebony and Ivory; Coming Up; and his biggest song Silly Love Songs.

George came in second with My Sweet Lord; Give Me Love; and Got My Mind Set On You.

Ringo and John were tied with two. Ringo with Photograph and You're Sixteen; John with Whatever Gets You Through The Night; and Starting Over.

The melody is a rip-off of "He's So Fine"

Harrison was sued for it.

My favorite GH song is Give Me Peace. The most underrated Beatle .

He had a heavy hallucinogen phase with The Beatles. You dont find too many hallucinogen fans who are athiests.

George Harrison had a great interest in Oriental religions and he always seemed to be somewhat somber. Personally, I believe that he was an Oriental religious man in another lifetime. Seriously! He was quite different from the other Beatles, not as Westernized, even in his looks, like they were.

Wasn't he accused of stealing the melody from the Motown song "He's So Fine"?

Lawsuits maybe? I know he heard one of the singers of that song say he totally ripped it off.

I'd google but I'm not that interested.

Yes, he was sued and yes, it was determined he had ripped off "He's so fine."

I'm usually not a fan of facial hair but the hottest Beatle was George with long hair and beard. He pulled that look off better than the other three.

Yes, thank you R18 for being the datalounger who always brings up the one negative thing about anyone whenever their name is mentioned. Usually it's some random rumor but in this case, you are accurate, the melody was partially lifted and the songwriters he ripped off probably made 100x more money off their royalties from that song than everything else they ever wrote combined.

Didn't he swap wives with Eric Clapton?

[quote] My favourite song of all time. Just love it.

I really like Billy Preston’s cover of it.

[quote] Didn't he swap wives with Eric Clapton?

Eric married Patti Boyd after she and George split. Don’t know if you could call that a swap. She was the inspiration for “Layla” and “Wonderful Tonight”.

Harrison had an affair with Ringo's first wife.

Louse.

I didn't think McCartney's "Another Day" was bland at all. It's my favorite of all his songs. After the first two albums, most of his music was syrupy shit.

"It Don't Come Easy" might not have hit #1 for Ringo when it was released, but in time, I think it's his only hit that could be considered iconic. They still play it on all the oldies stations, yet you rarely ever hear his other singles.

I believe George was the most loved Beatle by serious musicians.

I also adored As My Guitar Gently Weeps. The melody and the lyrics are so poetic. On a gossipy note some groupie talked about giving him a blowjob while he strummed his guitar and made him sound like a typical asshole rockstar.I still like his music but for all his spiritual,hippy persona he sound like a typical hetero pig.

Here Comes The Sun is a great classic.

Also What Is Life

He was devastated by the lawsuit, claiming that if he ripped off “He’s So Fine,” (NOT a Motown song like someone claimed upthread, BTW) it must have been subconsciously. Many were skeptic about that, especially since HSF was the number 2 song of all of 1963, and one of the top selling girl group songs ever (ironically performed by a pretty forgettable group, The Chiffons, at least when compared to the Supremes or the Beatles!).

But the whole affair left him scarred for life rendering him scared to write/publish music thereafter (lawsuit was resolved in the late seventies), for fear he (and his ridiculously large wealth) would be easy targets.

I’ve Got My Mind Set On You was a catchy song, but he didn’t write it. It’s a cover of an old r&b song from, yes you got it, 1963.

"Beware of Darkness" is brilliant. Marianne Faithfull covered it.

As a solo artist, I liked George the best. He was underrated in the group. I think that was part of the breakup...among other things...his frustration of being held back by John and Paul. I love his music and had as much...maybe more, talent.

In his last months on this earth George Harrison was very badly abused by a local NYC doctor he sought out out for treatment of his mortal illness.

Happily George Harrison's widow and family got wind of what Dr. Gil Lederman had been up to, and he got what was coming to him.

[quote] The melody is a rip-off of "He's So Fine"

The first thing I noticed about My Sweet Lord, is how easy the chords are to play.

And then he just repeats them.

So I can see his point about not ripping off another song, because the chords are so simple and few. It's not rocket science to put them together in a song.

Harrison gave Ringo 'It don't come easy.'

