WOODSHED / MASTHEAD

AS I WROTE on page 41, we reached out to a lot of guitarists, asking them to choose the songs that feature George Harrison’s greatest Beatles-era guitar solos, riffs and more. At first, the results were a little disappointing; several artists declined to be involved, adding that they really didn’t know enough about the topic (Not that there’s anything wrong with that!). Some artists chose solo-era Harrison songs, which (frankly) didn’t help me at all or give me much hope for the finished product. Some artists even chose songs on which Paul McCartney or John Lennon played the guitar parts described in their answers. But, as you can see when reading the 14-page feature that starts on page 40, things turned around eventually, and we got some truly great answers — everything from a few pithy words about “Dig a Pony” (Greg Koch) or “Help!” (Andy Summers) to full-on ripping yarns about “Baby’s in Black” (Paul Gilbert). We also appreciate the priceless essays by Kim Thayil, Joe Perry, Nuno Bettencourt and more.

Back to the point, I guess the early confusion just shows that, even though the Beatles were (and still are) probably the most popular and/or famous band of all time, there’s a decent amount of lingering mystery over who played exactly which guitar part on exactly which guitar. This is something Guitar World Associate Editor Chris Gill discusses in this issue’s installment of Tonal Recall (page 110), where he tackles Harrison’s “Hey Bulldog” gear and tone. (And speaking of “Hey Bulldog,” it’s interesting that no one chose that guitar solo as a George favorite — or Harrison’s Leslie-fortified solo on “Old Brown Shoe” — or the “A Hard Day’s Night” solo.) And speaking of GW editors and the Beatles, be sure to check out Fab Fools: The Last Untold Story of the Beatles, the latest book by GW Production Editor Jem Roberts!