Song: My Sweet Lord
Original artist: George Harrison
Artist: Billy Preston
Right from the off I should own up to the fact that saying George Harrison performed the
original version of this song is open to interpretation. Certainly, he wrote and recorded it,
but a version he co-produced for Apple label artist Billy Preston was actually issued on
the album ‘Encouraging Words’ in September 1970 two months ahead of Harrison’s
triple album ‘All Things Must Pass’ which contained the track.
One thing that’s not in doubt, however, is that Harrison had the bigger hit with the song.
In 1971his version was the biggest-selling single in the UK. By then the Beatles had
broken up and Harrison’s was the first song by an ex-Beatle to reach No 1.
Among the backing musicians on the track were Eric Clapton and Ringo Starr. Both also
feature in the video below of Billy Preston’s rendition. Sadly, the video forms part of the
2002 Royal Albert Hall ‘Concert for George’ which was staged in appreciation of
Harrison following his death in November 2001 at the age of just 58.
My Sweet Lord encountered controversy in February 1971 when the track was the
subject of a copyright infringement claim. It was said that Harrison’s track had copied a
song ‘He’s So Fine’ which had been a hit for an all-female group called The Chiffons
(see below). The court case rumbled on for decades before finally being resolved. At
one stage a judge decided that the songs were the same “but with different words”
adding that he doubted that Harrison had deliberately copied it. Evaluate for yourself…
CHECK OUT MORE OF MY COVER VERSIONS https://bkk1radio.com/2025/11/20/unchained-melody/
