I make mini-documentary videos on YouTube. This is my side-blog to house all the additional stuff I come upon whilst researching. (Lots of music history, Beatles mostly.)
In this week's article by @turnt-archives, they discuss twenty essential songs that exemplify George Harrison's and Bob Dylan's musical relationship as it evolved over a story of devotion, creativity, and enduring mutual admiration. The article also discusses the importance of these relationships by George, and how Bob Dylan impacted his life to where it was "romantic, in a sense". Click the link below to read! You won't want to miss it 😁
Thank you to @wontyoucomeouttoplay for suggesting I adapt my post into a full article. :) It was a real challenge because I am no writer, but I hope I did justice to these two enigmatic forces of nature. ♡
The pool at John Lennon's Kenwood estate in Weybridge, Surrey. Where Paul McCartney sat and wrote 'Here, There and Everywhere' whilst waiting for John to wake up. Under the water, on the far wall, is a psychedelic eye mosaic designed by John.
"It's funny, in films like Nowhere Boy, you'll get this thing where John's mum is teaching him rock-and-roll or buying rock-and-roll records. But two of John's favourite songs, when I met him, were 'Close your eyes, put your head on my shoulder...' which is very much a Thirties/ Forties song. And the other one was 'Little White Lies': 'Doo-doo diddle-oo, the lies that you told me...' When I met John those were the kind of songs that we'd been listening to.
"That attracted me to him. I thought, yeah, I love that song. And he'd say, 'I love this one, or that one.' They did have quite an influence."
Paul McCartney in Conversations with McCartney by Paul Du Noyer.
Because I'm like this, I did some digging into these songs to try and figure out which versions John might have been listening to.
Close Your Eyes: composed by Bernice Petkere in 1933
1933/1934 - covers by British crooner Al Bowlly and British bandleader Ambrose were released in the UK via Decca and Parlophone - these versions are slow-tempo, jazzy, romantic
1955 - a cover by American singer Tony Bennett with a much more 'rocking' pop sound (uncharacteristic of Bennett) was released via Philips, and it reached number #18 in the UK charts
1956 - a cover by British singer Vera Lynn was done in the nostalgic style
Conclusion - John may have heard Tony Bennett's version on the radio as a teenager, but since Paul is specifically talking about a 'Thirties/Forties' song that he considers in opposition to rock-and-roll, it seems likely John liked an earlier version. Al Bowlly records were hugely popular in UK households and could have belonged to Aunt Mimi's pre-war dance-band collection.
Little White Lies: composed by Walter Donaldson in 1930
Additional quote: “His favourite song when we were kids was Little White Lies, which was very sentimental. It was a smoochy old standard that his mum liked.” (x)
1930 - a cover by American vocal and piano duo Stuart Ross and Joe Sargent was released in the UK via Parlophone
1947 - Argentine-American singer Dick Haymes had the biggest hit version of this song in America, reaching #3 in the billboard charts. Though this version was not released in the UK, Dick Haymes was very popular in the UK, increasing likelihood of imported records (or catching it via AFN radio)
1957 - a cover by Northern Irish singer Ruby Murray was released in the UK via Columbia, though not a big hit
Conclusion: John may have heard other versions, but timing-wise it seems most likely that the Dick Haymes' version was Julia's favourite, and certainly best fits the description of "smoochy old standard."
Here, There and Everywhere: The Story of the Song. This series explores the lore and the legacy of some of The Beatles’ best-known songs, written by history’s most successful songwriting partnership; Lennon/McCartney. Exploring their songs through the context of their relationship.
George and Bob had known each other since 1964, but their friendship deepened in 1968 when George and Pattie visited Bob and his family in Woodstock for Thanksgiving. Away from the spotlight, George found Bob surprisingly shy and reserved. “He seemed a little nervous and I felt a little uncomfortable […] Anyway, on the third day we got the guitars out and then things loosened up and I was saying to him, ‘write some words.’”
Keen to break down Bob’s barriers, George offered the opening lines: Let me in here / I know I’ve been here / Let me into your heart
Bob replied with the bridge/chorus: All I have is yours / All you see is mine / And I’m glad to hold you in my arms / I’d have you anytime
They recorded a rough version of the song during that visit. George later used the Harrison-Dylan composition as the opening track on All Things Must Pass, noting that he may have subconsciously needed the support of Bob Dylan as a co-writer and Eric Clapton on lead guitar to open his first post-Beatles solo album.
