What Is Life: Difference between revisions
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|align="left"|[[Swiss Music Charts|Swiss Singles Chart]]<ref name="chchart">{{cite web|title= George Harrison - What Is Life - hitparade.ch|publisher=[[Swiss Music Charts]]|url=http://hitparade.ch/showitem.asp?interpret=George+Harrison&titel=What+Is+Life&cat=s|accessdate=2009-08-26}}</ref> |
|align="left"|[[Swiss Music Charts|Swiss Singles Chart]]<ref name="chchart">{{cite web|title= George Harrison - What Is Life - hitparade.ch|publisher=[[Swiss Music Charts]]|url=http://hitparade.ch/showitem.asp?interpret=George+Harrison&titel=What+Is+Life&cat=s|accessdate=2009-08-26}}</ref> |
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|Belgian Singles Chart<ref name="bechart71">{{cite web|title= Song Years Chart - Tsort pages|publisher=|url=http://tsort.info/music/years0.htm|accessdate=5 March 2012}}</ref> |
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|align="left"|Dutch Singles Chart<ref name="nlchart">{{cite web|title= dutchcharts.nl - George Harrison - What Is Life|publisher=[[MegaCharts]]|url=http://austriancharts.at/showitem.asp?interpret=George+Harrison&titel=What+Is+Life&cat=s|accessdate=2009-08-26}}</ref> |
|align="left"|Dutch Singles Chart<ref name="nlchart">{{cite web|title= dutchcharts.nl - George Harrison - What Is Life|publisher=[[MegaCharts]]|url=http://austriancharts.at/showitem.asp?interpret=George+Harrison&titel=What+Is+Life&cat=s|accessdate=2009-08-26}}</ref> |
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|Canadian [[RPM (magazine)|''RPM 100'']] Singles Chart<ref name=>{{cite web|title= Library and Archives Canada|publisher=|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?brws_s=1&file_num=nlc008388.5229&type=2&interval=24&PHPSESSID=tflvluuu3gmgse7n7epkm834m4|accessdate=5 March 2012}}</ref> |
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|South African Springbok Singles Chart<ref name="saspringbokchart71">{{cite web|title= Song Years Chart - Tsort pages|publisher=|url=http://tsort.info/music/years0.htm|accessdate=5 March 2012}}</ref> |
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|align="left"|Austrian Singles Chart<ref name="atchart">{{cite web|title= George Harrison - What Is Life - austriancharts.at|publisher=[[Ö3 Austria Top 40]]|url=http://austriancharts.at/showitem.asp?interpret=George+Harrison&titel=What+Is+Life&cat=s|accessdate=2009-08-26}}</ref> |
|align="left"|Austrian Singles Chart<ref name="atchart">{{cite web|title= George Harrison - What Is Life - austriancharts.at|publisher=[[Ö3 Austria Top 40]]|url=http://austriancharts.at/showitem.asp?interpret=George+Harrison&titel=What+Is+Life&cat=s|accessdate=2009-08-26}}</ref> |
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Revision as of 23:16, 4 March 2012
| "What Is Life" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| A-side | "My Sweet Lord" (UK) |
| B-side | "Apple Scruffs" (except UK) |
"What Is Life" is a song by George Harrison released on his 1970 solo album All Things Must Pass. In many countries, it was issued as a second single from the album, in February 1971, becoming a top 10 hit in the United States and a European number 1. In the United Kingdom, "What Is Life" appeared as the B-side to "My Sweet Lord". The song was originally intended for Harrison's friend and Apple Records protege Billy Preston.
Writing and recording
"What Is Life" was written "very quickly" in mid 1969, while Harrison was driving from his home in Surrey up to a London studio,[1][2] where he was producing Billy Preston's first release for Apple, That's the Way God Planned It.[3] Thinking it would be a perfect, "catchy pop song" for Preston to record, he soon changed his mind once he'd arrived at Olympic Studios and found the singer busy working on more typical material − "playing his funky stuff".[4][2] Rather than attempt it with The Beatles during the band's Abbey Road sessions, Harrison stockpiled the track along with other unused songs from the period − "All Things Must Pass", "Let It Down", "Behind That Locked Door" and "Run of the Mill" among them[5] − and revisited it a year later, after completing work on Preston's Encouraging Words album.
