All Things Must Pass

Song facts

From Wikipedia:

“All Things Must Pass” is a song by English musician George Harrison, issued in November 1970 as the title track to his triple album of the same name. Billy Preston released the song originally – as “All Things (Must) Pass” – on his Apple Records album Encouraging Words (1970), after the Beatles had rejected it for inclusion on their Let It Be album in January 1969. The composition reflects the influence of the Band’s sound and communal music-making on Harrison, after he had spent time with the group in Woodstock, New York, in late 1968, while Timothy Leary’s poem “All Things Pass“, a psychedelic adaptation of the Tao Te Ching, provided inspiration for his song lyrics.

The subject matter deals with the transient nature of human existence, and in Harrison’s All Things Must Pass reading, words and music combine to reflect impressions of optimism against fatalism. On release, together with Barry Feinstein’s album cover image, commentators viewed the song as a statement on the Beatles’ break-up. Widely regarded as one of Harrison’s finest compositions, its rejection by his former band has provoked comment from biographers and reviewers. Music critic Ian MacDonald described “All Things Must Pass” as “the wisest song never recorded by The Beatles“, while author Simon Leng considers it “perhaps the greatest solo Beatle composition“. The recording was co-produced by Phil Spector in London; it features an orchestral arrangement by John Barham and contributions from musicians such as Ringo Starr, Pete Drake, Bobby Whitlock, Eric Clapton and Klaus Voormann.

Although the Beatles failed to formally record the song, a 1969 solo demo by Harrison appears on their compilation Anthology 3 (1996). An early version from the All Things Must Pass sessions was released on Harrison’s posthumous compilation Early Takes: Volume 1 in 2012. Paul McCartney performed “All Things Must Pass” at the Concert for George tribute in November 2002, a year after Harrison’s death. Jim James, the Waterboys, Klaus Voormann and Yusuf Islam, and Sloan Wainwright are among the other artists who have covered the song. […]

Cover versions

Steve Wood and Daniel May composed music to the 1998 documentary film Everest incorporating melodies from some of George Harrison’s songs, one of which was “All Things Must Pass“. At the Concert for George tribute to Harrison, held at London’s Royal Albert Hall on 29 November 2002, Paul McCartney sang “All Things Must Pass“, backed by a large band that included Preston, Clapton, Voormann and Starr. Leng notes the irony in McCartney performing the song, while Beatles biographer Peter Doggett comments: “it wasn’t hard to imagine Harrison’s cynicism as McCartney led the band into a soulful rendition of ‘All Things Must Pass’ – one of the songs that the other Beatles had refused to take seriously in January 1969.” According to Clapton, author Robert Rodriguez writes, McCartney “was humbled at having to relearn it“. […]

From RollingStone, October 9, 2003:

On November 29th, 2002, exactly a year after his death, George Harrison was honored at London’s Royal Albert Hall. […]

For weeks, Harrison’s friends rehearsed at London’s Asylum Studios. Clapton was impressed with McCartney’s demeanor: “Those guys’ inability to express love for one another was classic,” he says of the Beatles. “The exception is Ringo, who says [in the film], ‘I love George, and George loved me.’ That wouldn’t have been so easy for Paul.”

McCartney shines, playing ukulele and duetting with Clapton on “Something,” and singing lead on “All Things Must Pass.” In rehearsals, says Clapton, “Paul had to admit that he didn’t know ‘All Things Must Pass,’ and that was an awful thing to confront. It was huge humble-pie stuff for Paul to be among these people who he may have thought had a better relationship with George than he did. But I believe Paul missed George as much as — if not more than — anybody.” […]

Last updated on April 28, 2017

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