“The Beatles? Oh, I think the Beatles were, or are, (long pause), very good. One of the points everyone should remember about the Beatles is that we did work hard, you know, and we made a point of trying to broaden our own experiences on our own, to overcome as many limitations as we could. And there were quite a few restrictions in those days, like four-track recordings and all that sort of thing. And we used to play in those huge places with 30-watt amplifiers. I think the Beatles generally were very, very good. On reflection, the music was okay, and we kept improving. But then, you know, the days were different. The musicians around today have so much more to listen to. They’re bound to end up sounding different because they’re exposed to so much, not so much innocence around now. Probably trying to come through and make its mark."
(60s musicians talk of groups. 70s musicians refer to bands.)
Individually, though, how do John, Paul, George, and Ringo stand up to comparison with the Beatles?
His answer was slow and deliberate. "I suppose to look at each one of us individually now. Even if we were rated as big solo artists, each one of us may not be as heavy as the Beatles were collectively, but at the same time, no less heavy than any heavies who are around. We probably didn’t even realize ourselves how heavy we were. I mean, it’s only now, when you study the documentaries, that you realize how big it all was. At the time, we were going through it, and we were cut out from so much.” But he stressed that he liked what the Beatles stood for, today, even if at the time, he had reservations about the life they led, being buffeted from hotel room to concert hall to airplane. “The Beatles did put out great songs, good music, good innovative stuff, all the way. We knew our next album would sell a lot just because it said ‘Beatles’ on the front. But it didn’t stop us trying. The albums went up in levels of improvement. Musically, even though I haven’t much desire to relive it, it stands up pretty well. I should imagine. The Fab Four fan club – Great!”
“…We’ve got to save the world Someone’s children they may need it So far we’ve seen The big business of extinction bleed it We’ve got to save the world We’re at the mercy of so few With evil hearts determined to Reduce this planet into hell Then find a buyer and make quick sale…” - “Save The World” by George Harrison (released on the 1981 album Somewhere in England)
“When you see the rate that the world is being demolished — people polluting the oceans and chopping down all the forests — unless somebody puts the brakes on soon, there isn’t going to be anything left. There’s just going to be more and more people with less and less resources.” - George Harrison, Rolling Stone, November 5, 1987
“If you haven’t already noticed, our planet has been concreted over at an alarming rate and let’s hope in another thirty years we don’t have to add Planet Earth to the R.I.P.’s.” - George Harrison, All Things Must Pass 30th anniversary liner notes
“We always loved those American girls groups, like the Shirelles [photo 2] and the Ronettes [photo 4]. So yeah, we developed our harmonies from trying to come up with an English, male version of their vocal feel. We discovered the option of having three-part harmonies, or lead vocal and two-part backup, from doing that old girl-group material. We even covered some of those songs, like ‘Baby, It’s You,’ on our first album.” - George Harrison, Guitar World, 1992
“I remember being with George [Harrison] one morning and he went into NEMS and bought Chains by The Cookies [photo 3]. They’d never sung that before. He took it home and that night they were singing it at the Cavern. Towards the end of ‘62 you could still wander in and out of the Cavern and rub shoulders with them. They’d be at the back getting a cup of tea and chatting with the girls. It was only once Please Please Me came out that it all changed.” - Sue Houghton (fan), MOJO, November 1995
At the Billboard Music Awards, December 9, 1992; photo by Reed Saxon/AP. (You can watch both speeches pertaining to the Billboard Century Award here.)
“George was the kind of guy who wasn’t going to leave until he hugged you for five minutes and told you how much he loved you. We knew where we stood with each other.“ - Tom Petty, Rolling Stone, January 17, 2002 (x)