Someone wrote such a lovely post in the comments section of op's video link:

[quote] The Daily SideShow

[quote] I love this song. I remember when I was a child, this song played over and over on the radio in my Dad’s 1968 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu back in 1971. The song reminds me of the times he took my two older brothers and myself fishing countless times. This song takes me back, memories so thick I could almost smell scent of the cool, crisp fresh air among the tall pine trees and the of North Carolina and the smell of the river water in the places we went. Thanks George for writing a masterpiece of music.

Jonathan King (a despicable human being in his own right) did a spoof of He’s So Fine/My Sweet Lord where he sang the former in the style of the latter, while the back-up singers listed George Harrison’s most famous songs in the background, culminating in a frozen vocal “see you in court.” Cruel, but that was the nature of that pedophile.

R33 That article is fascinating and very sad.

Harrison's MSL is SO much better than the Chiffons' HSF. I guess the underlying chords are very similar, like the foundation of house, but Harrison builds a Frank Lloyd Wright edifice upon it whereas the Chiffons' is a tract house. I love MSL. Harrison is the only Beatle I would have fucked.

I don't know much about the background of the song, but everyone should watch the George Harrison memorial concert where Billy Preston sings it. A dazzling and moving rendition. And let's not forget 'Mo Billy was one of us!

R38

Even more sad and disgusting actually is how Cabrini medical center in Manhattan actively courted Dr. Gil Lederman afterward. That place deserved to go out of business, campus is now luxury housing...

R4 It wasn't remotely controversial except, as noted, for the fact that its similarity to that early 60s anthem to love from afar He's So Fine got Harrison sued and fined for plagiarism.

I don't think one is necessarily "better" than the other, as poster upthread feels. They are emblematic of different eras.

They do have a sort of shadowy echo of each other.

I don't think Harrison did it on purpose. As Lermontov in THE RED SHOES said to the angry young Julian Craster, whose music Prof has published some of his gifted student's work as his own, "These things mostly happen by accident."

Shit, you can hear Mozart in Beethoven, Beethoven in Brahms, Brahms in Dvorak . . .

It's how most art evolves. Most great artists stand on the shoulders of other artists.

Today, money is involved. The opening and major thematic progression are very close. It may have been petty, but you can hear it.

R29 it is, indeed. In fact, to this listener it has far more spiritual impact than "My Sweet Lord", which I find a tad cloying, to be honest.

oh my god Dr Gil Lederman is very well known in NY. He did some kind of alternative cancer treatment and had a radio show in NYC that my mother was always listening to . Cabrini hospital was a a nice hospital btw they had an AIDS hospice and that hospital others like St Vincent’s were torn down it really was a shame.

[quote] Harrison's MSL is SO much better than the Chiffons' HSF. I guess the underlying chords are very similar, like the foundation of house, but Harrison builds a Frank Lloyd Wright edifice upon it whereas the Chiffons' is a tract house.

It’s much more than underlying chords. Too many songs in rock to list use the same chords yet sound totally different. In the case of MSL and HSF, the melodies are identical. The only things that are different are the back-up vocals and lyrics, each reflecting their respective time periods.

I like all the songs mentioned here...I'll add Wa Wa (not the convenience store..lol). I always crank up the full volume when listening to it.

A link to a less than worshipful biography on Georgie and his spiritual quest. As usual, the cruel but usually uncannily correct John Lennon pretty much summed it all up with an offhand remark to another musician right before he died:

" “You know, George is a frightened Catholic: God one day, coke the next. He gets so high he scares himself back to church.”

One if the reasons Harrison had so many good songs ready for his solo career is that they were Beatles trunk songs - compositions that were written in the 1960s and never recorded for Beatles records.

R48- Yes, and the others very kindly said nothing. I read the bio that the real "Layla" or Pattie Boyd wrote. Neither man really came out it looking too well, imo. However, there one story that she shared that I could not help but laughing at. George and Chinless racist Clapton were very close friends, so Clapton falling in love with GH's wife was a bit of a problem one would think. Nah. Pattie said they were all three discussing it and George very generously remarked, "You take her man. You are in love with her. It's ok. ( George was cheating on PB and wanted to move on. This was a God send for him. ) Eric, " No, no George, that is your wife, I can't do that. " Pattie said they argued over who would take her as if she were not there and had no say in the matter. ( She really didn't either. They were really cruel to the women in their life, except for Paul and Ringo.)

I found the video of Billy Preston from the memorial concert, R40.

If you're interested.