2. 🔊 Nowhere to Go (Day 2 Demo) (Take 1) – George Harrison (2021)
During the 1968 visit to Woodstock, George and Bob also recorded an early version of a song then called Every Time Somebody Comes to Town, with George audibly guiding Bob through the chords. Bob's contribution isn't known, but bootlegs credited the song as a Harrison-Dylan composition.
In 1970, George revisited the song, recording a new demo version, now titled Nowhere to Go, with updated and more personalised lyrics (“I get tired of being Beatle Jeff”) but he ultimately left the track off All Things Must Pass.
3. 🔊 I Threw It All Away / Mama, You’ve Been on My Mind (studio session jam) – The Beatles (1969)
After enjoying his time in Woodstock, George described going back into the studio with The Beatles for the Let It Be sessions in January 1969 as returning to the “winter of discontent”. He even floated the idea of bringing Bob into the band to little enthusiasm. During the sessions, George jammed two then-unreleased Bob Dylan breakup songs.
The first, ‘Mama, You Been on My Mind’, was written and recorded by Bob in 1964 (though only available on bootlegs until 1991) and can be seen being played by George in Get Back.
The second, ‘I Threw it All Away’ would only be recorded and released by Bob later that year for Nashville Skyline. Sometime between the Let it Be sessions and Bob’s album release, George gifted Bob his acoustic Gibson J-200 guitar, which Bob proudly holds on the album’s cover. The photographer of the cover said Bob “wanted the guitar in the photo with him, tipping his hat as a thank-you to his friend for the generous gift.”
4. 🔊 Behind That Locked Door – George Harrison (1970)
Bob and George reunited in the summer of 1969, when Bob prepared to return to the stage after three years of seclusion by headlining The Isle of Wight festival. George and Pattie stayed with Bob and his family that week, and the pair were spotted playing tennis and singing Everly Brothers together in the farmhouse. Bob’s manager would describe the pair as “star-struck with each other.”
The night before the concert, with mounting pressure from fans and the press, George began writing Behind That Locked Door as an acknowledgement of Dylan’s shyness and an encouragement for him to let his guard down: The love you are blessed with / This world’s waiting for / So let out your heart please, please / From behind that locked door
At the concert, George sat in the VIP enclosure along with Ringo, Mo, John and Yoko, and was touched to see Bob had arranged for George’s newly produced single ‘Hare Krishna Mantra’ to be played over the PA before he took to the stage. After a two-hour delay caused by technical difficulties, Bob finally walked onstage, proudly brandishing his Gibson J-200 and announcing “Look, I’ve got George’s guitar!”
George later finished Behind that Locked Door and recorded it for All Things Must Pass, with a decidedly country style, that he said was influenced by Bob’s Nashville Skyline period, even using the same pedal steel guitarist from Bob’s Lay Lady Lay. Meanwhile, with the Isle of Wight comeback was reviewed as anticlimactic, prompting Bob to abandon touring again.
5. 🔊 Yesterday (Studio session jam) – Bob Dylan and George Harrison (1970)
Just weeks after The Beatles breakup was announced, George spent a day in the studio with Bob who was recording New Morning. What began as work on album tracks soon turned into an informal jam session, with the group playing songs from Bob’s back catalogue and favourites by Carl Perkins and The Everly Brothers. At one point, Bob drifted into playing Yesterday, a poignant choice amidst the band’s recent breakup, but George joined in, adding a guitar solo and joking at the end “dub some cellos on it”.
6. 🔊 If Not for You – George Harrison (1970) & If Not for You – Bob Dylan (1970)
A love song Bob wrote for his wife Sara, and recorded several times in 1970, including multiple takes on the day George joined Bob in the studio (one take opens with Bob asking, “Ready George?” ) although a later take was used on the album. Bob offered the song to George, who soon recorded his own version for All Things Must Pass, released ahead of Bob’s album.
The following year, George asked Bob to perform at his Concert for Bangladesh. Bob supported the cause but stayed non‑committal - he hadn’t been onstage since the Isle of Wight two years earlier and had no plans to return until George had asked him. George managed to get him to a rehearsal the night before the show, where they ran through If Not for You, the two completely locked in to each other despite the pre‑show tension and nerves.
