Poll Results: The Top 10 Guitar Solos on Beatles Songs
A few weeks back, we provided you with a list of 60-plus Beatles songs -- all of which feature a guitar solo played by George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney or Eric Clapton -- and asked you to vote for the song with the best fretwork of the bunch.
Was it "Dizzy Miss Lizzy"? God, no!
Was it "Good Morning Good Morning"? No -- and it didn't even make the top 10 list, which is surprising, given that it features a mean-sounding McCartney solo that, in some ways, outshines his solo on "Taxman."
Which reminds me: Was it "Taxman"? No again! And it wasn't "Old Brown Shoe," either.
Don't worry -- you'll find the results below. Also, take note that the No. 1 song won by a fairly large margin -- and notice that Abbey Road songs make up a good portion of this list, possibly earning the distinction of being the band's official "guitar album."
Anyway, here they are, your choices for the 10 best guitar solos on Beatles songs. Thanks for voting!
10. "Revolution" - Released as a single with "Hey Jude"
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That's Lennon playing the guitar solo -- and Nicky Hopkins stealing the show on keyboards.
09. "Day Tripper" - Released as a single with "We Can Work It Out"
Somehow, this one actually made the top 10. Interesting!
08. "Helter Skelter" - The Beatles
It’s safe to say Ringo Starr wasn’t the only Beatle with “blistahs” on his “fingahs” after jamming ceaselessly on this "White Album" standout, the heaviest tune in the band’s catalog. This song was meant to one-up the Who after McCartney read an interview with Pete Townshend where he called “I Can See for Miles” the loudest and dirtiest song the Who had ever recorded.
07. "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" - Abbey Road
Certainly one of the coolest guitar solos Lennon ever played -- as a Beatle or otherwise.
06. "And Your Bird Can Sing" - Revolver
This brilliant, two-part harmony line is often credited to Harrison and McCartney, who played their parts simultaneously, legend has it.
05. "Taxman" - Revolver
Ah, the disappointment Harrison fans must've felt when they initially found out this solo was actually played by McCartney. It was probably akin to the disappointment they felt when they found out Clapton played the solo on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps."
04. "Let It Be" - Let It Be (Also released as a single with "Get Back" long before the release of the album)
We didn't want to confuse the matter by including the two versions of "Let It Be" as individual entries in our original poll, but, of course, the single and album versions of this McCartney composition feature different guitar solos by Harrison.
So, for this "poll results" story, we've included videos of both the album version (top) and the single version (bottom).
03. "The End" - Abbey Road
It's ironic that there was so much togetherness on a Beatles song fittingly titled "The End." It features a guitar solo played by all three string-playing Beatles -- McCartney, Harrison and Lennon -- in that order, and the sequence repeats, each guitarist taking two bars at a time. And this follows a drum solo by Starr -- the only one he'd ever recorded as a Beatle. It's also the last song to be recorded collectively by all four Beatles.
02. "Something" - Abbey Road
Harrison played the solo on what is often considered his best composition as a Beatle.
01. "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" - The Beatles
Is it ironic that the No. 1 song features a guitar solo that wasn't even played by a Beatle? It was, of course, played by Harrison's buddy, Eric Clapton. You know, that guy from Cream ...
