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I saw George displaying an inferiority complex for Clapton. When Paul wanted him to play something specific then George would say “you want eric clapton!” and then he would return to playing repetitive phrases, which is the definition of ‘vamping’. Paul got tired of it and tried to get him to join in the creative process. But Paul didn’t like any of his contributions.

Paul did like Lennon’s contributions though. And they jammed and collaborated like old buddies. Meanwhile George continued vamping in the background because Paul rejected his contributions. That cycle continued for a while. Then one day after Paul again told George to quit vamping they went to lunch.

That’s when the solid rocket fuel burned thru the O-Ring seals. I’m pretty sure that George concluded while he was out that Paul didn’t want him. Paul wanted Clapton. So when he came back and quit the band, John’s response was to suggest they get Clapton to replace him!

None of this is to suggest that George was not a driving force talent all on his own. George lent his unique voice to the band and Epstein knew how to integrate it. Paul is very talented but he did not know how to integrate George into his orbit with John. And Ringo is a damn good metronome for those two, but even he felt put out a few times. George went on to fulfill his destiny and put out some great music.

The Beatles defined a generation. Then they broke up before they could decline into mediocrity. The perfect shooting star that leaves a trail of diamonds in its wake.

I was looking at some later interviews with George. Although he didn't specifically say so, you could tell he was not happy with the amount of contributions he was allowed to make to the band. He told Dick Cavett that he was given 1 song an album and that he had such a backup of material it would've take 100 albums to catch up. You could actually see the dynamic in the films. John and Paul bounced ideas off of each other while George and Ringo sat in the background expected to keep their mouths shut. Being the youngest of the original 3, George was still the little brother from John and Paul's perspective. Also George didn't know how to read music. From my perspective it's amazing how good he was but from John and Paul's perspective they may have looked down on that.