Day After Day is an ambitious attempt to write about a song every day in 2024 (starting on Jan. 4).
What Is Life (1971)
Continuing the going solo conversation from yesterday, how about an artist so talented that nobody knew what he really could do because he was in the shadows of two of the greatest musicians of all time? It's not like George Harrison didn't do anything consequential in the Beatles, because he certainly did, but he clearly had a lot more to say once the band split up.
Before the Beatles broke up in 1970, Harrison had recorded and released two solo albums: Wonderwall Music and Electronic Sound, which were mainly instrumental. In December 1969, he toured Europe with Delaney & Bonnie and Friends, which included Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett, Eric Clapton, Bobby Whitlock and drummer Jim Gordon. After the tour, Harrison began working on his third album with his tourmates and others, including Ringo Starr, Gary Wright, Billy Preston and more. Producer (and future murderer) Phil Spector co-produced All Things Must Pass with Harrison, using his Wall of Sound production technique; he had previously worked on the Beatles' Get Back rehearsal tapes, which turned into the Let It Be album.
Harrison had already been getting praise for his contributions to the Abbey Road album, the brilliant "Something" and "Here Comes the Sun," but he had a stash of unreleased songs written as early as 1966. All Things Must Pass ended up being a triple album: two albums of songs and an album of informal jams.
The first single, "My Sweet Lord," was released in November 1970 and it hit #1 on charts worldwide. Originally written for Preston, Harrison's version reflected his interest in Hinduism and praised the Hindu god Krishna. Several years later, the song was part of a copyright infringement suit because of its similarity to the Chiffons' hit "He's So Fine"; Harrison was found to have subconsciously plagiarized the song.
The second single from All Things Must Pass was "What Is Life," which while not as huge as its predecessor, still was a big hit. Harrison wrote it in 1969 and also originally intended to give it to Preston, but then decided to hold onto it. "What Is Life" could be interpreted as a love song for both a woman and a deity.
"What I feel, I can't say/But my love is there for you any time of day/But if it's not love that you need/Then I'll try my best to make everything succeed/Tell me, what is my life without your love? And tell me, who am I without you by my side?"
Harrison opens the song with a descending fuzz riff before he's joined by the rest of the band: Clapton on rhythm guitar, Carl Radle on bass and Gordon on drums. Spector adds some of his patented reverb, plus strings, horns and multitracked vocals to create a huge sound.
"What I know, I can do/If I give my love now to everyone like you/But if it's not love that you need/Then I'll try my best to make everything succeed/Tell me, what is my life without your love?/And tell me, who am I without you by my side?"
The joyful song peaked at #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was top 10 throughout the world. The song was so anthemic that it has been used on many movie soundtracks, including Goodfellas, Patch Adams and This Is 40. "What Is Life" has been covered by many artists, including Olivia Newton-John, the Ventures, Shawn Mullins and Weird Al Yankovic, who played the song at the George Fest tribute concert in 2014.
Harrison went on to have a fairly successful solo career, with a few dips and several high points. After his 1982 album Gone Troppo sunk like a stone, he laid low but came back in 1987 with the album Cloud Nine, which was a big hit thanks to his cover of "Got My Mind Set On You," which went to #1 and was played constantly on MTV. Harrison then started the Traveling Wilburys with Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan and Tom Petty. The group released two albums (the second as a four-piece after Orbison died in 1988), which both sold well.
In 1994, Harrison worked with McCartney and Starr on the Beatles Anthology project, which included recording two new Beatles songs built around recordings made by Lennon before he died. Harrison was diagnosed with throat cancer in 1997 and recovered after treatment. In 1999, he and his wife Olivia were attacked at their home by a man who broke in and stabbed Harrison with a kitchen knife more than 40 times. He recovered, but the cancer returned and spread to his brain. Harrison died in November 2001. His final studio album, Brainwashed, was released in 2002 after it was completed by his son Dhani and Jeff Lynne.
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