George Harrison was terrified. He wasn’t scared of the charts or the critics; he was worried about the reaction to a pop song that dared to chant "Hare Krishna" next to "Hallelujah." It was 1970. The Beatles were over. While Paul was filing lawsuits and John was shouting about revolution, George was quietly crafting a triple-album masterpiece called All Things Must Pass. At the center of it was George Harrison My Sweet Lord, a song that would become both his greatest triumph and his longest legal nightmare.
It’s a gorgeous track. The slide guitar shimmers like sunlight on water.
But behind that lush Phil Spector "Wall of Sound" production lies a story of "subconscious plagiarism," a betrayal by a manager, and a musician who just wanted to talk to God without starting a fight. Honestly, if you listen to it today, you've probably heard the ghost of another song lurking in the background.
The Backstage Room in Copenhagen
Most people think the song was a calculated solo debut. It wasn't. In December 1969, George was on tour with Delaney & Bonnie and Friends. He was hiding out in an upstairs room during a press conference in Copenhagen, Denmark. Billy Preston was there. George started vamping chords on his guitar. He began alternating between "Hallelujah" and "Hare Krishna."
The goal? He wanted to show that they basically meant the same thing.
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George actually gave the song to Billy Preston first. Preston’s version is much more "gospel" and appeared on his album Encouraging Words. It wasn't until George got into the studio for his own sessions that he realized the song had the potential to be a massive hit. Phil Spector knew it immediately. George, ever the "quiet Beatle," was skeptical. He thought the religious themes would turn people off. He was wrong. It became the first number-one single by any former Beatle, topping charts from the US to the UK and beyond.
What Really Happened With the Plagiarism Lawsuit
Then came the lawyers. In 1971, Bright Tunes Music Corporation filed a suit claiming that George Harrison My Sweet Lord was a rip-off of "He's So Fine," a 1963 hit by the girl group The Chiffons. If you hum them side-by-side, the similarity is hard to ignore.
The court case became legendary.
It wasn't just about the notes; it was about the concept of "unconscious plagiarism." Judge Richard Owen, who was actually a semi-pro musician himself, spent days analyzing "Motif A" (G-E-D) and "Motif B" (G-A-C-A-C). He eventually ruled that while Harrison didn't intend to steal the song, he had clearly used the same melodic kernels.
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The Manager Who Swapped Sides
The drama didn't end with a simple ruling. Allen Klein, the former manager of the Beatles, did something truly bizarre. While he was supposedly representing George, he went behind his back and bought Bright Tunes—the company suing his own client.
Suddenly, George’s former manager was the one trying to squeeze him for every penny of the royalties.
It took decades to settle. In the end, after various appeals and a whole lot of bad blood, George basically ended up owning the rights to "He's So Fine" in certain territories just to settle the mess. He even wrote a song about the whole ordeal called "This Song," which poked fun at the legal absurdity. It's a bit of a "sweet revenge" moment in music history.
Why the Song Still Matters
Why do we still play George Harrison My Sweet Lord on every classic rock station fifty years later? It’s not just the controversy. It’s the feeling.
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Harrison’s slide guitar technique is unique here. He didn't play like a bluesman; he played like a singer. He used a capo on the second fret for the recording, though he often ditched it for live performances later in his career. The song modulates up a major second in the middle, giving it this incredible emotional lift that "He's So Fine" never had.
- The Message: It was a "mantra" disguised as a pop song.
- The Production: 16-bit acoustic guitars layered to sound like a single, massive instrument.
- The Legacy: It remains the most-played Apple Records track of the 21st century—beating out "Hey Jude" and "Let It Be."
The Chiffons eventually recorded their own version of "My Sweet Lord" in 1975. They weren't being nice; they were trying to bolster their legal case. It’s a strange, circular bit of history. George later said in his autobiography, I, Me, Mine, that he didn't feel guilty about the song because he felt it was a gift that came through him, not necessarily from him.
To get that classic George Harrison sound at home, you’ll want to focus on the slide guitar intonation rather than just the notes. Use a glass or chrome slide and aim for a "vocal" vibrato. If you're looking to dive deeper into the legalities of music, research the "Bright Tunes Music v. Harrisongs Music" case—it’s the blueprint for modern copyright battles like those involving Ed Sheeran or Robin Thicke. For the best listening experience, find the 50th-anniversary remix of All Things Must Pass; the clarity on the acoustic layers is far superior to the original 1970 muddy mix.