George Harrison & Bob Dylan - If Not For You
The final rehearsal the night before The Concert for Bangladesh (1971), amid tension and uncert
7. 🔊 Just Like a Woman (Live at The Concert for Bangladesh) – Bob Dylan (1971)
When the day of the two Bangladesh benefit shows arrived, George still didn’t know whether Bob would appear - his name was on the set list with a question mark. Frustrated, George would remark that at least Bob had experience performing alone - something George had never done. But Bob did show - George said when he came onstage “he was so nervous – he had his guitar on and his shades […] It was only at that moment that I knew for sure he was going to do it."
Bob ultimately played five songs, backed by George and Leon Russell on vocals and guitar, with Ringo on Tambourine: A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall, It Takes a Lot to Laugh It Takes a Train to Cry, Blowin’ in the Wind, Just Like a Woman, Love Minus Zero/No Limit. After the successful afternoon show, Bob returned to George’s hotel to plan some small tweaks for the evening set, swapping in Mr. Tambourine Man.
After the second show, George recalled Bob’s elation. “He picked me up and hugged me and he said, ‘God! If only we’d done three shows!’”
The following decade passed with no more known musical collaborations between George and Bob. However, they remained friends, with George reportedly spent a lot of time at Bob’s in LA in the mid-70s when he was dejected from personal and professional failures.
8.🔊 Abandoned Love (Studio Outtake -1975) – Bob Dylan (1985) & Abandoned Love (Demo) – George Harrison (1984)
Bob wrote and recorded Abandoned Love in 1975, a breakup song about parting from someone you still love, intended for Desire. He played the song live once that year, fresh from his recent divorce, but ultimately left the song off the album. The studio recording remained unreleased until it appeared on Biograph in 1985.
Likely offered the song by Bob, George recorded a demo of Abandoned Love in 1984, though he would also never officially release his version.
9. 🔊 I Don’t Want to Do It – George Harrison (1985)
Back in 1968, Bob wrote I Don’t Want to Do It, and offered it to George during their fruitful Woodstock Thanksgiving. George recorded a demo in 1970 for All Things Must Pass: I Don’t Want to Do It (Day 2 Demo) Take 1 but like many songs from that period, it was left off of the album.
He finally came back to it in 1985, recording a new version with producer Dave Edmunds for his soundtrack project for comedy film Porky’s Revenge!
10. 🔊 Mama, You’ve Been on My Mind (Demo) – George Harrison (2011)
In the mid-80s, George also recorded a demo version of an old favourite Bob track (as heard in the Let it Be sessions) – Mama, You’ve Been on My Mind. This version would appear on the posthumous Early Takes album compiled and mixed by George Martin.
11. 🔊/🎦 Peggy Sue (Live at The Palamino Club) – Bob Dylan, George Harrison, John Fogerty, Taj Mahal and the Graffiti Band (1987)
In February 1987, a call from Bob inviting George to see Taj Mahal perform in North Hollywood turned into an impromptu two-hour jam where several musicians joined Taj Mahal onstage. George would say, “We had a few of those Mexican beers – and a few more […] Bob says, ‘hey, why don’t we all get up and play, and you can sing?’ […] and every time I got near the microphone, Dylan comes running up and just starts singing this rubbish in my ear, trying to throw me."
They performed a handful of covers, with George taking lead vocals on numbers like Matchbox and Dizzy Miss Lizzy. Bob would join George in singing Peggy Sue, scream-harmonizing the song to make George laugh. Having only performed a handful of times since his 1974 tour, George said of the evening “it was nice to recapture the feeling of what it was like on stage to make sure I could go back into that situation in the future.”
12. 🔊 When We Was Fab – George Harrison (1987)
After a five-year break from recording, George began work on Cloud Nine, with co-producer Jeff Lynne, writing When We Was Fab as a musical and lyrical reflection of his time in The Beatles. The song references both The Miracles You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me, and Bob’s It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue.
It was during these sessions that George told Jeff he wanted to form a band. They invented the name of a fictitious band – The Travelling Wilburys – and discussed dream members. Roy Orbison for Jeff, and Bob Dylan for George.
