George and Eric

The remarkable musical relationship of two rock superstars

George Harrison’s Gibson Les Paul guitar, which he named “Lucy.” It was given to him by Eric Clapton. Image by Sbpawlguitr5, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

The intricate, complex and sometimes sordid personal relationship between George Harrison and Eric Clapton is the stuff of which rock legends are made. They notoriously were in love with the same woman, Pattie Boyd, who was married first to George and then to Eric.

But this is Rock On, not a sensationalist tabloid, so my focus here will be on their equally extraordinary musical relationship. How exactly George and Eric overlapped musically is itself a fascinating story.

Harrison and Clapton reportedly first crossed paths in December 1964. They were playing on the same bill at London’s Hammersmith Odeon, Harrison with The Beatles and Clapton with The Yardbirds. As musicians tend to do backstage, the two connected, beginning a relationship that would endure over 35 years, until Harrison’s death in 2001.

Other than their mutual early love of American blues and being guitarists, little is known about their musical overlap until January 1968. That’s when Harrison asked Clapton to play on “Ski-ing,” an instrumental for Wonderwall, a psychedelic movie for which Harrison was doing the soundtrack. Technically, it was the first commercial recording on which the two collaborated. The film’s soundtrack was released as Wonderwall Music, Harrison’s first solo album, while he was still a Beatle.

In August 1968, Clapton presented Harrison with a very special gift, a 1957 Gibson Les Paul, acknowledged to be a premier American-built guitar. This particular instrument, gold to begin with, was owned by a number of musicians including Rick Derringer, who had the guitar refinished to a stunning cherry red color. Harrison decided to name the guitar “Lucy,” referring to then-popular redhead comedian Lucille Ball.

Just weeks later, Harrison was working with The Beatles on recording his song, “When My Guitar Gently Weeps,” for the White Album. Wrote Ian MacDonald in his book, Revolution in the Head, first published in 1994:

Harrison, who had spent eight hours vainly striving to get a ‘weeping’ effect from a backwards guitar track, found no solution till the fifth day of work on the song when, driving into London with his old friend Eric Clapton, he invited him to play the guitar solo. Clapton was then with Cream, the heaviest blues-rock group in the UK, yet his style suited the final version of WHEN MY GUITAR GENTLY WEEPS, which by then had become ponderously weighty.

In part, Harrison brought Clapton in because of growing conflict between himself and the other members of the band, thinking that another musician would temper the tension. It appeared to work, at least temporarily. Clapton played the guitar solo on “Lucy” and it became part of the final recording even though he was uncredited for his work.

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Other collaborations between the two superstars followed. Also in 1968, Harrison wrote the song “Sour Milk Sea” for a debut recording on Apple Records by singer Jackie Lomax. The backup band was unprecedented: Harrison on rhythm guitar and Clapton playing lead guitar, with none other than Paul McCartney on bass and Ringo Starr on drums.

In February 1969, Cream released its final album, Goodbye, which included “Badge,” also released as a single. The song was co-written by Clapton and Harrison, whose lyrical notes included the word “bridge.” Clapton misread Harrison’s handwriting, and the previously untitled song was labeled “Badge.” Harrison, who played rhythm guitar on Cream’s recording, was credited on the record as “L’Angelo Misterioso” because of contractual restrictions.

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In August 1969, Clapton, who left Cream and was witnessing the implosion of Blind Faith, joined Delaney & Bonnie and Friends on their European tour. During the growing frustration Harrison experienced in his last year with The Beatles, he briefly hooked up with Delaney & Bonnie and Friends on the same tour. He kept a low profile as an uncredited guitar player, getting some relief from the pressure exerted by his Liverpool bandmates. At the same time, Harrison enjoyed an unexpected bonus: He was taught to play slide guitar by Delaney Bramlett.

After The Beatles disbanded, Clapton, along with a bevy of well-known musical artists, joined Harrison on the latter’s landmark solo triple album, All Things Must Pass. Clapton was prominent on several pieces, playing acoustic and electric guitar and singing backup vocals. Interestingly, several of those artists backing up Harrison subsequently joined Clapton in forming a new band, Derek and the Dominos. The group’s iconic song, “Layla,” co-written by Clapton, was partially inspired by his obsession with Pattie Boyd.

Harrison’s collaborative leanings reached new heights when, along with Indian sitarist Ravi Shankar, he organized the Concert for Bangladesh. Clapton was a major headliner for this live two-performance event held on August 1, 1971 in New York to benefit refugees from East Pakistan. Harrison and Clapton performed “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” The concert was followed by a recording and film documentary.

As mentioned previously, Harrison and Clapton literally shared their love for the same woman, yet it united them instead of breaking them apart. After Harrison’s own marriage to Boyd ended, he even attended Clapton’s marriage to Pattie Boyd in 1974. While some natural animosity existed and potentially threatened their friendship, their musical compatibility bound them together.

There were still more musical collaborations. For example, Clapton played on several of the songs on Harrison’s 1987 album, Cloud Nine, and Harrison wrote “Run So Far” for Clapton’s critically acclaimed 1989 album, Journeyman. Harrison played guitar and sang backup on the recording of the song.

In 1991, it was Clapton who urged Harrison to do a concert tour of Japan with him. Recordings of the tour were made, resulting in Live in Japan, a double album released in 1992 and credited to “George Harrison with Eric Clapton and Band.” This would be the last live tour George Harrison would participate in before his death.

George Harrison died on November 29, 2001. To memorialize Harrison on the first anniversary of his death, the Concert for George was held at London’s Royal Albert Hall on November 29, 2002. Eric Clapton, acting as musical director of the concert, brought together celebrated musicians under the name “George’s Band.” Clapton, along with Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Marc Mann (guitar) and George’s son, Dhani Harrison (acoustic guitar), performed “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” The concert was both recorded and filmed.

Clapton said of Harrison:

“I always thought of George as being a little like the elder brother that I never had. So I respect his judgment and his values and I think he’s a wonderful man. And I like the way he bends the strings too.”

Read more of my music stories here.