George Harrison Deemed Guilty of Subconsciously Plagiarizing “My Sweet Lord”

Shortly after the Beatles disbanded in 1970, George Harrison was already deep into creating his third album, signaling both a nostalgic retreat into past influences and a fresh beginning as a solo artist. His triple album, All Things Must Pass, was his first major work post-Beatles and garnered considerable success, reaching No. 1 worldwide, including in the UK and on the Billboard 200 chart.

The first single from All Things Must Pass, “My Sweet Lord,” was released alongside the B-side track “What Is Life” and quickly became a hit, topping charts and earning Harrison his first No. 1 single as a solo artist. However, despite this triumph, Harrison soon found himself embroiled in a legal dispute over allegations that he had plagiarized a 1960s hit song.

Months after the release of “My Sweet Lord,” Bright Tunes Music filed a lawsuit against Harrison in 1971. They alleged that the song infringed the copyright of “He’s So Fine,” a 1963 hit penned by Ronnie Mack and performed by the Chiffons. Bright Tunes argued that “My Sweet Lord” bore too much resemblance to “He’s So Fine,” asserting that Harrison had “subconsciously plagiarized” the track.

Even John Lennon, Harrison’s former Beatles bandmate, echoed these sentiments. In All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Lennon stated, “Well, he [Harrison] walked right into it. He knew what he was doing. He must have known, you know, he’s smarter than that.”

Harrison, however, claimed that he had not consciously referenced the Chiffons’ hit. Instead, he pointed to the Christian hymn “Oh Happy Day,” performed by the Edwin Hawkins Singers, as his inspiration for “My Sweet Lord.”

The lawsuit was initially settled on August 31, 1976. The court concluded that while Harrison didn’t deliberately copy “He’s So Fine,” he was guilty of “subconscious plagiarism.” The situation grew more complicated by February 1981. Allen Klein, the former manager of the Beatles, who had parted ways with Harrison, Lennon, and Ringo Starr in 1973, became a plaintiff in the case after purchasing Bright Tunes Music through his company ABKCO Music and Records in 1978.

Litigation continued for another decade, culminating in Harrison being ordered to pay ABKCO $587,000. The settlement also awarded Harrison the rights to “He’s So Fine” in North America and the UK, while Klein retained the rights to the song in other regions.

“My Sweet Lord” was a song of deep personal significance to Harrison. It encompassed his Eastern spiritual studies while blending the Catholic call of allegiance, “Hallelujah,” with the Hindu mantra “Hare Krishna,” which Harrison viewed as being quite similar.

“First, it’s simple,” said Harrison in the 2011 documentary The Material World. “The thing about a mantra, you see, mantras are, well, they call it a mystical sound vibration encased in a syllable. It has this power within it. It’s just hypnotic.”

My sweet Lord
My Lord
Mmm, my Lord
I really want to see you
Really want to be with you
Really want to see you, Lord
But it takes so long, my Lord
My sweet Lord
My Lord
My Lord
I really want to know you
Really want to go with you
Really want to show you, Lord
But it won’t take long, my Lord (Hallelujah)

Before “My Sweet Lord” was released, Harrison had shared it with Billy Preston, an artist on Apple Records, who recorded it for his 1970 album Encouraging Words, which Harrison co-produced.

Over the years, a multitude of artists, including Nina Simone, Aretha Franklin, Johnny Mathis, Peggy Lee, Julio Iglesias, Brian Wilson, Richie Havens, Boy George, and the Chiffons themselves, have covered “My Sweet Lord.” Interestingly, the Chiffons released their rendition of the song in 1975, amid the legal proceedings.

Harrison continued to persevere musically, even amidst the legal battles over “My Sweet Lord.” He performed the song at the Concert for Bangladesh in August 1971 and produced four more albums during the early litigation period: Living in the Material World (1973), Dark Horse (1974), Extra Texture (Read All About It) (1975), and Thirty Three & 1/3 (1976).

Though the legal challenges surrounding “My Sweet Lord” were demanding, Harrison took them in stride. The song remains one of the most beloved solo works by a Beatle, consistently holding a special place in Harrison’s heart.

“I don’t feel bad or guilty about it,” Harrison reflected on “My Sweet Lord” in his 1980 memoir I Me Mine. “I wasn’t consciously aware of the similarity to ‘He’s So Fine.’ When I wrote the song it was more improvised and not fixed.”

Harrison added, “It saved many a heroin addict’s life. I know the motive behind writing the song in the first place far exceeds the legal hassle.”

Photo: George Harrison performing on stage playing his Fender Stratocaster during his ‘Dark Horse Tour’ in North America. (Steve Morley/Redferns/Getty Images)

Source: Particle News,