13. 🔊/🎦 Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 (live at Wembley Arena) – Bob Dylan & George Harrison (1987)
In October 1987, Bob ended his Temples in Flames tour with four nights at Wembley Arena. George and Jeff would attend all the London shows, where they also met Tom Petty, who was supporting Bob.
At the final show, George was urged to join Bob onstage, something he didn’t want to do (“if I was in the audience, I don’t want to see me coming on, I want to see Bob Dylan”) but also didn’t want to be considered a spoilsport. He eventually sidled on stage during Rainy Day Women, only to end up more front-and-centre then he’d have liked: “I went to sing with [Bob], and he just walked away! …So I waffled my way through one verse, and then I turned back, thinking he’d come in again.. and he just sort of looked at me with that vacant look he has.”
14. 🔊/🎦 All Along the Watchtower (Live from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame) – Bob Dylan, George Harrison & Various Artists (1988)
In January 1988, both The Beatles and Bob Dylan were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of fame. But whilst George was riding high with I’ve Got My Mind Set on You at number 1 in the US charts, Bob was in a career slump and being widely panned by critics.
The ceremony itself was chaotic. George accepted The Beatles induction with a drunk Ringo (soon headed to rehab) and an absent Paul (citing their ongoing legal battles), and performed I Saw Her Standing There with an overcrowded stage of musicians. The crowded stage would also perform a messy rendition of All Along the Watchtower with an utterly bewildered and out-of-it looking Bob. George stayed upfront beside him, supporting him through the song.
15. 🔊 Something / Every Grain of Sand (Live on Rockline Radio) – George Harrison (1988)
In February 1988, George appeared on Rockline Radio and closed the show by starting a humorous rendition of his song Something before switching to Bob’s track Every Grain of Sand from Bob’s Christian rock era in 1981. George would later say of the song “I mean, you tell me one person other than Bob Dylan who has a moral message in a tune that’s improved upon Bob’s words in his song ‘Every Grain of Sand’”
The Wilburys finally came together in 1988, initially just to record a bonus track for Cloud Nine. George said the group formed almost by magic - he had dinner with Jeff Lynne and Roy Orbinson, who agreed to record with him, then called Bob to ask about using his home studio. Unexpectedly, Bob picked up on the first ring and invited them over the next day. George went via Tom Petty’s house to pick up a guitar, and invited him along too, then the supergroup was formed.
The group got together at Bob’s, who at first was simply acting as host, but was encouraged by George to join the session. They completed and recorded the song Handle with Care.
The session went so well that George suggested making a full album. With limited time before Bob returned to touring, they challenged themselves to write and record a song a day and completed Traveling Wilburys, Vol. 1, including a second single End of The Line.
Tom later said George could “quote Bob like people quoted scripture.” and that “Bob really adored George, too.” He also recalled George secretly taping Bob talking or playing the piano, and studying it at night. In the Travelling Wilburys documentary, George would explain that the song Tweeter and the Monkey Man was a result of his taping Bob discussing all this “Americana sort of stuff”, that he then transcribed into lyrics.
17. 🔊 Under the Red Sky – Bob Dylan (1990)
After The Wilburys, Bob’s album Oh Mercy was lauded as a return to form. He went straight back into the studio in early 1990 to make Under the Red Sky, making the unusual decision to invite musicians for guest appearances, including George, who played slide guitar on the title track.
The next month, The Wilburys regrouped (without the late Roy Orbison) to record their second album – the deliberately misnamed Travelling Wilburys Vol. 3, releasing the singles She’s My Baby, Inside Out & Wilbury Twist.
Meanwhile Olivia Harrison had returned from Romania seeking help for the country’s abandoned orphans. The Wilburys recorded a cover of country star Hank Snow’s Nobody’s Child (a suggestion from Bob, and a Hamburg-era favourite of The Beatles), updated the lyrics and released it as a charity single. It was later added as an album bonus track, along with their cover Del Shannon’s 1961 hit Runaway.
George would say his main contribution in the band was preserving the group's friendship, and ensuring “nobody’s friendship was abused.” Though they never recorded together again, they remained friends. Speaking in 1990, George, a life-long Bob supporter regardless of public opinion, stated “Bob is still out there and whether you like him or not he’s Bob. I’ve always listened to his music. I’m thankful there’s people like that.”
In February 1991 George attended Bob’s concert in London and was seen comically running onstage with Ronnie Wood to shower Bob with flowers.
