''I, Me, Mine'' is an autobiographic memoir by the English musician

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...

, formerly of

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

. It was published in 1980 as a hand-bound, limited edition book by

Genesis Publications Genesis Publications Limited is a British publishing company founded in 1974 by Brian Roylance, a former student of the London College of Printing. His aim was to create a company in the traditions of the private press, true to the arts of printin ...

, with a mixture of printed text and multi-colour facsimiles of Harrison's handwritten song lyrics. It was limited to 2,000 signed copies, with a foreword and narration by Derek Taylor. The Genesis limited edition sold out soon after publication, and it was subsequently published in hardback and paperback in black ink by W H Allen in London and by

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publi ...

in New York.

Background

The project marked a departure for Genesis Publications, which had previously focused on facsimile editions of historical nautical journals, including ''The Log of H.M.S. Bounty 1787–1789''. Brian Roylance, who founded the company in 1974, said of Harrison's memoir: "I saw the song lyrics as important documents – as important as all the other things I was publishing." Genesis subsequently became a leading publisher of

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States a ...

-related illustrated books, including further titles by Harrison and Taylor, as well as books about the Beatles,

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically dr ...

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

and

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philosophical lyrics an ...

, among others.

Reception

''I, Me, Mine'' was released a few months before

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the ...

in December 1980. Lennon took offence at Harrison's book, telling interviewer David Sheff: "I was hurt by it ... By glaring omission in the book, my influence on his life is absolutely zilch and nil ... I'm not in the book." Harrison does mention Lennon several times, although not as a musical influence, which was the point of Lennon's displeasure. In December 1987, Harrison was asked about Lennon's comments by Selina Scott on the television show ''

West 57th Street 57th Street is a broad thoroughfare in the New York City borough of Manhattan, one of the major two-way, east-west streets in the borough's grid. As with Manhattan's other "crosstown" streets, it is divided into its east and west sections at ...

''. He told her: " ennonwas annoyed 'cause I didn't say that he'd written one line of this song ' Taxman'. But I also didn't say how I wrote two lines of '

Come Together "Come Together" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The song is the opening track on their 1969 album ''Abbey Road'' and was also released as a single coupled with " Somethi ...

' or three lines of ' Eleanor Rigby', you know? I wasn't getting into any of that. I think, in the balance, I would have had more things to be niggled with him about than he would have had with me."

Later editions

In 2002, ''I, Me, Mine'' was re-published with a new foreword by Harrison's widow, Olivia. A third version of the book, now containing "59 additional handwritten lyrics and unpublished photographs not found in the original printing", was released in February 2017 to mark what would have been Harrison's 74th birthday.

References

{{The Beatles literature 1980 non-fiction books Music autobiographies George Harrison Books about the Beatles British autobiographies Genesis Publications books