Exploring George Harrison’s Secret Teamups and Collaborations

The Beatles achieved great success with numerous hits both as a collective and individually. From time to time, The group liked to have some fun by using humorous aliases and contributing to other bands’ songs. George Harrison did the same thing, and his fans might be surprised to find out that he secretly worked on several collaborations.

Cream featured George Harrison in “Badge”

Eric Clapton and George Harrison were an unexpected duo in the 1960s. Clapton actually joined forces with Harrison on The Beatles’ song “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” in 1968. The interesting part is that Clapton never admitted to collaborating on the song and didn’t ask for any credit.

Approximately a year later, Harrison played on Cream’s “Badge,” a song where his distinctive guitar style can be recognized. What many people don’t realize is that Harrison also co-wrote the song under the famous pseudonym L’Angelo Misterioso.

George Harrison Produced Splinter’s “Costafine Town”

Despite not being audible on the Splinter track, Harrison’s creative brilliance enabled him to work on it while being associated with Apple Records. In the 1970s, Harrison welcomed Splinter as the inaugural band to join his personal record label, Dark Horse Records. He produced their song “Costafine Town,” but had to keep it a secret because he was still under contract with Apple Records.

If you check the credits for the song, you’ll see three producers listed, but they’re actually all Harrison in disguise. He used funny names like Jai Raj Harrison, Hari Georgeson, and P. Producer (George), which are similar to his real name. Surprisingly, “Costafine Town” did really well on the charts and became a top 20 hit in England.

George Harrison Appeared on Billy Preston’s I Wrote a Simple Song

Billy Preston’s sixth album, I Wrote a Simple Song, got a sneaky boost from Harrison. Harrison, known for his unique guitar style, contributed his signature sound to Preston’s album, which dedicated fans may readily identify.

Harrison played guitar on most of the album’s songs, but he tried to be sneaky by using different names that were pretty obvious to anyone paying attention.

On the album, Harrison went by “George H.” and “Harry Georgeson,” which is just a fancy version of his producer alter ego on the song “Costafine Town.”

George Harrison Went by the Alias Nelson Wilbury in the Traveling Wilburys

Harrison’s involvement in The Traveling Wilburys is indeed fascinating. Alongside renowned musicians Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, and Roy Orbison, Harrison formed this iconic group.

What adds an interesting twist to their story is that it was Harrison who conceived the idea for the band and collaborated with Lynne to expand it into a five-member ensemble.

When they released their debut single, “Handle With Care,” the band members decided to inject some lightheartedness into the project. They opted to adopt different names within the band, allowing them to assume new identities while performing together.

For this purpose, Harrison chose the pseudonym Nelson Wilbury, thus concealing his true identity and adding an element of intrigue to their musical endeavor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftR2aFx2WPc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOqRifzDOsY