Welcome to the second installment in our three-part blog series celebrating Bard & The Beatles. Our upcoming production of As You Like It features over two-dozen songs by the Fab Four, and we’re looking forward to the coming summer when we’ll all be enjoying Beatles music on the BMO Mainstage!
“It seems as if winter in England goes on forever, by the time spring comes you really deserve it.”
George Harrison said this about the inspiration for one of his most famous Beatles compositions, Here Comes The Sun, although it sounds an awful lot like something one might say about Vancouver.
The story goes that one day in April 1969, Harrison decided to skip his scheduled meetings at Apple Records and instead went to Eric Clapton’s house, where he came up with the song while wandering the garden with one of Clapton’s acoustic guitars. “The relief of not having to go see all those dopey accountants was wonderful,” Harrison would say later about the day.
The song was recorded in July and August of that year, with John Lennon notably absent as he was recovering from a car crash. It would come out as the first song on the second side of the Abbey Road album that autumn, and it helped to elevate Harrison’s status as a composer worthy of a place alongside Lennon and McCartney.
Here Comes The Sun has appeared on many critics’ and fans’ lists of The Beatles’ best recordings, and has been covered by an array of artists, including Booker T & the M.G.’s, Peter Tosh, Nina Simone, Sheryl Crow and Paul Simon. You can hear Paul Simon perform Here Comes The Sun with George Harrison here.
We can’t wait to see what our Mainstage Company does with this tune – not to mention a cavalcade of other classic Beatles songs in As You Like It.
Remember to check back in a week for the third and final chapter in our series celebrating Bard & The Beatles – featuring a surprising performance you won’t want to miss!
Guest Post Author: Brian Cochrane, Bard Volunteer Coordinator