McCartney has numerous unrecorded/not included Beatles songs for his early records too, such as Maybe I'm Amazed.

Each Beatle were ready with albums released as soon as The Beatles officially ended. McCartney's first solo LP was released the same week in 1970 as Let it Be. I believe the other Beatles had LPs out that year, All Things Must Pass was out the fall of 1970. Ringo Starr had an album of standards in 1970. He sang Stardust, Night and Day and Love Is a Many Splendored Thing among others. Kind of painful to listen to.

What is Life is my favorite of his solo work.

Ouch, R47!!

That sounds scarily accurate!

[quote] It’s much more than underlying chords. Too many songs in rock to list use the same chords yet sound totally different. In the case of MSL and HSF, the melodies are identical.

People said the same thing about Madonna's "Express Yourself" and Lady Gaga's "Born This Way," which I think is bullshit.

Songs have sounded, do sound, and always will sound like each other.

Beautiful, r50. Thanks for sharing. Now I want to see more of the memorial concert.

R47...The "purity" of religion turns out to be sycophants....who knew.

[quote] People said the same thing about Madonna's "Express Yourself" and Lady Gaga's "Born This Way," which I think is bullshit.

No.

There’s no comparison.The whole Madonna/Lady Gaga debacle was created by rivalrous fans and fueled by a jealous Madonna herself. Those two songs were far from identical and would be kicked out of a court room.

MSL and HSF, however, are identical, note for note. Just on different keys. Clearly, your comparing those two issues just shows you know very little about music and more about scandalous tabloid rags.

Chords alone do not settle a case. Do you know how many times in the history of rock and roll, the chords to Runaround Sue have been used (both before and after RS BTW, it’s just the first song that popped in my head). ?

The case with MSL was the first of its kind because of the aforementioned reasons (same melody, chords, notes, bars, beats) and MOSTLY, because one Mr. George Harrison had a lot of cash to dispose of, so lawyers knew they were barking up the right goose with the golden egg.

I don't think George deliberately used the tune "He's So Fine". It was probably in his head and didn't realize it was out there. Sometimes shit happens when you're stoned. He didn't fight the lawsuit.

Exactly, r59. He admitted so much.

"He's So fine" was a massive hit and the Beatles were fans of the girl groups. They even covered a girl-group hit: "Please Mr Postman".

So you just know Harrison heard "He's So Fine" over and over again.

I find it difficult to believe that he didn't make the connection that his tune was so similar to the Chiffon's hit. I mean, c'mon.

I'm amused that the man who enabled and financed the production of Monty Python's 'The Life of Brian' is praised for his spirituality.

[quote] I'm amused that the man who enabled and financed the production of Monty Python's 'The Life of Brian' is praised for his spirituality.

Why? ‘Life of Brian’ rags on religion. Spirituality is a very different thing. Many people are spiritual without the formality of religion, and, as we see so much of in the US, there’s a LOT of religion that had no spirituality at all.

No one straps a bomb to themselves to blow up strangers, or pickets a funeral with ‘God hates Fags’ signs because they’re spiritual. That’s ALL religion striped of spirituality, which is a cancer on humanity.

This documentary is very good

I don't even care about chords or melodies or lawsuits or settlements.

MSL is so much better than HSF that it 's really a new song.

But it isn’t r65, no matter how much you wish it.

But it is, Blanche!

R49 Paul allegedly slapped Linda around now and then.

Ringo was a drunk, though an amiable one so far as I know. I don't think his first marriage was that happy and there were rumours of affairs on both sides.

George was in love with Ringo's first wife...if I recall correctly.

I want to hear more about the Beatles fooling around with each other.

At least he had a sense of humor about the lawsuit...as evidenced by "This Song"

R69 - Yes, that was pretty common knowledge. I always thought it strange - he was married to Patti Boyd at the time. Both women were full on "Beatle wives", and for all their bleating about change and peace, they all had pretty standard Northern Male expectations of wifehood at home. Ringo, of course, was routinely unfaithful to his wife, and the alcoholism had begun early. I did read that Lennon felt that George had behaved badly, calling the affair akin to incest or something. But it was also rumoured that Lennon had a massive crush on Patti Boyd when George started dating her because of her resemblance to Brigitte Bardot - although I can't think why, given that Bardot was voluptuous in the extreme and Boyd had the requisite painfully thin figure that tortured so many girls in the 1960s (my sister was one of them).

