Recording: Wah-Wah, My Sweet Lord, I’d Have You Anytime by George Harrison – 28 May 1970
Thursday 28 May 1970 | George Harrison, Studio
Studio Three, EMI Studios, Abbey Road, London
Producers: George Harrison, Phil Spector | Engineers: Phil McDonald, John Leckie
Thursday 28 May 1970 was the third recording session for George Harrison’s landmark third solo album All Things Must Pass — and the first to feature a full band line-up. Working in Studio Three at EMI Studios on Abbey Road, Harrison and his collaborators tackled the three songs that would open the album: Wah-Wah, My Sweet Lord, and I’d Have You Anytime. It was a day that established the sonic template for one of the most celebrated solo albums in rock history.
All Things Must Pass: The Context
By May 1970, George Harrison had been storing up songs for years. Throughout the Beatles’ final period, his compositions had been rationed — two or three per album, regardless of quality — while Lennon and McCartney’s output took precedence. The result was a backlog of material that was, in retrospect, extraordinary: songs that had been written, demoed, and set aside, waiting for a vehicle that never came within the Beatles.
The Beatles’ dissolution in April 1970 gave Harrison the freedom he had never quite had. Within weeks he was in Abbey Road with an ambitious plan: a triple album, produced in collaboration with Phil Spector, featuring an all-star cast of musicians and a sound that would be as large and as generous as the Beatles had been restrictive. All Things Must Pass was, among other things, an act of liberation.
The sessions had begun earlier in May. By 28 May, the third session, Harrison was ready to bring in the full band and begin recording the tracks that would define the album’s opening.
The Band
Precise band line-ups for the All Things Must Pass sessions were not always documented, but the 28 May session is known to have featured Eric Clapton on guitar — one of Harrison’s closest friends and a natural presence in his musical world. Badfinger, the Apple Records group who had been close to the Beatles’ orbit since 1968, also played on the session, contributing acoustic guitars to My Sweet Lord.
Engineer Phil McDonald later recalled the logistics of recording multiple acoustic guitars simultaneously:
“They had to learn the songs all together with Badfinger playing on ‘My Sweet Lord’ with George, four acoustic guitars. I put this screen around the acoustic guitar because when you’ve got an acoustic guitar the mic is fairly live so you want a bit of protection, so I put this half soundproof box around George.”
— Phil McDonald, engineer
The image of Harrison surrounded by a half-soundproof box while Badfinger played alongside him captures something of the organised chaos of the All Things Must Pass sessions — large, warm, and full of people, a deliberate contrast to the fractious intimacy of the Beatles’ final recordings.
Wah-Wah
Wah-Wah was the first song tackled on 28 May. Three takes were recorded, with the final take selected as the best. With subsequent overdubs, this take became the album’s opening track — a thunderous, exhilarating statement of intent that announced, from its very first bars, that Harrison was done with restraint.
The song had been written in January 1969, on the day Harrison walked out of the Get Back sessions at Twickenham Film Studios following his argument with John Lennon. The title referred both to the wah-wah guitar pedal and to the headache — the “wah-wah” — that the tensions of the Beatles had given him. It was a song born of frustration and relief in equal measure, and it sounds like it: loud, joyful, and slightly unhinged.
The selected take was edited from its original tape reel and transferred to a new one, designated ‘BESTS VOL. 1’ — the beginning of a compilation of the session’s strongest material.
My Sweet Lord
Five initial takes of My Sweet Lord were recorded, featuring vocals, guitars, and harmonium. None of the first five takes were complete. A full band line-up was then brought in for takes 6 through 16, with Badfinger contributing four acoustic guitars alongside Harrison. The last of these — take 16 — is the version that appears on the album.
