Here’s a bit of trivia for you Fab-Four fans. Who was the first non-Beatles musician to play on a Beatles’ record? The story is pretty amazing, and I wanted to share it with you.
Several years ago George Harrison shared a story about the events surrounding the writing of his signature song, While My Guitar Gently Weeps. When he was going through the writing process with his band mates in 1968, they didn’t seem interested in the song. So Harrison decided to try something different. He asked a friend of his to play a guitar solo on the song. His friend was immediately reluctant because, he said, “Nobody ever plays on the Beatles’ records.” Harrison convinced him though, and that evening they recorded the song in the studio and that song became one of the best loved Beatles songs of all time.
Who was the friend? Eric Clapton.
The most important part of the story to me is not that Eric Clapton was the first person to play on a Beatles’ record. I mean, if you are gonna let someone be the first, I am not sure you could pick a better one than Eric Clapton. But the amazing part of the story is that both Harrison and Clapton accepted the responsibility of trying something different.
You see, the Beatles in 1968 were on top of the world. There was noone bigger. They had the process down and they were firing on all cylinders. As good as Clapton was, he knew that too. He didn’t want to be the first because what would have happened if it flopped? So Clapton was taking a risk, just like Harrison and the Beatles were taking a risk by letting someone outside come inside the inner circle and be a part of that magic they had back then. But the payoff was indeed, magical.
Sometimes you have to just try something different. Even if you think there’s nothing you can do to be any better, maybe there is something. Market a little different. Sell a little different. Switch directions and go a different route. You don’t have to put your entire operation at risk, but maybe there is something you can do to shake things up. Maybe there is a little Eric Clapton in your future. Who knows what might happen, right?