The only woman who seemed to escape early enough to avoid serious life-changing harm was Jane Asher, the only one of the original four Beatle Girlfriends/Wives with a solid career of her own. She wouldn't put up with the macho Scouser crap, infidelities, etc. She came home one day and caught Paul in bed with some American girl he'd brought in, walked out, and never looked back.

Boyd had a modelling career but she wasn't a supermodel and it didn't survive marriage to George for long. Cynthia Lennon didn't start her own artistic life again (they met at art school, after all, she wasn't without some talent herself) till well after the divorce from Lennon.

All three now dead Beatle wives died of cancer: Cynthia Lennon and Linda McCartney from breast cancer, and Maureen Starkey at 48 from leukemia.

Except for Asher, there's something terrifying in their stories, for all the glamour. Boyd says she'd do it all over again in a minute, but she didn't hide how awful a good bit of it was.

[quote] All three now dead Beatle wives died of cancer: Cynthia Lennon and Linda McCartney from breast cancer, and Maureen Starkey at 48 from leukemia.

Why couldn't it have been YOKO ONO????!!!!!

R73, if it makes you feel better, Yoko’s been non compos mentis for some time now.

I recently listened to an extraordinary book about The Beatles.

It’s called The Beatles - All These Years and is part 1 of a three part anthology (2&3 not released yet).

50 hours of listening and it still hasn’t reached them being famous yet. It’s comprehensive, to say the least.

Funny that John Lennon would be tied with Ringo Starr(!) for number one songs. And the only reason they did hit the top of the charts was because Whatever Gets You Through The Night was basically a duet with Elton John, who could do no wrong at the time (1974), and Starting Over was on the charts when he was murdered.

[quote] Cynthia Lennon didn't start her own artistic life again (they met at art school, after all, she wasn't without some talent herself)

Cynthia was completely devoid of artistic talent, despite attending art college. Her Beatle-related drawings she was continually hawking when she was still alive were hideous. In one of her books, she included bits of her poetry which was pure crap...embarrassing rhyming couplets unworthy of a lovesick middle schooler. And she even made a couple of stabs at music, with God-awful versions of "In My Life" and "Those Were the Days". Everything she did as an artist was pure amateurish dreck meant solely to cash in on her Beatles connection.

Hell, I don't blame her for attempting to cash in...she got very little from John when he dumped her for Yoko. But an artistic soul she was not. She spent her time with John pining for a white-picket-fence life of cozy domesticity that he was never going to give her. She was probably a very nice woman, but she wasn't cut out for life with the likes of John Lennon.

R46 I like Wah-Wah as well. George said the song didn't start out loud but when Phil Spector got his hands on it he livened it up.

While we're somewhat on the subject, how was it that Michael Jackson came to own rights to Beatles catalog of songs?

[quote]I want to hear more about the Beatles fooling around with each other.

Then this is the place to be since it's the ONLY place on this planet where it's a possibility.

Pattie married her longtime partner (since 1991) property developer Rod Weston in 2015. She doesn’t look like a victim of “serious life-changing harm” to me.

Boyd recovered pretty well. But from her description of life with both Harrison and Clapton, it was hell and it took her a long time to come into her own. Her self-confidence took a beating, and she didn't become her own woman for years.

[quote]While we're somewhat on the subject, how was it that Michael Jackson came to own rights to Beatles catalog of songs?

They were up for sale, he had more money than God at the time, so he bought them.

Paul has told the story many times. When they were working together on "Say Say Say", MJ asked Paul for investment advice. Paul had been into music publishing for years, and owns a huge amount of famous songs himself, including the entire Buddy Holly catalog. He owns "Hello Dolly", and "The Christmas Song" and "Luck Be a Lady" and "Autumn Leaves" and countless other classics. Anyway, he recommended music publishing as an investment to his "good friend" MJ, and MJ supposedly told him "I'm going to buy YOUR songs, Paul! Tee hee!!!" Paul thought he was joking, and anyway, they were good friends and that's not something a good friend would do, right?

