| "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" | |
|---|---|
 Cover of the Apple Publishing sheet music | |
| Song by the Beatles | |
| from the album The Beatles | |
| Released | 22 November 1968 |
| Recorded | 5–6 September 1968[1] |
| Studio | EMI, London |
| Genre | |
| Length | 4:46 |
| Label | Apple |
| Songwriter(s) | George Harrison |
| Producer(s) | George Martin |
| Audio sample | |
| Music video | |
| "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" on YouTube | |
"While My Guitar Gently Weeps" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1968 double album The Beatles (also known as the "White Album"). It was written by George Harrison, the band's lead guitarist, as an exercise in randomness inspired by the Chinese I Ching. The song conveys his dismay at the world's unrealised potential for universal love, which he refers to as "the love there that's sleeping".
The song also serves as a comment on the disharmony within the Beatles after their return from studying Transcendental Meditation in India in early 1968. This lack of camaraderie was reflected in the band's initial apathy towards the composition, which Harrison countered by inviting his friend and occasional collaborator, Eric Clapton, to contribute to the recording. Clapton overdubbed a lead guitar part, although he was not formally credited for his contribution.[5] Harrison first recorded it with a sparse backing of acoustic guitar and harmonium – a version that appeared on the 1996 Anthology 3 outtakes compilation and, with the addition of a string arrangement by George Martin, on the Love soundtrack album in 2006. The full group recording was made in September 1968, at which point the song's folk-based musical arrangement was replaced by a production in the heavy rock style. The recording was one of several collaborations between Harrison and Clapton during the late 1960s and was followed by the pair co-writing the song "Badge" for Clapton's group Cream.
On release, the song received praise from several music critics, and it has since been recognised as an example of Harrison's maturing as a songwriter beside his Beatles bandmates John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Rolling Stone ranked "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" 135th on its list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time", seventh on the "100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time", and at number 10 on its list of "The Beatles 100 Greatest Songs". Clapton's performance was ranked 42nd in Guitar World's 2008 list of the "100 Greatest Guitar Solos". Harrison and Clapton often performed the song together live, during which they shared the lead guitar role over the closing section. Live versions featuring the pair were included on the Concert for Bangladesh album in 1971 and Live in Japan in 1992. Backed by a band that included McCartney and Ringo Starr, Clapton performed the song at the Concert for George in November 2002, a year after Harrison's death.
- ^ Lewisohn 2005, pp. 153–54.
- ^ MacDonald 2005, p. 300.
- ^ Riley 2002, p. 268.
- ^ Wyman, Bill (7 June 2017). "All 213 Beatles Songs, Ranked From Worst to Best". Vulture. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
- ^ Lewisohn 2005, p. 154.