Paul Mccartney and George Harrison relationship (question for Beatles fans)?

Question

Okay so I was wondering if any of you Beatles fans can help shed some light on the George and Paul's relationship, my two favorite Beatles. I've been a casual fan since I was introduced to them when I was very young and for a while now It's always bothered me that George and Paul seemed to have the worst relationship out of any of the Beatles. At least during the later years of the Beatles and the post Beatles years. It seemed in the early years of the Beatles George accepted his role as the "third" Beatle behind the leadership of John and Paul but began to resent the role as his songs were often dismissed even as his songwriting greatly improved over the years.

George seemed to resent both John and George but especially Paul which I find odd because he seemed to participate more on George's songs than John did. John Lennon was quoted as saying that he helped George with some of the lyrics on "Taxman" because "He couldn't go to Paul, because Paul wouldn't have helped him at that period." After the Beatles broke up they also seemed to be the most estranged from each other. After the break up he worked with John and Ringo but never Paul as far as I know. I don't know of any real interaction they had with each other professionally or personally until John's death when I believe they worked on a tribute song together. And again after that they seemed largely estranged from each other until the 90s when they did Beatles Anthology.

George also seemed particularly bitter towards Paul when discussing him in interviews even up to that point. It just seems strange to me given that they were the first two Beatles to meet and become friend and it was largely due to that friendship that Paul convinced John Lennon to allow George in the group in the first place.
While I'm glad that it happened at all at least it's still kind of a shame that George had to be basically on his death bed before they seemed to truly get over the past and part as friends. So if any Beatles fans can explain more about this to me I would appreciate it

Answer 1

I think perhaps George Harrison was the most resentful towards Paul because while both Lennon and Mccartney were both largely disinterested in George's songs, Paul was the most quickest to reject his songs. Lennon was quoted saying that Paul didn't particularly like the "White Album" one of the reasons being that he didn't like that George had so many songs. The exact quote.



"I enjoyed it, but Paul was upset about the White Album. He never liked it because I did my music, he did his, and George did his. And first, he didn't like George having so many tracks, and second, he wanted it to be more of a group thing, which really meant more Paul."



Maybe it was because they knew each other the longest and were very close in age (less than a year difference) that he resented the fact that Paul was pretty much his boss after their manager died and dictated a lot of what George was allowed to do. They definitely seemed to grow farther apart than any of the other Beatles. I recall seeing a Paul Mccartney interview in recent years where he incorrectly stated that he was year and a half older than George. They obviously couldn't have been too close over the years for him to be that off.

Answer 2

Of the 4 Beatles, John Lennon and Paul McCartney had the closest bond. Mainly because they teamed together to write and sing a majority of the Beatles song. So, they had a very strong professional relationship which led to a friendship. Though it was strained at times especially towards the end of the Beatles singing group. It even shows how close Paul McCartney must have been to John Lennon because he got married again recently on October 9th. October 9 is John Lennon's birthday. So symbolically, Paul is saying he still has a spiritual connection to his friend John Lennon.



I think Paul may have had a good working relationship with George Harrison during the Beatles fame years. But once the Beatles stopped performing together, I don't think they really had much in common to keep the relationship alive.

Answer 3

Beatles Quotes About Friendship