1969 Classic, a No. 1 Hit, Named Among Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time - And It Still Rocks
George Harrison sits in the pantheon of the greatest guitarists of all time. Rolling Stone put him at No. 31 in a list of the 250 greatest guitarists thanks to his otherworldly talent.
His greatness was displayed on the Beatles' 1969 hit Something, which Rolling Stone ranked as the No. 32 greatest guitar solo of all time.
"All it takes is 26 seconds of sweet, low-gain distortion - played by the guitar maestro himself, George Harrison, in tones more akin to a piano - to make one of the most dynamic and memorable solos of the Beatles canon. Complemented by swelling strings, Something is, well, something in its surprising simplicity," Rolling Stone wrote.
While his guitar playing is the stuff of legend, Harrison finally found a songwriting win when he broke through with Something.
George Harrison Finally Finds a Win
Harrison was stuck behind two of the greatest pop songwriters in history who just so happened to be in the same band as him. But he finally broke through with Something.
"George's material wasn't really paid all that much attention to - to such an extent that he asked me to stay behind after [everyone else had gone]," said engineer Glyn Johns, who recorded the song's demo. "He was terribly nice, as if he was imposing on me. And then he plays this song that just completely blows me away."
Even legendary writer Bob Dylan knew Harrison was something special well before he finally received acclaim for the 1969 hit.
"George got stuck with being the Beatle that had to fight to get songs on records because of Lennon and McCartney. Well, who wouldn't get stuck? If George had had his own group and was writing his own songs back then, he'd have been probably just as big as anybody," he said in a 2007 interview.
The song went on to become a No. 1 hit on the Billboard charts.
Related: One of the Greatest Drum Solos of All Time Belongs to 1966 Hit - And It Still Hits
This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jun 22, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
2026 The Arena Group Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved.
This story was originally published June 21, 2026 at 8:57 PM.