"Simply Shady" is a song by English musician George Harrison that was released on his 1974 album Dark Horse. The song addresses Harrison's wayward behaviour during the final year of his marriage to Pattie Boyd, particularly the allure of temptations such as alcohol and drugs over spiritual goals. Harrison said the song was about "what happens to naughty boys in the music business".
Harrison wrote "Simply Shady" in Bombay in early 1974 during his first visit to India since 1968, when he and his Beatles bandmates had studied Transcendental Meditation at Rishikesh. In his lyrics, he reflects on the karmic consequences of his lifestyle in England and references John Lennon's "Sexy Sadie", a song inspired by the Beatles' time in Rishikesh. Harrison recorded the track at an impromptu session held at his Friar Park home studio with the L.A. Express, who were touring Britain as Joni Mitchell's backing band at the time. Two of the musicians, Tom Scott and Robben Ford, subsequently played with Harrison on his 1974 North American tour with Ravi Shankar.
Harrison's vocals on the track were marred by his contracting laryngitis towards the end of the sessions for Dark Horse – a result of his having overextended himself on business and musical commitments, as well as his punishing lifestyle. Partly due to Harrison's hoarse singing, "Simply Shady" has been viewed in an unfavourable light by many music critics and reviewers. Other commentators consider its confessional tone to be significant in Harrison's career, representing a departure from the spiritual certainties that typically defined his work following the Beatles.
Background and inspiration
According to George Harrison's recollection in his autobiography, I, Me, Mine, the visit he made to India in 1974 was his first since 1968,George Harrison, p. 57. when the Beatles had studied Transcendental Meditation at Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's ashram in Rishikesh.Lavezzoli, pp. 180, 184.Harry, p. 62. The main purpose of the 1974 trip was to attend a Vedic ceremony in honour of Ravi Shankar's new home in Benares and to film the event.Wright, p. 119. Accompanied by his friend and fellow musician Gary Wright, Harrison first went to Calcutta in early January before travelling to Benares;Wright, pp. 119, 120. there, he and Shankar formulated the concept for Ravi Shankar's Music Festival from IndiaOlivia Harrison, pp. 258, 302. and an ensuing joint tour of North America at the end of the year.Leng, p. 148.Shankar, p. 223. Harrison and Shankar then travelled to the Hindu holy city of Vrindavan,Leng, p. 157. where Harrison was inspired to write the devotional song "It Is 'He' (Jai Sri Krishna)".Rodriguez, p. 384. Later in the trip, while in Bombay, he wrote another new composition, "Simply Shady".George Harrison, p. 282.
In a 1994 interview held at Shankar's home in California,Shankar, p. 309. Harrison spoke of the reluctance he used to feel before visiting India or meeting with friends such as A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada of the Hare Krishna movement, due to the "craziness" taking place in his life as a rock musician.George Harrison: Living in the Material World DVD, Village Roadshow, 2011 (directed by Martin Scorsese; produced by Olivia Harrison, Nigel Sinclair & Martin Scorsese), disc 2; event occurs between 14:38 and 15:35. Written during a period when his marriage to Pattie Boyd was ending,Greene, p. 209.Doggett, pp. 208–09. "Simply Shady" was inspired by the decadent lifestyle that Harrison had been leading at his Friar Park home in England.Rodriguez, pp. 382–83.Leng, pp. 165, 184. Over this period, he had immersed himself in his work, while returning to the worldly ways he had mostly abandoned in 1967, following his embrace of Indian philosophy, particularly meditation.Tillery, pp. 53–54, 116.Carol Clerk, "George Harrison 1943–2001", Uncut, January 2002, pp. 46, 55; available at Rock's Backpages (subscription required). Boyd has written of their overindulgence with drugs and alcohol over 1973–74 and highlighted Harrison's excessive use of cocaine, about which she says: "I think it changed him ... it froze George's emotions and hardened his heart."Boyd, pp. 175–76. In I, Me, Mine, Harrison describes the song as being "about what happens to naughty boys in the music business".Allison, p. 154. While recognising a disparity between its subject matter and his surroundings at the time, he says he most likely came up with the theme before leaving for India.
Composition "Simply Shady" is in time and its musical key is C minor."Simply Shady", in George Harrison Dark Horse: Sheet Music for Piano, Vocal & Guitar, Charles Hansen (New York, NY, 1974). The song comprises three combinations of verse and chorus,George Harrison, pp. 286–87. followed by repeated choruses. Author Simon Leng defines its musical style as country rock.
The lyrics to the song serve as a confession in which Harrison details how he has lost his way. Author Ian Inglis describes "Simply Shady" as an autobiographical account of a musician "who succumbs to the temptations of 'sex and drugs and rock 'n' roll' that are stereotypically linked with the mythology of rock".Inglis, p. 44. Leng likens the track to contemporary work by Neil Young, particularly "Yonder Stands the Sinner", adding that Harrison arrives at "the same impasse" as the Canadian singer: "decadence, dependency, and despair".Leng, p. 150.
In the opening verse,George Harrison, p. 286. Harrison acknowledges the changes brought about by his overindulgence with drugs and alcohol.Allison, p. 100. He recalls partaking from "the juicer", after which his "senses took a dip" and he became "blinded by desire".Allison, pp. 63–64, 100. During the second verse, he likens his increased cravings to a form of madness.Allison, pp. 62, 120. In the lyrics to the chorus, he recognises the futility of this behaviour, knowing that, just as "it's all been done before", it provides nothing beyond relief in the short term.Inglis, pp. 44–45.
