GEORGE HARRISON AND JOHN LENNON

"I'm not very good technically,but I can make the guitar f***in' howl and move."-John Lennon
Few guitarist have influenced the sound and style of rock guitar playing more than John Lennon and George Harrison,particularly their work together with the Beatles from 1962 to '69.
Lennon's driving,scrappy rhythm style was founded on the locomotive pounding of American folk blues-as filtered through the English skiffle craze and rockabilly.He brought unique chordal sensibility to guitar-based songwriting and arranging,inspired by the eclectic collection of Anglo-American pop,rock and r&b,folk and music hall influences absorbed by him and his writing partner,Paul McCartney(whose guitar contribution to the Beatles were also crucial).As Lennon matured, his proclivity for avant garde art surfaced in his playing. He was the first pop guitarist to use feedback on a record- the Beatles 1965 hit,"I Feel Fine." His solo experiments with Yoko Ono probed the jagged frontiers of primal scream art guitar noise,giving a major cue to artists as diverse as Sonic Youth,the Jesus & Mary Chain,Einsturzende Neubauten and Throbbing Gristle.

George Harrison's early love of Carl Perkins and Chet Atkins resulted in his imparting a countryish twang to the Beatles typical Britpop.The "quiet Beatle" became a master of stingingly concise,eight and 12-bar solos on early Beatles gems like "Can't Buy Me Love" and "A Hard Day's Night." Harrison's gloriously chiming use of the Rickenbacker 12 string inspired both Roger McGuinn (the Byrds) and Pete Townshend (the Who) to pick up the instrument,and helped spawn three decades-worth of "jangle pop" bands.Harrison's late-Sixties studies in Indian classical music and the sitar had a profound impact on his guitar playing,which in turn touched off the psychedelic era in guitar rock.

Harrison's example encouraged countless guitarists to explore modal improvisation, micro-tonal string bends and the hypnotic/harmonic possibilities of guitar as a drone instrument.Thanks to him,the eletric sitar was invented.Other innovations associated with Harrison are backwards guitar,extreme distortion and processing the guitar through organ Leslie cabinet.By the time of the Beatles swansong,"Abbey Road (Capitol,1969),Harrison had developed the highly lyrical slide guitar style that has become a hallmark of his post Beatles solo career.

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