| "Here Comes the Sun" | |
|---|---|
 Sheet music cover | |
| Song by the Beatles | |
| from the album Abbey Road | |
| Released | 26 September 1969 |
| Recorded | 7 July – 19 August 1969 |
| Studio | EMI, London |
| Genre | Folk-pop[1] · pop rock[2] |
| Length | 3:06 |
| Label | Apple |
| Songwriter(s) | George Harrison |
| Producer(s) | George Martin |
| Audio sample | |
| Music video | |
| "Here Comes the Sun" (2019 Mix) on YouTube | |
"Here Comes the Sun" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1969 album Abbey Road. It was written and sung by George Harrison, and is one of his best-known compositions. Harrison wrote the song in early 1969 at the country house of his friend Eric Clapton, where Harrison had chosen to play truant for the day to avoid attending a meeting at the Beatles' Apple Corps organisation. The lyrics reflect his relief at the arrival of spring and the temporary respite he was experiencing from the band's business affairs.
The Beatles recorded "Here Comes the Sun" at London's EMI Studios in July and August of 1969. Led by Harrison's acoustic guitar, the track features a Moog synthesiser, which he had introduced to the band's sound after acquiring an early model of the instrument in California. Reflecting the continued influence of Indian classical music on Harrison's writing, the composition includes several time signature changes.
"Here Comes the Sun" has received acclaim from music critics. Combined with his other contribution to Abbey Road, "Something", it gained for Harrison the level of recognition as a songwriter previously reserved for his bandmates John Lennon and Paul McCartney. "Here Comes the Sun" was the track used to promote the 50th anniversary reissue of Abbey Road in 2019. It peaked at number 3 on the US Billboard Hot Rock Songs chart at that time and has since been certified triple platinum for UK sales since 2010. As of 2021, it is the most streamed Beatles song on Spotify globally.[3]
Harrison played the song during many of his relatively rare live performances as a solo artist, including at the Concert for Bangladesh in 1971 with accompaniment by Pete Ham, and as a duet with Paul Simon during his appearance on Saturday Night Live in 1976. Richie Havens and Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel each had hit singles with "Here Comes the Sun" in the 1970s. Nina Simone, George Benson, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, Peter Tosh and Joe Brown are among the many other artists who have covered the song.
- ^ "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. 31 May 2012. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
- ^ Cohodas 2010, p. 254.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Light/Esquirewas invoked but never defined (see the help page).