Something (3:16)

“Something” is a song released by The Beatles in 1969. It was featured on the album Abbey Road, and was also the first song written by George Harrison to appear on the A-side of a Beatles single. It was one of the first Beatles singles to contain tracks already available on a long playing (LP) album, with both “Something” and “Come Together” having appeared on Abbey Road. “Something” was the only Harrison composition to top the American charts while he was in The Beatles.

John Lennon and Paul McCartney—the two principal songwriting members of the band—both praised “Something” as among the best songs Harrison had written. As well as critical acclaim, the single achieved commercial success, topping the Billboard charts in the United States, and entering the top 10 in the United Kingdom. The song’s success continued after the breakup of The Beatles, when it was covered by over 150 artists including Elvis Presley, Shirley Bassey, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, James Brown, Julio Iglesias, Smokey Robinson and Joe Cocker becoming the second-most covered Beatles song after “Yesterday”.

Writing
During the 1968 recording sessions for The Beatles (also referred to as the White Album), Harrison began working on a song that eventually became known as “Something”. The song’s first lyrics (“Something in the way she moves/Attracts me like no other lover”) were adapted from an unrelated song by fellow Apple artist James Taylorcalled “Something In The Way She Moves” and used as filler while the melody was being developed.