My Sweet Lord - Release

Release

Before arriving in New York on 28 October to master All Things Must Pass, Harrison had announced that no single would be issued − so as not to "detract from the impact" of the triple album" Apple's US executive, Allan Steckler, together with business manager Allen Klein and Spector all pushed for "My Sweet Lord" to be released immediately, however, even though Billy Preston's version was already scheduled for release as a single in America the following month. Film director Howard Worth recalls a preliminary finance meeting for the Raga documentary (for which Harrison would provide emergency funding through Apple Films) that began with the ex-Beatle asking him to listen to a selection of songs and pick his favourite, which was "My Sweet Lord".

Harrison relented, and "My Sweet Lord" was issued as the album's lead single around the world, but not in Britain; the release date was 23 November 1970 in the United States. The mix of the song differed from that found on All Things Must Pass by featuring less echo and a slightly altered backing-vocal track. Both sides of the North American picture sleeve consisted of a Barry Feinstein photo of Harrison taken through a window at his recently purchased Friar Park home, with some of the estate's trees reflected in the glass. Released as a double A-side with "Isn't It a Pity", with Apple catalogue number 2995 in America, both sides of the disc featured a full Apple label.

Public demand via constant airplay in Britain led to a belated UK release, however, on 15 January 1971. There, as Apple R 5884, the single was backed by "What Is Life", a song that would soon be released elsewhere internationally as the follow-up to "My Sweet Lord".

Harrison's version of "My Sweet Lord" was an international number 1 hit by the end of 1970 and through the early months of '71 − the first solo single by a Beatle to reach the top, and the biggest seller by any of the four throughout the 1970s. Without the support of any concert appearances or promotional interviews by Harrison, the single's commercial success was due to its impact on radio, where, as Harrison biographer Gary Tillery writes, the song "rolled across the airwaves like a juggernaut, with commanding presence, much the way Dylan's 'Like a Rolling Stone' had arrived in the mid-sixties". Elton John recalls first hearing "My Sweet Lord" in a taxi and names it as the last of the era's great singles: "I thought, 'Oh my God,' and I got chills. You know when a record starts on the radio, and it's great, and you think, 'Oh, what is this, what is this, what is this?' The only other record I ever felt that way about was 'Brown Sugar' ..." In his 40-page Harrison tribute article for Rolling Stone in 2002, Mikal Gilmore credited "My Sweet Lord" as being "as pervasive on radio and in youth consciousness as anything the Beatles had produced".

The single was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America on 14 December 1970 for sales of over 1 million copies. It reached number 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 on 26 December, remaining on top for four weeks, three of which coincided with All Things Must Pass's seven-week reign atop the Billboard albums chart.

In Britain, "My Sweet Lord" entered the charts at number 7, before hitting number 1 on 30 January and staying there for five weeks. It was the biggest-selling single of 1971 in the UK and performed similarly well around the world, particularly in France and Germany, where it held the top spot for nine and ten weeks, respectively. The single's worldwide sales amount to 5 million copies, making it one of the best-selling singles of all time.

The song would return to the number 1 position again in the UK when reissued in January 2002, two months after Harrison's death from cancer.