My Sweet Lord had been written by Harrison in late 1969, inspired in part by the Edwin Hawkins Singers’ gospel recording of Oh Happy Day. Harrison wanted to write a devotional song that would work across religious traditions — the chorus alternates between “Hallelujah” and “Hare Krishna” — and that would reach listeners who might not ordinarily engage with spiritual music. It succeeded beyond any reasonable expectation: released as a single in November 1970, it became the first number one single by a former Beatle, topping the charts in both the UK and the US.
It also became the subject of one of the most famous plagiarism cases in music history, when a court ruled in 1976 that Harrison had “subconsciously” copied the melody of the Chiffons’ 1963 hit He’s So Fine. Harrison later wrote a song about the experience — This Song — with characteristic wit.
I’d Have You Anytime
The final song of the day was I’d Have You Anytime, a gentle, intimate ballad co-written by Harrison and Bob Dylan during Harrison’s visit to Dylan’s home in Woodstock in November 1968. Six takes were recorded on 28 May, but none were considered satisfactory, and the song was set aside to be returned to the following day.
The song’s origins are remarkable: Harrison had visited Dylan at a moment when Dylan was reclusive and creatively uncertain, and the two had written together in a spirit of mutual encouragement. Dylan contributed the opening lines; Harrison shaped the melody. The result is one of the most quietly beautiful songs on All Things Must Pass — and one of the few Beatles-adjacent recordings to feature a direct Dylan collaboration.
Phil Spector and the Wall of Sound
The presence of Phil Spector as co-producer gave the All Things Must Pass sessions a sonic ambition that matched Harrison’s creative ambition. Spector’s ‘Wall of Sound’ — dense, orchestral, reverb-drenched — was applied to the album’s tracks with Harrison’s full cooperation, producing a sound that was simultaneously intimate and enormous. It was a very different experience from Spector’s controversial involvement with the Beatles’ Let It Be sessions, where his overdubs had been applied without McCartney’s consent. Here, Harrison was in control, and the collaboration was genuinely productive.
Key Facts: 28 May 1970
- Session: Third recording session for All Things Must Pass; first with full band
- Studio: Studio Three, EMI Studios, Abbey Road, London
- Producers: George Harrison, Phil Spector
- Engineers: Phil McDonald, John Leckie
- Songs recorded: Wah-Wah (3 takes; take 3 selected), My Sweet Lord (16 takes; take 16 selected), I’d Have You Anytime (6 takes; none selected)
- Notable musicians: Eric Clapton (guitar), Badfinger (acoustic guitars on My Sweet Lord)
- Album released: 27 November 1970
Frequently Asked Questions
What was recorded on 28 May 1970 at Abbey Road?
George Harrison recorded three songs for All Things Must Pass: Wah-Wah (3 takes), My Sweet Lord (16 takes), and I’d Have You Anytime (6 takes). It was the first session to feature a full band line-up.
Who played on the 28 May 1970 session?
Eric Clapton was on guitar. Badfinger contributed four acoustic guitars on My Sweet Lord. Precise full line-ups were not documented for all tracks.
What is Wah-Wah about?
Wah-Wah was written by Harrison on the day he walked out of the Get Back sessions in January 1969. The title refers both to the guitar pedal and to the headache — the “wah-wah” — caused by the tensions within the Beatles. It opens All Things Must Pass.
Who co-wrote I’d Have You Anytime?
I’d Have You Anytime was co-written by George Harrison and Bob Dylan during Harrison’s visit to Dylan’s home in Woodstock in November 1968. Dylan contributed the opening lines; Harrison shaped the melody.
What happened with My Sweet Lord and plagiarism?
In 1976, a court ruled that Harrison had “subconsciously” copied the melody of the Chiffons’ 1963 hit He’s So Fine. Harrison later wrote This Song about the experience. Despite the ruling, My Sweet Lord remains one of the most celebrated songs of his solo career.
When was All Things Must Pass released?
All Things Must Pass was released on 27 November 1970. It was a triple album — the first by a solo Beatle — and was widely acclaimed as a masterpiece, reaching number one in both the UK and the US.
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