I recently got a two month free trial of XM radio in my car, and I have to say if I’m not listening to a book on tape, I have The Beatles channel on. The Beatles are by far my number one band. I think there’s a Beatles song for every occasion. They grew so much as musicians while they were together, and you can really hear the changes between their early, middle, and late albums.

Usually people debate who the “best” Beatle was. They are usually choosing John or Paul. Most people feel that one of these two Beatles wrote the best songs for the group, and had the best music in their solo career. To which I have to strongly disagree.

My vote goes to George. Both with The Beatles and in his post-Beatles career. Don’t get me wrong – I enjoy John’s solo work. But for me, George’s music just hits that right chord. Since I’m on a Beatles kick, I thought it would be fun to look at some of George’s music this week.

Here Comes the Sun by The Beatles

The Beatles have so many great tunes, but this one is my favorite. And it happens to be written and sung by George. This live (post-Beatles) version of just George and his guitar is just as beautiful.

Got My Mind Set on You by George Harrison

My dad was a huge music fan, and I grew up listening to great bands, especially The Beatles. One day in 1987 I told my dad I had heard a great new artist on the radio and I needed to get his album. He asked me his name, and I told him, “George Harrison.” He thought that was hilarious and couldn’t stop laughing. With tears in his eyes he let me know that George Harrison had in fact been around for a long time. To be fair, I was 12, and we were living in the age of Madonna and Prince. I just thought they were John, Paul, George, and Ringo. No last names needed if you’re a Beatle.

Anyway, this was the first solo song that I heard from George. I liked it then, and I still like it now. (And what a classic ’80s-style video!)

Handle With Care by Traveling Wilburys

Can you imagine just calling up your friends Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison, and Bob Dylan to hang out for a few days and make a record? George did, and the (supergroup) Traveling Wilburys were born. If you haven’t listened to the album, check out Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1.

Bonus Track #1: Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let it Roll) by George Harrison

George’s son Dhani did an excellent cover of this song (Jonathan Bates sang while Dhani played guitar and did backup vocals) for George Fest. You can listen to his cover here.

Bonus Track #2: Got My Mind Set on You (Version II)

I didn’t realize there were two versions of this video. This one cracks me up. I like the squirrel at the end.

Final Bonus (I Swear!): George Harrison & Ukuleles

I’ve posted this before, but this is my favorite story I’ve ever heard about George Harrison. “Well, you never know when we might need them, because everybody doesn’t carry one around.”

As you’ve probably gathered by now, I love George. I could post so many of his tracks. Such a great artist, and from everything I’ve seen about him, he was a wonderful person. I’ll have to do another post with more of his tunes sometime.

Happy Monday!

Rules from Lauren:
Every Monday share one or two of songs you’ve been enjoying lately.  It doesn’t have to be a specific genre, new, or one of your favorites – just something you’d like to share with others.  If possible, share a music or lyric video of the song and your thoughts on the song(s), artist(s), and/or music video(s).

If you would like to participate in Music Monday, please join the link up by sharing your post’s url over at this week’s post on Always Me.