The Inner Light

This rare, little-known B-side by George Harrison shares an unusual distinction with the early single Can't Buy Me Love - they are the only two original tracks attributed to the Beatles that were largely recorded outside of England during the band's career.  While McCartney's hit song was a group effort put on tape at EMI Pathe Marconi studio in Paris in 1964, Harrison's raga featured Indian musicians playing his composition at EMI's Bombay studio in January of 1968.

George was working with these musicians on a soundtrack he had written for an obscure film called Wonderwall.  A two-track machine was brought from Calcutta to Bombay for his use, and the studio was booked for several days.  The recordings progressed so rapidly that two full days remained, and not wishing to waste the talent at his disposal, George had the musicians record a number of ragas for possible future use by the Beatles.

On January 12th, 1968, the backing track for The Inner Light required five takes before George was satisfied.  He had the entire song already written at this point, as a 2014 re-release of the Wonderwall Music soundtrack attests.  On a bonus track, George can be heard singing the lyrics so the musicians know how they will fit in the completed piece.

The Beatles convened at Abbey Road Studios in February for the specific purpose of recording their next single, which was to be released while they were in Rishikesh, India  studying Transcendental Meditation.  On February 6th, George had the two-track tape from Bombay transferred to four-track tape so he could record his lead vocal.  A few accounts reveal that he was nervous about doing so and actually tried to convince Paul to sing it instead.  But Paul encouraged George to do it himself, assuring him that the melody was lovely.

They returned to the song on February 8th, with George double-tracking one of his lines near the end, and John and Paul supplying harmony vocals for the final line, thus ensuring that it was a true Beatles track.  That evening, the decision as to which songs would be on the single was made.  Once John withdrew Across the Universe from consideration, unhappy with the recording, Lady Madonna got the A-side and The Inner Light became the B-side, finally giving George his first song on an official British single.

This single was the only source to contain the song during the Beatles' career.  By all rights, it should have been included on the Capitol compilation album Hey Jude in 1970, especially since Lady Madonna did appear there, but manager Allen Klein probably felt that the authentic Indian music and the mystical lyrics derived from the Tao Te Ching were off-putting to most Beatles fans, so it was conspicuously absent from that release.

The song did appear years later on the differing British and American versions of the album Rarities, and later surfaced on Past Masters Volume Two.