Something

Spotify's official recording from Abbey Road (Remastered). Sign-in Spotify users get full playback; everyone else gets a 30-second preview. Open in Spotify →

"Something" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1969 studio album Abbey Road. It was written by George Harrison, the band's lead guitarist. Together with his second contribution to Abbey Road, "Here Comes the Sun", it is widely viewed by music historians as having marked Harrison's ascendancy as a composer to the level of the Beatles' principal songwriters, John Lennon and Paul McCartney. [Wikipedia]

Harrison wrote it in summer 1968, the title and opening line drawn from James Taylor's song 'Something in the Way She Moves' — Taylor was then signed to Apple Records. George originally felt the song was 'too slushy' and considered offering it to Joe Cocker; only at McCartney's encouragement did it find its way onto Abbey Road. George Harrison's 'Something' emerged during the White Album period but was not formally recorded until 2 May 1969, when George demoed it solo on 25 February, later securing recording priority on Abbey Road. The song's sophisticated harmonic structure and introspective romantic content marked Harrison's most ambitious compositional achievement, capturing attention from established artists: Frank Sinatra, approached by Chris Thomas, praised the composition enthusiastically, and Joe Cocker subsequently recorded a version before the Beatles' release (Lewisohn 1988, p.156, 171). The song's structure evolved through Abbey Road's production process, with the extended fade and instrumental coda demonstrating the band's confidence in crafting longer, more ambitious arrangements. (Kozinn 1995)

First take 16 April 1969; basic track 2 May 1969; lead vocal 5 May; orchestra (24-piece, arranged by George Martin) on 15 August. Harrison's guitar solo went through multiple takes over several months and is cited by Eric Clapton as among the finest guitar solos in pop. The song was remade on 2 May with 36 takes, followed by extensive overdubbing of lead vocals by Harrison across multiple sessions through July, with reductions completed to manage multitrack complexity. A reduction mixdown shortened the recording from 7'48" to 5'32" (3'00" of main song plus 2'32" instrumental coda), demonstrating George Martin's editorial precision in balancing instrumental and harmonic material (Lewisohn 1988, p.175, 180).

Emerick's engineering documented a remarkable shift in band dynamics: John learned Paul's electric piano part by watching over his shoulder—a collaborative moment that would have been unthinkable in earlier sessions. (Emerick 2006) Something represents Harrison's mature songwriting arriving at Abbey Road, with extended recording across multiple sessions allowing George Martin to sculpt the orchestral and harmonic architecture across its duration. (MacDonald 1994)

First Harrison composition released as a Beatles single A-side (b/w Come Together, October 1969). UK number four; US number one — Harrison's first US chart-topper. Frank Sinatra called it 'the greatest love song of the past 50 years' (and at first credited it to Lennon and McCartney, before being corrected). Over 150 documented cover versions including Sinatra, Elvis, Smokey Robinson and Joe Cocker. George Harrison lead vocals appear in 28 canon songs total, with 2 in Abbey Road—establishing this as his most prominent vocal vehicle. Achieving status as the only Harrison composition to serve as a Beatles single A-side, the track was covered by numerous artists and became Harrison's most recorded composition, securing his legacy beyond his guitarist role (Lewisohn 1988, p.175-176). Multiple takes and reduction mixes document the song's evolution, with variations in arrangement and take selection influencing the final published version. (Daniels 2024)

Film, TV, and other screen works whose primary title matches this song. Some are direct cultural references (the 1965 Beatles film, the 2019 Danny Boyle feature). Many are coincidental title shares -- worth knowing about but not claiming as soundtrack appearances. Sorted by IMDB vote count.

• Something (2018, film) IMDB 4.2 · 282 votes [IMDB]

Source: IMDB public dataset (title.basics.tsv + title.ratings.tsv) joined locally. Includes titles with sufficient vote counts to indicate cultural visibility.

Other recordings sharing era, vocalist, writer, key, studio, or producer with this one. Higher scores indicate stronger overlap on documented attributes.

• Old Brown Shoe (score 12)
• Here Comes the Sun (score 11)
• It's All Too Much (score 10)
• Only a Northern Song (score 10)
• Blue Jay Way (score 9)
• For You Blue (score 9)
• I Me Mine (score 9)
• Love You To (score 9)