Fast forward a few years, the Beatles catalog goes up for sale, Paul and Yoko dither about, unable to come to an agreement on how to proceed (precisely how John and Paul lost out on buying the catalog in 1969), and MJ, looking for ways to fund his pedo lifestyle, swoops in and pays what seems to be an enormous sum for it...backstabbing his "good friend" in the process, but as he would tell Paul repeatedly "that's just business! Tee Hee!!!"

It was a bit of karma, though. One of the many wedges driven between John and Paul in the late 60's was John's discovery that Paul had been secretly acquiring extra publishing shares behind John's back, which pissed John off immensely and that rift helped derail the efforts to buy the catalog. So, Paul backstabbed his good friend and musical partner, and then, got backstabbed himself by his good friend and musical partner.

Paul and Yoko are both richer than God at this point, so cry no tears for either of them.

R83

Thank you!

Who got Beatles catalogue after MJ died? Or does his estate still own?

Wasn't Paul McCartney forced to give up a vast fortune to Linda McCartney as divorce settlement. Silly man married without making his bride sign an iron clad pre-nup and got taken to the cleaners IIRC.

I heard Harrison say in a documentary that "My Sweet Lord" had its origins in the backup singers' riffing in-between songs during a recording session.

R84 MJ sold half the shares to Sony in 1995.

After he died, I believe his estate eventually began selling more shares to Sony, until they owned most of the catalog.

But now, due to certain copyright laws and a settlement deal with Sony, Paul has begun to win back his half of the publishing. It's complicated, but it has something to do with the fact that after a certain number of years have passed, the law allows for the songwriter to make a claim to the publishing. So I believe his half of all of the Beatles stuff through '64 is now in his hands, and with each passing year, he will continue to gain more control of his publishing.

Yoko made a different deal, I believe. In return for a big payout to the Lennon estate, Sony will keep the Lennon share of the catalog until 2050.

I'm not sure of the status of George Harrison's pre-1968 Beatles compositions, which were all part of the original Beatles' Northern Songs publishing catalog. Probably the only big money generator for him from that era would be "Taxman". Anyhow, he was smart and started his own publishing company for his songs in '68, so all of his biggest Beatles songs have always been his: Something, Here Comes the Sun, and While My Guitar Gently Weeps.

Interestingly, the first 2 released Lennon/McCartney songs have never been a part of the original Northern Songs publishing catalog: Love Me Do and P.S. I Love You. They were released before they had a publishing deal, so they long ago reverted back to Lennon and McCartney.

And when the sale to MJ went down, the owner gave the publishing for "Penny Lane" to his teenage daughter, so neither MJ nor Sony ever owned "Penny Lane". A now-middle-aged Australian frau still owns it.

As for Paul's divorce, you're correct...except it wasn't Linda McCartney (who he never divorced, she died), it was his 2nd wife, the much-loathed Heather Mills McCartney. I can't fathom Paul being so naive as to enter into a marriage without a prenup, but he did. And it cost him something like $50 million. Incredible.

R86

Thanks again for all information.

Couldn't recall which of the former Mrs. McCartney's ran off with half or more of Paul McCartney's money.

Someone I know lives on East 80th street on UES in Manhattan. One morning several years ago on her way out and about she passes Hungarian church a few buildings up from hers, who should be sitting on steeps? None other than Paul McCartney and his new lady love ( now Mrs. Paul McCartney). Couple were quite nice as she merely just said "hello" and exchanged a few pleasantries, then left them in peace.

IIRC the woman in question at that time lived somewhere on UES, and more to point Paul McCartney kept an apartment on Lexington avenue in 80's IIRC.

R44

Neither Cabrini nor Saint Vincent's were wholly demolished. Much of their campuses remained and via gut renovation incorporated into the new luxury housing that properties were redeveloped into.

In case of Saint Vincent's at least good portion of those buildings were landmarked, tearing them down would have meant going through a difficult and expensive process.

Same happened with Saint Clare's campus in Hell's Kitchen/Clinton. Buildings were redeveloped into upscale housing.

R86 You forgot to add that not only did Linda McCartney and Paul not divorce, she left him a sizeable fortune in her will.

Her vegetarian food brand is still the most popular in the UK. It is owned by Hain Celestial now and pays some kind of royalty to use the name, but the family remain involved.

Plus Linda was a Kodak heiress wasn’t she?

So glad to see a lot of Harrison love! George was always my favorite too. While My Guitar Gently Weeps is probably my favorite Beatles song as well.

