Apple Scruffs (song)

"Apple Scruffs"
US picture sleeve
Single by George Harrison
from the album All Things Must Pass
A-side	"What Is Life"
Released	15 February 1971 (US)
Genre	Folk pop[1]
Length	3:04
Label	Apple
Songwriter(s)	George Harrison
Producer(s)	George Harrison, Phil Spector
George Harrison singles chronology
"My Sweet Lord" / "Isn't It a Pity" (1970) "What Is Life" / "Apple Scruffs" (1971) "Bangla Desh" (1971)

"Apple Scruffs" is a song by English rock musician George Harrison from his 1970 triple album All Things Must Pass. He wrote it as a tribute to the die-hard Beatles fans known as Apple scruffs, who used to wait outside the Apple Corps building and other London locations for a glimpse of the band members. This tradition continued after the group's break-up in April 1970, as the scruffs were a regular presence outside the studios where Harrison recorded his album. The song was also issued on the album's second single, as the B-side to "What Is Life".

Harrison recorded "Apple Scruffs" in the style of Bob Dylan, playing acoustic guitar and harmonica on the basic track. As such, the song is a departure from the big sound synonymous with All Things Must Pass. In his lyrics, Harrison expresses gratitude for the scruffs' support, states his love for them, and acknowledges that outsiders misunderstand their devotion. Harrison invited the scruffs into EMI Studios to hear the finished recording.

A popular track on radio and with several music critics, it was listed with the A-side on some singles charts in Australia and the United States. Some writers have commented on the song's significance in light of John Lennon's murder in 1980 and the attempted murder of Harrison in 1999, both at the hands of individuals obsessed with the Beatles, and in the context of the latter-day cult of celebrity.