Harrison measures the consequences of his actions in terms of their karmic effect,Allison, pp. 86–87, 129. a preoccupation he had first embraced in his songwriting over 1966–67 with songs such as "Art of Dying".Inglis, pp. 31, 45. In the third verse,George Harrison, p. 287. he acknowledges that all thoughts and deeds affect the world, since "A pebble in the ocean must cause some kind of stir".Allison, pp. 86–87. Recognising his culpability, Harrison concludes: "The action that I've started sometime I'll have to face / My influence in motion rebounding back through space."Inglis, p. 45. In their respective commentaries on "Simply Shady", Christian theologian Dale Allison cites Harrison's indictment of his behaviour in the context of karmic retribution as evidence of the composition offering "religious interest", while Inglis highlights an important contrast between Harrison's lack of moralising in the song relative to the sermonising quality of his 1973 album Living in the Material World.
The song's final choruses include the line "You may think of Sexy Sadie, let her in through your front door", reprising the late-period Beatles device of self-reference.MacDonald, p. 275.Leng, p. 85. In this case, Harrison name-checks "Sexy Sadie",Leng, p. 151. John Lennon's thinly veiled attack on the MaharishiWoffinden, p. 4. and the latter's alleged sexual advances towards one of the female students at the Rishikesh retreat.MacDonald, p. 262.Lewisohn, p. 144. Inglis views this mention in "Simply Shady" as significant on three levels: Harrison is alluding to a casual sexual partner in the present; recalling his former mentor and guru, the Maharishi; and supplying "a coded reference" to his past as a Beatle.Inglis, pp. 11, 45.
Production
Initial recording
Harrison returned to England in March 1974Greene, p. 211. and recorded "Simply Shady" the following month for his new album, Dark Horse. Unlike his two previous studio albums, All Things Must Pass and Material World, Harrison worked on Dark Horse in stages, over a year-long period.Leng, pp. 147–48. During this time, he focused instead on projects such as setting up Dark Horse RecordsThe Editors of Rolling Stone, p. 44.Huntley, pp. 105–08. and producing albums by the record label's first two signings: Shankar's Shankar Family & Friends, and The Place I Love by the group Splinter.Rodriguez, pp. 197–98.Olivia Harrison, p. 312. Leng cites the recording of "Simply Shady" – an impromptu session with the L.A. Express, who were touring the UK as Joni Mitchell's backing group – as an example of the unpredictable approach that Harrison adopted when making Dark Horse.Leng, pp. 148–49.
Harrison had collaborated with Tom Scott, the leader and saxophonist of the L.A. Express,Michael G. Nastos, "L.A. Express", AllMusic (retrieved 3 August 2016). during the Shankar Family & Friends sessions in Los Angeles in 1973.Kevin Howlett's liner notes, Dark Horse CD booklet (Apple Records, 2014; produced by George Harrison), p. 3. After attending Mitchell's show at the New Victoria Theatre in London, he invited the band to record at his home studio, FPSHOT, the following day.Leng, p. 149. Lead guitarist Robben Ford recalls that on arrival at Friar Park, at 1 pm, the musicians were entertained by Boyd until Harrison woke up, at which point the couple "didn't interact and she just disappeared". The recording session began at 1 am. "Hari's on Tour (Express)" – an instrumental that Harrison used as the opening song of both Dark Horse and his live shows with ShankarHuntley, p. 109. – was recorded on the same day.Spizer, p. 264. The recording engineer at the session was Phil McDonald.Inner sleeve credits, Dark Horse LP (Apple Records, 1974; produced by George Harrison).
Leng describes "Simply Shady" as a "stark-sounding cut" due to the unpolished production. The track has a blues-based arrangement, for which Ford and Roger Kellaway supplied the main instrumental fills, on guitar and piano, respectively.Michael Gross, "George Harrison: How Dark Horse Whipped Up a Winning Tour", Circus Raves, March 1975; available at Rock's Backpages (subscription required). Bassist Max Bennett recalled that he enjoyed the visit, which included a tour of Harrison's Friar Park estate, but did not feel they had "accomplished much musically". The band then went back to London to continue their tour with Mitchell in support of her album Court and Spark.
Overdubbing Scott returned to Friar Park to work further with Harrison in August,Madinger & Easter, pp. 442, 443. by which time Boyd had left him for his friend Eric Clapton.Tillery, p. 94. Scott overdubbed a variety of horn parts on "Simply Shady", while Harrison played the closing guitar solo – a part that Inglis views as "straining" and in keeping with the song's "emotional plea".Inglis, p. 44. Both Scott and Ford later played in Harrison's tour band.Rodriguez, p. 60.Nick DeRiso, "Gimme Five: Gary Wright, Robben Ford, Bobby Whitlock, Alan White, Joey Molland on George Harrison", Something Else!, 25 February 2014 (archived version retrieved 14 July 2016).
Described by author Robert Rodriguez as "a Tom Waits croak",Rodriguez, p. 382. Harrison's singing on "Simply Shady" was affected by laryngitis, like many of the tracks on Dark Horse.Leng, pp. 148, 151. He contracted this affliction through a combination of overwork and drug and alcohol abuse.Mat Snow, "George Harrison: Quiet Storm", Mojo, November 2014, p. 72.David Cavanagh, "George Harrison: The Dark Horse", Uncut, August 2008, pp. 43–44. The vocal parts were overdubbed either at FPSHOT or at A&M Studios, Los Angeles, late in October 1974, during the rush to complete the album while simultaneously rehearsing for the North American tour.Leng, p. 151fn.