[quote]Plus Linda was a Kodak heiress wasn’t she?

No, she wasn't. A lot of people thought that because her maiden name was Eastman, but her family had nothing to do with Eastman-Kodak.

She was actually Jewish, her real paternal family name was Epstein, but her father changed it to Eastman because Epstein sounded too Jewish. He was a prominent, well-to-do NYC entertainment lawyer.

Wasn't Linda's father a show business agent, and the song "Linda" was written about her?

When I go to sleep, I never count sheep, I count all the charms about Linda.

And lately it seems in all of my dreams, I walk with my arms about Linda.

Great music and lyrics, but you can't dance to it.

🕺Much of the Beatles music was just for fun with catchy lyrics and music. It was meant for pure enjoyment without analyzation or explanation. That's why they were so popular and relatable to so many followers.

Wow, R83/R86.

You are an incredible wealth of knowledge!!

MJ paid $47 million USD for Beatles catalog totally outbidding Paul McCartney.

Later on as MJ was having financial woes he leveraged that catalogue to raise cash largely via loans from Sony Music. At some point MJ was so down in his cups financially Sony simply swooped and and took whatever was left of Beatles catalogue.

It was the sudden and unexpected death of MJ that lit a fire under Sony to purchase remaining Beatles catalogue from his estate.

Sony simply exercised their rights and came to an agreement with executors of MJ's estate.

In a final bit of unfinished business Sony officially dropped "ATV" name in February of this year.

MJ mismanaged his financial affairs very gravely while living, and after his death Sony acquired balance of Beatles catalog they didn't own, so that's that.

Paul McCartney's version of events.

R95

True. But OTOH good amount became iconic and still is relevant today.

There's Eleanor Rigby for a start...

[quote] Paul backstabbed his good friend and musical partner, and then, got backstabbed himself by his good friend and musical partner.

I didn’t know this and no longer need to feel ‘sorry’ for him loosing the catalogue. It always seemed weird to me anyway: if one person could outbid MJ, it would’ve been MacCartney.

R102 see R100

It wasn't as if there was some sort of public auction for ATV's Beatles catalog. Rather once the company make clear it was interested in selling off the thing, it invited interested parties to "bid".

Through his attorneys MJ felt out Yoko Ono and Paul McCartney who responded at the time neither were interested in going after ATV's catalog. Some thought MJ was actually buying the catalog for his then good friend Paul, McCartney.....

In any event by time Paul McCartney had change of heart and wanted to bid on said catalog, ATV and MJ had done a deal, and that was that.

Paul McCartney had ample time to sort himself out and get into race. Indeed the deal between ATV and MJ took rather longer than expected with both sides at various times getting cold feet. Again if PMcC hadn't waited so long things may have turned out differently.

As it was thanks to changes in US laws Paul McCartney eventually got back some of his own, reaching a huge deal with SONY Music (who by then owned entire Beatles catalog).

R86, most everyone on the planet knows Paul and Linda didn't divorce, and how their marriage ended.

I wish he hadn't had that ridiculous nose job:

What was wrong with his original nose? Who the hell advised him to make it look worse?

I think the idea that he had to shell out multi-millions to buy the rights to songs that he himself created, or helped create, really irked Paul, and he couldn't bring himself to face up to that reality in time. Plus, there was probably some lingering tension with Yoko that prevented them from working together to get it done. Paul McCartney famously has this thing in his personality where when he's told he HAS to do something, his immediate reaction is "no, I don't." He's always been very stubborn in that regard, even before the Beatles were famous. It's why their manager, Brian Epstein, had more problems dealing with him than the other three. So, I'm pretty sure when all his accountants and business managers were telling him "look Paul, you've got to just suck it up, work out your problems with Yoko, and put together an offer, it's important", his likely attitude was "fuck it. I'm not sucking up to her, and I'm not paying tens of millions of dollars to buy my own songs. They're MINE, I shouldn't have to BUY them." Same thing when the lawyers told him he had to have a prenup before marrying the one-legged golddigger. "Don't tell me what to do". OK, Paul, have it your way.

