On this day in 1969, a Beatles song by George Harrison was included as an A-side for the first time

After playing with the band for over 10 years, it had become widely considered that the star-songwriters of the group were Paul McCartney and John Lennon, with the pair writing and composing around 200 songs throughout their careers.  However, in reality all of the band members were accomplished  composers and writers, though Harrison and Starr’s contributions were often considered as afterthoughts, included only on B-sides and albums.

This perception of the band would change when Harrison’s song Something was chosen as one part of a “double A-side single”, backed with Come Together. Harrison’s song was initially considered to be a love song to his wife, Pattie Boyd, although Harrison has since offered other inspirations for the track, including the Hindu deity Krishna.

Harrison’s bandmates and producer George Martin gave great praise the song, with Lennon stating it was the best song on Abbey Road. Evidently many agreed as by the late 1970’s the Songhai been covered by over 150 artists, making it the second most covered Beatles composition after Yesterday. The song went on to rank at 110th on Rolling Stone’s 2021 list of “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.”