Although Peter Jackson’s documentary Get Back mainly highlights positive aspects of The Beatles‘ recording sessions, it also portrays moments of tension and disagreement. One notable instance occurred when George Harrison expressed frustration with Paul McCartney, a situation which led to the creation of a solo song.
After almost a decade as the biggest band in the world, members of The Beatles had grown to become different individuals from the ones who had begun their magnificent journey. Most notably, their creative intentions had moved in separate directions, which had rendered their future untenable, and during recording, it became clear they were closing in on their final rodeo.
While Abbey Road, released in 1969, was the last album by The Beatles to be made, Let It Be acted as their final record. The creation of the LP was a temperamental affair, and on January 10th, 1969, Harrison wanted to be anywhere else in the world apart from rehearsals at Twickenham Film Studios.
According to video director Michael Lindsay-Hogg, who was present, Harrison wasn’t his usual self, and something was off with the guitarist, even at breakfast. In Luck And Circumstance, Lindsay-Hogg claimed, “I could tell by his silence and withdrawal that something was simmering inside him”, and soon afterwards, he abruptly left.
His argument with McCartney had been caught on camera, and Harrison couldn’t bring himself to stay in the environment. The events of the day had turned his mind into jelly, and Harrison felt comfortable expressing these feelings of anguish by distorting his guitar to create an equally chaotic soundscape.
The final result was ‘Wah-Wah’, named after a guitar pedal and included on his solo album All Things Must Pass in 1970. In Anthology, he said of the song: “Everybody had gone through that. Ringo had left at one point. I know John wanted out. It was a very, very difficult, stressful time, and being filmed having a row as well was terrible. I got up and I thought, ‘I’m not doing this any more. I’m out of here.’ So I got my guitar and went home and that afternoon wrote ‘Wah-Wah’.”
Meanwhile, in an interview with Crawdaddy, Harrison expanded on why he decided to walk out of the door: “That was the song, when I left from the Let It Be movie, there’s a scene where Paul and I are having an argument, and we’re trying to cover it up. Then, in the next scene, I’m not there, and Yoko’s just screaming, doing her screeching number. Well, that’s where I’d left, and I went home to write ‘Wah-Wah.’ It had given me a wah-wah, like I had such a headache with that whole argument. It was such a headache.”
Although Harrison’s exit from the band was only temporary, and he’d eventually cool down enough to return to the fold, it speaks volumes about the discontent in their camp. The group were no longer singing off the same hymn sheet, and Harrison had grown more comfortable in his songwriting capabilities, leading to him demanding greater creative control. However, one positive to come from the dreaded situation was ‘Wah-Wah’.
