Happy Birthday, George Harrison: It Don't Come Easy (Or Maybe It Does)

Happy Birthday to George Harrison, born 67 years ago today.

In the Fab Four's heyday, George was known as "The Quiet One" of The Beatles, and was completely overshadowed by the epic talents of Lennon & McCartney. But George's stature has grown immensely in the last 15 years or so.

Now we know that George was a supreme instrumentalist with an elegant, melodic style that was key to much of the greatness in the Beatle catalog. He was also wrote some of the group's most interesting songs and was a true visionary in his blending of Western & Eastern musics. And he consistently had the best hairstyles in the band.

But here's something I didn't know about Mr. Harrison until very recently: It was George, not Ringo, who wrote Ringo's first post-Beatles hit "It Don't Come Easy." For years, it has been credited as a Richard Starkey composition, and neither George or Ringo ever said anything to deny it, but recently a George-recorded demo of "It Don't Come Easy" came to light.

How can we prove it's George? Just listen for the Hare Krishnas.


George was bursting with great songs in 1970, so he could more than afford to toss one to his mate Ringo. It was a good move for everyone: "It Don't Come Easy" was a huge smash and the first hit by a solo Beatle. They played it together, along with famous mates like Eric Clapton, at the Concert for Bangladesh in 1971:


Harrison likened being freed from the shadows of John & Paul's overbearing ways to having "musical diarrhea," and in 1970 he had even had more songs than he could fit on his triple album All Things Must Pass.

To illustrate and celebrate, I have uploaded Beware of Abkco, a truly fab collection of acoustic demos Harrison recorded in the wake of the Beatles breakup. Several of these tracks, such as "Beware of Darkness" and "Wah-Wah," became highlights of All Things Must Pass; others, like "Nowhere to Go," written with Bob Dylan, and "I Don't Want to Do It" written by Dylan alone, didn't make the record at all.

You can download Beware of Abkco below. Happy Birthday and Hare Krishna, George.
Download: George Harrison, Beware of Abkco