The Beatles - While My Guitar Gently Weeps - The Beatles [White Album] [Stereo Remastered] - 2009

All sound recording and images are copyrighted by their respective copyright owners. Copyright: Apple Corps Ltd., EMI Records Ltd., Parlophone (UK), Capitol Records (USA) Members: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr Writer: George Harrison Producer: George Martin Original Album Released: November,22 1968 The Beatles Official Web Page: http://www.thebeatles.com/ EMI Music: http://www.emimusic.com/ Parlophone Records: http://www.parlophone.co.uk/ Capitol Records: http://www.capitolrecords.com/ "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" is a song written by George Harrison of The Beatles for their double album The Beatles (also known as The White Album). The song was ranked #135 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time and #7 on their list of the 100 greatest guitar songs of all time. Composition and recording: Inspiration for the song came to Harrison when reading the I Ching, which, as he put it, "seemed to me to be based on the Eastern concept that everything is relative to everything else...opposed to the Western view that things are merely coincidental." Taking this idea of relativism to his parents home in northern England, Harrison committed to write a song based on the first words he saw upon opening a random book. Those words were gently weeps, and he immediately began the song. The initial incarnation was not final, as Harrison said: "Some of the words to the song were changed before I finally recorded it. A demo recorded at George's home in Esher includes an unused verse: "I look at the trouble and see that it's raging, While my guitar gently weeps. As I'm sitting here, doing nothing but aging, Still, my guitar gently weeps." As well as an unused line in the very beginning: "The problems you serve, are the troubles you're reaping, Still, my guitar gently weeps." This line was eventually omitted in favor of the one appearing on The Beatles. An early acoustic guitar/organ take of the song, released on Anthology 3 and also used as the basis of the Love remix, featured a slightly different third verse: "I look from the wings at the play you are staging, While my guitar gently weeps. As I'm sitting here, doing nothing but aging, Still, my guitar gently weeps." The band recorded the song several times, including a version with a backward guitar solo (as Harrison had done for "I'm Only Sleeping" on Revolver), but Harrison was not satisfied. On 6 September 1968, during a ride from Surrey into London, Harrison asked Eric Clapton to add a lead guitar solo to the song. Clapton was reluctant—he said, "Nobody ever plays on the Beatles' records"—but Harrison convinced him and Clapton's solo was recorded that evening. Harrison later said that in addition to his solo, Clapton's presence had another effect on the band: "It made them all try a bit harder; they were all on their best behaviour." Album: The Beatles is the ninth official British album and the fifteenth American album by The Beatles, a double album released in 1968. It is commonly known as The White Album as it has no graphics or text other than the band's name (and, on the early LP and CD releases, a serial number) on its plain white sleeve. The album was the first the Beatles undertook following the death of their manager, Brian Epstein, and the first released by their own record label, Apple. Originally entitled A Doll's House, the title was changed when the British progressive rock band Family released the similarly titled Music in a Doll's House earlier that year. The Beatles was written and recorded during a period of turmoil for the group. After visiting the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in India and having a particularly productive songwriting session in early 1968, the group returned to the studio for recording from May to October 1968, only to have conflict and dissent drive the group members apart. Drummer Ringo Starr quit the band for a brief time, leaving bassist Paul McCartney to perform drums on some of the album's songs. Upon release in November 1968, the album received mixed to positive reviews and reached the number one spot on the charts in the United Kingdom and United States. The album is notable for the eclectic nature of its songs, which has divided critics in evaluating the album's legacy. In 2003, the album was ranked number 10 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beatles_%28album%29