The Beatles' company, Apple, didn't become the well-oiled machine it is today until about the mid-90's. Before that, there was still quite a bit of dissension between the four camps, in terms of their business dealings. The company began as a monument to 60's flower-power idealism, and quickly devolved into a money-hemorrhaging mess. The resulting attempts to sort it all out contributed significantly to the breakup of the band. Things eventually improved, but in the mid-80's, at the time of the MJ purchase, they were still suing each other over various business issues. Not to mention the fact that his musical career was beginning to falter a little, especially with the recent huge failure of his God-awful "Broad Street" movie and its soundtrack. Looking back, it's not surprising that he fucked this up.

There’s always the disco version - at 5:10 in this medley

[quote] As it was thanks to changes in US laws Paul McCartney eventually got back some of his own, reaching a huge deal with SONY Music (who by then owned entire Beatles catalog

Enlightening. Thanks, and I sympathize with the idea that you shouldn’t be buying back your own musics, but the alternative was letting Michael license it for Nike commercials.

[quote] I think the idea that he had to shell out multi-millions to buy the rights to songs that he himself created, or helped create, really irked Paul, and he couldn't bring himself to face up to that reality in time. Plus, there was probably some lingering tension with Yoko

R106 that's an excellent explanation.

I couldn't understand why Paul didn't just out-bid MJ, but now that completely makes sense.

thanks!

[quote] One of the reasons George had so many good songs ready for his solo career was that they were Beatles trunk songs - songs that were written during the 1960's and never recorded for Beatles records.

This is true of a lot of both John and Paul's early solo work, not just George's.

Paul's "Teddy Boy" and "Junk" from his debut album were intended for the Beatles "Let it Be" project, but didn't make the cut. "Maybe I'm Amazed" was written before the breakup, but I don't know if he ever presented it to the band.

John's "Cold Turkey" was written for the Beatles, but the others rejected it. "Jealous Guy" was written when the Beatles were in India with the Maharishi, but with completely different lyrics. It was originally called "Child of Nature", but since Paul had already written "Mother Nature's Son", they thought it was too similar in subject matter and shelved it. "Gimme Some Truth" was also from the late Beatle period.

George, since he was a prolific writer but was usually only allowed one song per side on Beatles albums, had a much larger backlog of unreleased songs when he began his solo career. He was still reaching back and recording some of those Beatle-era songs in the late-70's and early-80's.

R110 see R51, and don't bother us again.

[quote] Harrison's MSL is SO much better than the Chiffons' HSF. I guess the underlying chords are very similar, like the foundation of house, but Harrison builds a Frank Lloyd Wright edifice upon it whereas the Chiffons' is a tract house.

I liked both songs: My Sweet Lord and He's So Fine.

I took an intellectual property class in school and we studied a lot of cases, including the My Sweet Lord case. It's not just a judge listening to two songs and deciding, yes there's been infringement. There's a detailed comparison that goes on.

Harrison did, at least initially, fight the infringement case. That's how it ended up in court.

Judge said:

[quote] “It is clear,” the judge said, “that My Sweet Lord is the very same song as ‘He's So Fine.’ This is, under the law infringement of copyright and is no less so even though subconsciously accomplished.”

How Paul McCartney got and is getting back rights to Beatles material.

Again in a way things worked out rather well for Paul McC, he is getting his own back (and money besides), instead of paying potentially $50 million USD or more back in day to out bid MJ.

r50 thanks. glorious. We need a dedicated Billy Preston thread!

I guess I wonder at his age why it matters so much — I suppose for his heirs, but spending your old age doing this seems a bit obsessive.

[quote]He was devastated by the lawsuit, claiming that if he ripped off “He’s So Fine,” (NOT a Motown song like someone claimed upthread, BTW) it must have been subconsciously. Many were skeptic about that, especially since HSF was the number 2 song of all of 1963, and one of the top selling girl group songs ever (ironically performed by a pretty forgettable group, The Chiffons, at least when compared to the Supremes or the Beatles!).

The Beatles were fans:

"...The next Top 10 hit for the Chiffons was "Sweet-Talking Guy" in mid 1966 which allowed the quartet to tour England and Germany for the first time; on one of their London club dates, members of the Beatles and Stones were in the audience."

And yes, the Chiffons were not the mega group that the Supremes and others were, but they did have 3 big hits, which was a pretty good showing for the time.

"Sweet-Talking Guy" broke through at the height of the British invasion and it sounded thoroughly contemporary hinting at the "baroque pop" sound just coming into fashion..