How George Harrison Used the Extremely-Difficult-to-Master Moog Synthesizer on ‘Here Comes the Sun’
“Here Comes the Sun” is one of the most popular Beatles songs, written primarily by guitarist George Harrison for Abbey Road. Here’s what we know about one of the instruments used for this song and why it was particularly difficult for Harrison to use.
George Harrison of The Beatles wrote ‘Here Comes the Sun’ from ‘Abbey Road’
Along with John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr, Harrison performed original songs for the Beatles. In addition to appearing as the lead guitarist, Harrison is the mastermind behind “Here Comes the Sun” off Abbey Road.
“Little darling / I feel that ice is slowly melting,” the lyrics state. “Little darling / It seems like years since it’s been clear.”
The artist wrote this song while looking at Eric Clapton’s garden, sharing his perspective on a spring day in England.
“It seems as if winter in England goes on forever; by the time spring comes, you really deserve it,” Harrison wrote in Anthology. “So one day, I decided I was going to sag off Apple, and I went over to Eric Clapton’s house.”
“The relief of not having to go and see all those dopey accountants was wonderful,” he continued, “and I walked around the garden with one of Eric’s acoustic guitars and wrote ‘Here Comes The Sun.’”
George Harrison used a MOOG Synthesizer for ‘Here Comes the Sun’
This song featured an original guitar part for “Here Comes the Sun,” including some innovative instruments at the time.
Harrison was one of the first musicians to use a MOOG synthesizer in the UK. According to The Holly Hobs, without written instructions, Harrison had to “fuss around” with the instrument to get his desired sounds.
“I had to have mine specially made because Mr. Moog had only just invented it,” Harrison said in Anthology. “It was enormous with hundreds of jack plugs and two keyboards, but it was one thing having one and another trying to make it work. There wasn’t an instruction manual, and even if there had been, it probably would’ve been a couple of thousand pages long.”
“I don’t think even Mr. Moog knew how to get music out of it,” he continued. “It was more of a technical thing when you listen to the sounds on songs like ‘Here Comes the Sun,’ it does do some good things, but they’re all very kind of infant sounds.”
Even decades later, MOOG synthesizers remain available for purchase at select music retailers.
George Harrison wrote other original songs, including ‘I Me Mine’
Harrison released music as a solo artist, with his first original, “Don’t Bother Me,” featured on With the Beatles. Additionally, the guitarist wrote and released “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” “You Like Me too Much,” “Taxman,” and “I Me Mine.” Music by Harrison and the Beatles is available on most major streaming platforms.