Having recently worked with such bona fide soul artists as Doris Troy and Preston, as well as participating in the Delaney & Bonnie and Friends European tour with Eric Clapton in December 1969, Harrison was now well placed to record "What Is Life".[6] With Phil Spector co-producing the sessions at Trident Studios in London, and all the Friends team on hand, the song was taped during the summer of 1970 and earmarked for release as a single. The same core of musicians − Bobby Whitlock, Carl Radle, Jim Gordon, Bobby Keys and Jim Price − would similarly elevate other All Things Must Pass tracks such as "Awaiting on You All", "Art of Dying" and "Hear Me Lord".[7] In addition to the Friends' performances, John Barham's strings and Mike Gibbins' tambourine are important contributions on "What Is Life".
The song is defined by the opening fuzztone guitar riff, played in unison by Harrison and Clapton, which also serves as the motif for the chorus.[8] During the verses, drummer Gordon moves to a square, Motown-style rhythm before launching back into the more open, power pop chrous. A brief slide guitar commentary was overdubbed by Harrison in the final verse.[9]
Release
Backed by another album track, "Apple Scruffs", "What Is Life" was issued as a single in America on 15 February 1971 (as Apple 1828), just as "My Sweet Lord" was finally slipping out of the top 10.[10][11] At the end of March, "What Is Life" peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100,[12] making Harrison the first ex-Beatle to log two top 10 hits on that chart.[13] The single was issued in many other markets, climbing to number 1 in Switzerland[14] and reaching the top 3 elsewhere in Europe and in New Zealand.
In the US, the single's picture sleeve contained a photo of Harrison playing guitar inside the open window of a large old building, which could be a monastery. In fact, the building is the central tower of his (then) recently purchased mansion, Friar Park, in Henley-on-Thames. In Scandinavia, the sleeve had four pictures of Harrison, again with guitar, taken on stage during the Delaney & Bonnie tour.[15]
Reception
Although "What Is Life" is rarely viewed in the same critical light as "Isn't It a Pity", "My Sweet Lord", "All Things Must Pass", "Beware of Darkness" and other weightier compositions from All Things Must Pass, it is one of Harrison's most commercial and popular songs. Beatles biographer Alan Clayson describes it as a seemingly "lovey-dovey pop song" that "craftily renewed the simplistic tonic-to-dominant riff cliché".[16] Simon Leng credits Harrison for maximizing "his innate ability to write very fine pop-rock songs" and deems the result "as innovative an exercise in rock-soul as The Temptations' "Cloud Nine"'.[17] Allmusic's Richie Unterberger praises the song for its guitar hook, "anthemic" chorus and "particularly snazzy horn lines", and he notes how even an apparently straightforward love song such as this could actually be Harrison addressing God.[9]
In 2010, AOL Radio listeners chose "What Is Life" as one of the "10 Best George Harrison Songs", placing it in third place on the list.[18]
Re-releases and other versions
"What Is Life" was included on the 1976 compilation The Best of George Harrison as well as 2009's Let It Roll: Songs by George Harrison. The song has also been featured in a number of movies: Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas (1990), during the "May 11th, 1980" sequence; Tom Shadyac's Patch Adams (1998); and, most recently, Sam Mendes' Away We Go (2009).
A live version, recorded with Eric Clapton and his band in December 1991, is available on 1992's Live in Japan album. Part of a concert performance of "What Is Life" from Harrison's 1974 North American tour is included in Scorsese's George Harrison: Living in the Material World documentary.
An alternative studio version − in fact, a rough mix of the original backing track with different orchestration (in this case, piccolo trumpet and oboe) − was issued as one of five bonus tracks with the 2001 remaster of All Things Must Pass. In the accompanying booklet, Harrison explains that this orchestral arrangement was discarded because he "didn't like the feel".
Personnel
The following musicians are believed to have played on "What Is Life":[19][9][2]
- George Harrison - vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, slide guitar, backing vocals
- Eric Clapton - electric guitar
- Dave Mason - electric guitar
- Bobby Whitlock - organ
- Carl Radle - bass
- Jim Gordon - drums
- Bobby Keys - saxophone
- Jim Price - trumpet
- Pete Ham - acoustic guitar
- Tom Evans - acoustic guitar
- Joey Molland - acoustic guitar
- Mike Gibbins - tambourine
- John Barham - string arrangement
Cover versions
- Ronnie Aldrich, British easy listening pianist, covered "What Is Life" (as well as "My Sweet Lord") on his 1971 album Love Story.
- German studio trio The Discothèques made the Swedish charts with their version in the winter of 1972.
