How The Beatles would avoid songwriting fights and ‘difficulty’ in the studio

Follow Cult Following

Get more of our coverage in Google.

Avoiding fights and fallouts in the studio was easier than expected for The Beatles, according to Paul McCartney. He, along with John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, issued a relatively simple rule to keep everyone in check and not at one another’s throats. While the band would break up in the late 1960s and relationships would go unrepaired for years after, McCartney did say the harmonious experience in the studio depended on who had written which song.

Asked by Playboy Magazine in 1984 about how harmony was kept in the studio, McCartney issued a very simple answer in how peace was maintained. The interviewer asked: “When you wrote, did you have difficulty deciding who would play what and who would sing what? Or did you just agree you would sing your own songs?”

This was hardly ever the case for the band, who found themselves playing what they wrote and being content to do so. McCartney replied: “Normally, you just sang your own songs, and you played whatever you wrote.”

Despite the band singing what they wrote it did mean freezing out Starr and Harrison often. Even Bob Dylan noticed that Harrison had not received his fair share of album placements. He said in 2007: “George got stuck with being the Beatle that had to fight to get songs on records because of Lennon and McCartney. Well, who wouldn’t get stuck? If George had had his own group and was writing his own songs back then, he’d have been probably just as big as anybody.”

Fans agreed with Dylan’s assessment with many taking to The Beatles subreddit to share their shock at how little of Harrison’s material had made it onto releases. Harrison would release All Things Must Pass shortly after leaving The Beatles. A follow-up to his Abbey Road track, Here Comes the Sun, was also hailed by listeners.

One fan asked: “Is it a hot take to say this is better than Here Comes the Sun? One of my favourite George solo songs, it’s so beautiful and peaceful. Feels like a mix of Beautiful Boy and Here Comes the Sun.”

Some suggested playing Here Comes the Sun so often had them seeking an alternative, and that Here Comes the Moon was ideal for that purpose. One wrote: “I don’t know about better per se, but having played Here Comes the Sun to extinction, I find myself reaching for this one more often. It’s a very pleasant listen.

Fans did believe it’s a hot take to suggest Here Comes the Moon is a better song than Here Comes the Sun, but some believed there was some logic behind the suggestion. One listener wrote: “This whole album is one of the best solo Beatles efforts.” Another agreed, adding: “I love this album, great songs, great band, great production, a warm late ’70s vibe.”