Not Guilty: Instructions

“Not Guilty” is a George Harrison composition. The Beatles recorded it in the late 1960s during the “White Album” sessions. However, we had to wait until 1996 before there was an official release.

In Detail

Release Date: October 28, 1996
Recorded: August 7–9 & 12, 1968
Genre: Rock
Track Duration: 3:22
Record Label: Apple
Songwriter: George Harrison
Producer: George Martin
Engineer: Ken Scott

Performers And Instruments

George Harrison: vocals, lead and rhythm guitars
John Lennon: harpsichord
Paul McCartney: bass guitar
Ringo Starr: drums

Where To Find “Not Guilty”

You can still get a hold of the song by looking for the following album:

Anthology 3 (1996)

Not Guilty: Background

George Harrison wrote the song “Not Guilty,” which is a song about his relationship with John Lennon and Paul McCartney. This was in 1968, after a trip to India. Harrison led his bandmates to a Transcendental Meditation course in India with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, but the group fell out with the Indian guru towards the end of the trip.

Because of this, Harrison felt a little responsible for the resulting bitterness. Hence the title, “Not Guilty.”

The Beatles wrote numerous songs while in India. However, many were only partially complete and needed attention when they came back to the UK.

“Actually, I wrote that in 1968. It was after we got back from Rishikesh in the Himalayas on the Maharishi trip, and it was for the White Album. We recorded it, but we didn’t get it down right or something. Then I forgot all about it until a year ago, when I found this old demo I’d made in the Sixties.

The lyrics are a bit passé—all about upsetting ‘Apple carts’ and stuff—but it’s a bit about what was happening at the time. ‘Not guilty for getting in your way/While you’re trying to steal the day’ – which was me trying to get a space. ‘Not guilty/For looking like a freak/Making friends with every Sikh/For leading your astray/On the road to Mandalay’ – which is the Maharishi and going to the Himalayas and all that was said about that. I like the tune a lot; it would make a great tune for Peggy Lee or someone.”
George Harrison
Rolling Stone Magazine, April 1979

Of course, this was a time when The Beatles were beginning to show signs of stress. Indeed, Harrison himself was also becoming more distant within the band.

Recording Studio

The Beatles began recording “Not Guilty” on the 7th of August, 1968, in Studio Two of the EMI Studios in London during the 3.00pm–5.30am sessions. They recorded 46 takes that day but returned to the same studio the next day for 47–101. The song was proving difficult to learn due to its time signature changes. As a result, many of these studio takes were incomplete.

On August 9, they created a reduction mix from take 99; this obviously became take 102. On this take, there were numerous overdubs of George Harrison’s lead guitar.

Eric Clapton was a good friend of George Harrison and would often help him out on occasions. However, he also gave Harrison a Gibson Les Paul guitar, aka “Lucy,” which he used for the first time during this recording.

On the 12th of August, Harrison recorded another lead vocal piece by using various positions within the studio to get the right sound. Lennon and McCartney also tried various harmony vocals, but Harrison still wasn’t happy.

“George had this idea that he wanted to do it in the control room with the speakers blasting, so that he got more of an on-stage feel. So we had to monitor through headphones, setting the monitor speakers at a level where he felt comfortable and it wouldn’t completely blast out his vocal.”
Ken Scott, engineer
The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions, Mark Lewisohn

Although the song could have been a part of the “White Album“, it never made the grade. In fact, the song didn’t become commercially available until the Anthology Project came about in the mid-1990s.

Take A Listen

Finally, here is the song in question. Press play, and then, after you hear it, leave us your opinions below.