One of Paul McCartney‘s all-time favourite songs was written by his Beatles bandmate, George Harrison.
The Wings frontman confirmed as much during a Reddit Ask Me Anything on the r/Music subreddit. McCartney was asked for his favourite songs by members of the public, with the Let It Be hitmaker going one step further and naming an album release by Harrison as one of his favourites. McCartney confirmed Brainwashed, Harrison’s posthumous release, which dropped in 2002, was among his favourite albums. In a Reddit AMA to promote his 2020 album, McCartney III, McCartney confirmed Here Comes the Sun was one of his favourite songs from Harrison.
He wrote: “It is a brilliant song and the kind of song that’s really good in times like these.” The “times like these” McCartney refers to in his comment is the lockdown the United Kingdom, and other countries across the world, experienced due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
A previous compilation release from McCartney saw the legendary songwriter name a Brainwashed track as another favourite from Harrison’s discography.
The album Paul McCartney’s Glastonbury Groove compiled some of McCartney’s favourite songs. Compiled by McCartney himself, the album featured classics like God Only Knows by The Beach Boys, Cheek to Cheek by Fred Astaire, and George Harrison’s Marwa Blues.
Marwa Blues released on November 18, 2002, a year after Harrison’s death. It went on to win the Best Pop Instrumental Performance award at the Grammy Awards, and featured Jeff Lynne of Electric Light Orchestra on keyboards and acoustic guitar. Harrison’s son, Dhani Harrison, also features on acoustic guitar.
The Beatles’ legendary songwriter has frequently shared his love for Pet Sounds and the work of Brian Wilson, too, but one song stands out for the Get Back and Hey Jude mastermind.
Speaking to BBC Radio 1 back in 2007, McCartney confirmed it was not just one of his favourite songs, but it reduced him to tears nearly every time he listened to it. The Beatles’ bassist was so moved by the song that he broke down when preparing to perform it with Wilson.
He told the radio station: “God Only Knows is one of the few songs that reduces me to tears every time I hear it. It’s really just a love song, but it’s brilliantly done. It shows the genius of Brian. I’ve actually performed it with him and I’m afraid to say that during the sound check I broke down.”
McCartney expanded on his love for Pet Sounds and Wilson’s compositions in a chat with Ronnie Wood. He said: “Wilson proved himself to be a really amazing composer and I was into chords and harmonies and stuff at that time and we ended up, it was kind of like a rivalry. We’d put a song out, Brian would hear it, and then he would do one, which is nice. It’s like me and John [Lennon]. You try and top each other all the time.”
