Paul McCartney's Stage Fright Landed George Harrison a Spot in The Beatles
During an early performance with The Quarry Men, Paul McCartney realized George Harrison should take over his role in the band. Before the future Beatle was a bassist, he favored the guitar. While his skill at the instrument landed him a position in the band, he struggled to make it through his first performance. His moment of stage fright ultimately secured Harrison’s position with The Beatles.
McCartney first met John Lennon after his band, The Quarry Men, performed at a church fest. He introduced himself to the group afterward and played the guitar for them. McCartney impressed Lennon and, shortly thereafter, accepted an invitation to join the band.
McCartney joined the band in rehearsals and proved he was talented enough to play a solo during his first performance with the band. Once he got on stage, though, things didn’t go as planned.
“For my first gig, I was given a guitar solo on ‘Guitar Boogie,'” McCartney said, per The Beatles Anthology. “I could play it easily in rehearsal so they elected that I should do it as my solo. Things were going fine, but when the moment came in the performance I got sticky fingers; I thought, ‘What am I doing here?'”
Source: Emma McKee/cheatsheet.com
