Remember When George Harrison Flourished as a Songwriter on a New Beatles Album in 1965?

The album Help! doesn’t receive the same kind of attention as some of the other albums in The Beatles’ catalog. Most people think of it as a transitional LP, caught between the exuberance of their early years and the musical ambition of the second half of their recording career.

Very subtly, one impactful development came to the fore on Help! George Harrison, previously reluctant as a writer, stepped forward with two excellent compositions to foreshadow his increasing involvement in that area.

The Reluctant Composer

Before The Beatles even officially formed, John Lennon and Paul McCartney had begun writing songs. Thus, they had a head start in that department when the band did come together. They hit the ground running with the Lennon/McCartney writing partnership as soon as the band started to record.

That made it hard for George Harrison to get started in that department. Harrison was a few years younger than the other two, which put him at somewhat of a disadvantage when it came to presenting his material. But he nonetheless decided to try his hand at writing a song, practically forcing himself to do it.

The song that he wrote, “Don’t Bother Me”, appeared on With The Beatles, the group’s sophomore LP, in 1963. Its prickly nature reflected the fact that Harrison wrote it when he was under the weather. And then it took him a while to pick up the songwriting thread again.

Songwriting ‘Help!’ on the Way

Throughout 1964, an extremely productive and influential year for The Beatles, George Harrison delivered nothing in the way of original material. Considering the fact that Lennon and McCartney wrote every one of the songs on the landmark A Hard Day’s Night album, it seemed possible that he wouldn’t ever be called upon to write again.

But when 1965 dawned, Harrison suddenly found his writing stride. The Help! album offered him the chance to show that side of his personality. Considering how little he’d written up to that point, it was almost shocking to see the sudden surge.

After coming up with just one writing credit prior to Help!, Harrison wrote and sang lead on two of the album’s tracks. But it was more than just the sudden quantity of material that opened people’s eyes (and ears) to his talent. It was the quality of those two songs that hinted at what Harrison was about to become.

“Like” and “Need”

Harrison penned “You Like Me Too Much”, a mid-tempo number with an honest point of view that likely reflected how girls reacted to a Beatle. Even better was “I Need You”. The yearning melody allowed for Harrison to deliver some heartfelt, urgent lyrics about trying to secure the love of his life.

Neither of the songs was chosen as a single. A few more years would pass before Lennon and McCartney would tighten their grip on that particular honor. Nonetheless, the two tracks set an important precedent going forward for The Beatles.

Never again would one of their albums arrive without Harrison participating in the writing. Considering that he’d eventually rival Lennon and McCartney in terms of the quality of the songs, Help! represented a crucial turning point for the band.

(Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

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