"Devil's Radio" is a song written by

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

that was first released on Harrison's 1987 album '' Cloud Nine''. It was not released commercially as a single, but a promotional single was released and the song reached #4 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Album Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States. It is an administrative category that combines the " active rock" and " heritage rock" fo ...

chart.

Lyrics and music

"Devil's Radio" was inspired by a church billboard Harrison had seen stating "Gossip: The Devil's Radio...Don't Be a Broadcaster." The song's theme is an attack on gossip, trivia and cynical talk radio which spreads inaccuracies and falsehoods. The song uses metaphors such as "vultures," "weeds," "pollution" and "industrial waste" to drive home the point of gossip's effects. The theme was a personal one to Harrison, as he had felt victimized by gossip and by the media attention he received as an ex-

Beatle The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the most influential band in Western popular ...

, which inhibited his ability to live a normal life. This point is driven home by the line "You wonder why I don't hang out much/I wonder how you can't see." "Devil's Radio" begins with a repeated recitation of the word "Gossip" before launching in the verses describing the evils of gossip. Chip Madinger and Mark Easter wrote that the music was inspired by the

Eurythmics Eurythmics were a British New wave music, new wave duo formed in 1980, consisting of Scottish vocalist Annie Lennox and English musician and producer Dave Stewart (Eurythmics), Dave Stewart. They were both previously in the Tourists, a band t ...

, making it one of the few songs in which Harrison was influenced by contemporary musical trends. Harrison biographer Simon Leng described the music accompaniment as Harrison's most aggressive since " Wah-Wah" in 1971 and described the style of the music as

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre, it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western musi ...

. Leng compared the opening of "Devil's Radio" to songs of

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, guitarist and songwriter who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and de ...

and particularly praised Harrison's vocal and the

counterpoint In music theory, counterpoint is the relationship of two or more simultaneous musical lines (also called voices) that are harmonically dependent on each other, yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. The term originates from the Latin ...

provided by

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...

, who played guitar on the song along with Harrison. The other musicians who performed on the song were

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

on piano,

Jeff Lynne Jeffrey Lynne (born 30 December 1947) is an English musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. He is the co-founder and, latterly, sole member of the rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) which was formed in 1970. He has written all of ...

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

and keyboards,

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the group, us ...

on drums and

Ray Cooper Raymond Cooper (born 19 September 1947) is an English musician who has worked as a session and road-tour percussionist. During his career, Cooper has worked and toured with numerous musically diverse bands and artists including Elton John (as ...

on percussion.

Reception

Although not released commercially as a single, "Devil's Radio" reached #4 on the ''

chart. Inglis described the song as "a fiery dose of contemporary rock 'n' roll at its most compelling" and saw it as an inspiration for some of the songs on

Tom Petty Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He was the leader and frontman of the Rock music, rock bands Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Mudcrutch and a member of the late 1980s sup ...

's ''

Full Moon Fever ''Full Moon Fever'' is the debut solo studio album by American musician Tom Petty, released on April 24, 1989, by MCA Records. It features contributions from members of his band the Heartbreakers, notably Mike Campbell, as well as Jeff Lynne, ...

'' and ''

Into the Great Wide Open ''Into the Great Wide Open'' is the eighth studio album by American rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Released in July 1991, it was the band's last with MCA Records. The album was the second that Petty produced with Jeff Lynne, followin ...

'' which, like "Devil's Radio," were produced by Lynne. Mat Snow praised Lynne's production for bringing out the "wry, loving humor of George's singing," even though Harrison's voice often struggles with up–tempo songs like this.

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

critic

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and former senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of multiple artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance ...

called it one of the "best moments" on ''Cloud Nine''. Madinger and Easter reacted similarly. Harrison biographer Elliot Huntley called it one of ''Cloud Nine''s "most instantly accessible tracks" and expressed surprise that it wasn't released as a commercial single, stating that its

honky tonk A honky-tonk (also called honkatonk, honkey-tonk, honky tonk, or tonk) is either a bar that provides country music for the entertainment of its patrons or the style of music played in such establishments. It can also refer to the type of piano ...

piano and Beatle-like backing vocals made it a natural

album-oriented rock Album-oriented rock (AOR, originally called album-oriented radio) is an FM radio format created in the United States in the late 1960s that focuses on the full repertoire of rock albums and is currently associated with classic rock. US rad ...

radio track. Copley News reviewer Divina Infusino described the song as "biting commentary." ''

Santa Cruz Sentinel The ''Santa Cruz Sentinel'' is a daily newspaper published in Santa Cruz, California, covering Santa Cruz County, California, and owned by Media News Group, which is controlled by Alden Global Capital. History The paper was owned by the McP ...

'' critic Paul Wagner considered the song to be "among the best two-guitar rock ever recorded." A live version of "Devil's Radio" was included on Harrison's

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th centur ...

'' Live in Japan'' in 1992. This version was recorded during Harrison's 1991 Japanese tour with Clapton.

Personnel

– lead vocals, rhythm guitar *

– bass guitar, keyboards, backing vocals *

– piano *

– drums *

– lead guitar *

– percussion

References

{{Authority control 1987 songs Songs written by George Harrison Song recordings produced by George Harrison Song recordings produced by Jeff Lynne George Harrison songs Music published by Oops Publishing and Ganga Publishing, B.V. Songs about radio Rockabilly songs