19. 🔊/🎦 Absolutely Sweet Marie (Live at the 30th Anniversary Celebration) – George Harrison (1993)
In 1992, Madison Square Garden hosted a star-studded concert celebrating Bob’s 30-year anniversary of recording. George made a rare public appearance, and rehearsal footage shows him mingling comfortably with peers while Bob, hood up and shoulders hunched, looked far less at ease as they leave together at the end of the day.
The show was a success, George performing Bob’s 1966 track Absolutely Sweet Marie, If Not For You and joining an ensemble for My Back Pages. It would be George’s final major live performance.
20. 🔊/🎦 Something (Live at Madison Square Garden) - Bob Dylan (2002)
A few months after George’s passing, Bob wrote in Rolling Stone:
“[George] was a giant, a great, great soul, with all the humanity, all the wit and humor, all the wisdom, the spirituality, the common sense of a man and compassion for people. He inspired love and had the strength of a hundred men. He was like the sun, the flowers and the moon, and we will miss him enormously. The world is a profoundly emptier place without him.”
A year later, a tribute to George concert was organised with performances from many friends. Bob did not attend for unclear reasons, instead honouring George at his own Madison Square Garden show, by performing Something, and stating:
“There’s a tribute going on, I guess it’s next week or the week after, it’s over in England, for George Harrison. And, you know there’s all kinds of people going over there, I’m not sure who. But we can’t make it, and that’s why I'm going to do this song now in remembrance of George, because we were such good buddies."
References: I, Me, Mine by George Harrison / The Beatles Anthology Interviews / Beatles Gear: All The Fab Four’s Instruments from Stage to Studio by Andy Babiuk / Bob Dylan: How the Isle of Wight festival managed to steal the voice of a generation from Woodstock – The Independent 29-May-2015 / George Harrison in Rolling Stone, 5-Nov-1987 / Mark Ellen interview with George Harrison for Q magazine (1988) / George Harrison, Billboard 19-Jun-1999 / The True Story of the Traveling Wilburys, 2007 / Tom Petty, Rolling Stone, 17-Jan-2002 / George Harrison, Wanted Man: In Search of Bob Dylan (1998) / Bob Dylan, Rolling Stone, January 17, 2002
The final rehearsal the night before The Concert for Bangladesh (1971), amid tension and uncertainty, George and Bob run through a song they had both recorded the year prior. Though this song was ultimately dropped from the set, Bob did end up performing five songs at the concert, overcoming his nervousness to come onstage for the first time in two years at George's request.
New Video: The story of The Exciters, an early 60s group from New York, who landed a top 5 hit with "Tell Him" and were touring with The Beatles before they had even finished high school.
They became synonymous with the 60s girl group explosion (though they were in fact a mixed-gender group) and influenced many British acts like Dusty Springfield and Manfred Mann. This is their story!
Adam Ant and Paul McCartney, photographed by Linda McCartney.
Adam Ant grew up in St John's Wood and his mother Betty worked as Paul McCartney's housekeeper. He would occasionally go with her to Cavendish and would help out by walking the dog. "I used to walk his sheepdog, Martha. She was a nice dog and he was a nice man." (x)
By the late 70s/early 80s, Adam Ant was a star in his own right. He would go on to share the stage with Paul McCartney at Live Aid 1985.
"...John and I certainly took a lot of drugs together and had some berserk nights out, as poor old Dr John would tell you. We went to see him at the Troubadour and he invited John onstage to jam. John was so pissed he ended up playing the organ with his elbows. It somehow fell to me to get him offstage." - Elton John, Me (2019)
Bob Dylan on his way to meet The Beatles at the Delmonico Hotel, being led in by Beatles road manager Neil Aspinall and journalist Al Aronowitz, who was the matchmaker of the evening and the provider of marijuana. This became the legendary evening when The Beatles first met Bob Dylan and smoked pot for the first time.
Paul McCartney with singer Bill English backstage on their 1964 North American Tour. Bill English was working as a school teacher when he received the call to join the tour. One of the opening acts (Bill Black's Combo) were in need of a vocalist, so Bill English quit his job to join his fellow Memphis musicians and tour with The Beatles.
[Photo credit: Bob Tucker, bandleader of Bill Black's Combo]