- Australian pop singer Olivia Newton-John's cover reached the UK top 20 and made the US Adult Contemporary singles chart in 1972. (Her previous single, a number 25 hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 in late 1971, was "If Not For You", based on the Harrison arrangement from All Things Must Pass rather than Dylan's.) Newton-John's "What Is Life" also appeared on the 1972 album Olivia, which included her version of another Harrison song, "Behind That Locked Door".
- Nicola Sirkis covered "What Is Life" in 1992 on the Dans La Lune ... album.
- A version by Shawn Mullins was released as a single in 1997 and is played over the closing credits of the 1999 Adam Sandler movie Big Daddy.
- Les Fradkin included a cover of "What Is Life" on his 2005 tribute CD Something for George.
Chart positions
George Harrison version
| Chart (1971) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Swiss Singles Chart[20] | 1 |
| Belgian Singles Chart[21] | 2 |
| Dutch Singles Chart[22] | 2 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 2 |
| Canadian RPM 100 Singles Chart[23] | 3 |
| German Singles Chart | 3 |
| South African Springbok Singles Chart[24] | 4 |
| Austrian Singles Chart[25] | 5 |
| Norwegian VG-lista Singles Chart[26] | 7 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[27] | 10 |
| Japanese Oricon Singles Chart[28] | 19 |
Olivia Newton-John version
| Chart (1972) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks | 34 |
| UK Singles Chart[29] | 16 |
References
- ^ George Harrison, I Me Mine, Chronicle Books (San Francisco, CA, 2002), p. 162.
- ^ a b c Spizer, Bruce (2005). The Beatles Solo on Apple Records. 498 Productions, L.L.C. p. 222. ISBN 0-9662649-5-9.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ Apple Records, "Encouraging Words", http://applerecords.com/#!/albums/Album_EncouragingWords (retrieved 16 February 2012).
- ^ Harrison, I Me Mine, p. 162.
- ^ The Editors of Rolling Stone, Harrison, Rolling Stone Press/Simon & Schuster (New York, NY, 2002), p. 187.
- ^ Simon Leng, While My Guitar Gently Weeps: The Music of George Harrison, Hal Leonard (Milwaukee, WI, 2006), p. 88.
- ^ Leng, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, pp 95−96, 97−98, 99.
- ^ Richie Unterberger, Review: What Is Life, http://www.allmusic.com/song/what-is-life-t743156 (retrieved 22 February 2012).
- ^ a b c Unterberger, Review: What Is Life, http://www.allmusic.com/song/what-is-life-t743156.
- ^ Harry Castleman & Walter J. Podrazik, All Together Now: The First Complete Beatles Discography 1961−1975, Ballantine Books (New York, NY, 1976), p. 99.
- ^ Keith Badham, The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After the Break-Up 1970−2001, Omnibus Press (London, 2002), p. 26.
- ^ Castleman & Podrazik, All Together Now, p. 352.
- ^ Spizer, Bruce (2005). The Beatles Solo on Apple Records. 498 Productions, L.L.C. p. 231. ISBN 0-9662649-5-9.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ Swiss Hit Parade, http://hitparade.ch/showitem.asp?interpret=George+Harrison&titel=What+Is+Life&cat=s (retrieved 21 February 2012.
- ^ Nicholas Schaffner, The Beatles Forever, McGraw-Hill (New York, NY, 1978), p. 142.
- ^ Alan Clayson, George Harrison, Sanctuary (London, 2003), p. 296.
- ^ Leng, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, p. 88.
- ^ [1] AOL, 2010.
- ^ Leng, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, p. 87.
- ^ "George Harrison - What Is Life - hitparade.ch". Swiss Music Charts. Retrieved 2009-08-26.
- ^ "Song Years Chart - Tsort pages". Retrieved 5 March 2012.
- ^ "dutchcharts.nl - George Harrison - What Is Life". MegaCharts. Retrieved 2009-08-26.
- ^ "Library and Archives Canada". Retrieved 5 March 2012.
- ^ "Song Years Chart - Tsort pages". Retrieved 5 March 2012.
- ^ "George Harrison - What Is Life - austriancharts.at". Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 2009-08-26.
- ^ "norwegiancharts.com George Harrison - What Is Life". VG-lista. Retrieved 2009-09-09.
- ^ "allmusic ((( All Things Must Pass > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles )))". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2009-08-26.
- ^ "George Harrison - Chart Archives on the Japanese Oricon Top 100". Homepage1.nifty.com. Retrieved 2009-04-23.
- ^ "Chart Stats Olivia Newton-John - What Is Life". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2009-09-09.
External links
- George Harrison - What Is Life at Graham Calkin's Beatles Pages
