Michael Jackson Thought This 1969 George Harrison Hit Was a Lennon–McCartney Song
The article recounts how pop icon Michael Jackson confused the authorship of George Harrison's classic composition 'Something,' believing it was a Lennon-McCartney collaboration rather than Harrison's independent work. Harrison clarified the misunderstanding during a BBC meeting. The mistake was not uncommon—legendary vocalist Frank Sinatra had also misattributed the song to the Lennon-McCartney partnership when covering it, despite calling it one of popular music's greatest romantic compositions.
Harrison created the piece during his marriage to Pattie Boyd, his ex-wife from 1966 to 1977. Boyd later documented in her memoir how the song was written expressly for her, noting that Harrison's intimate home performance of it resonated more deeply with her than its numerous professional cover renditions. The composition has since become one of the most frequently recorded songs in popular music, with versions by over 150 different artists.
- Michael Jackson mistakenly credited George Harrison's 'Something' to Lennon-McCartney rather than recognizing it as Harrison's solo composition; the error was corrected during a BBC encounter
- The 1969 track was written for Harrison's then-wife Pattie Boyd and has accumulated over 150 cover versions across different artists
- Even Frank Sinatra made the same authorship attribution error despite covering the song, though he praised it as 'the greatest love song of the past 50 years'