"Soft Touch" is a song by English rock musician

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 ...

from his 1979 album ''

''. It was also issued as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

of the album's lead single, "

Blow Away "Blow Away" is a song by English musician George Harrison that was released in February 1979 on his album ''George Harrison''. It was also the lead single from the album. The song is one of Harrison's most popular recordings from his solo career ...

", in Britain and some other countries, while in markets such as North America, it was the B-side of the second single, "

Love Comes to Everyone "Love Comes to Everyone" is a song by English rock musician George Harrison from his 1979 album ''George Harrison''. It is the opening track on the album and was also issued as the second single, after " Blow Away". The song reflects Harrison's ...

". Harrison wrote the song while in the

Virgin Islands The Virgin Islands () are an archipelago between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and northeastern Caribbean Sea, geographically forming part of the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean, Caribbean islands or West Indie ...

with his future wife, Olivia Arias, shortly before recording his 1976 album '' Thirty Three & ⅓''. The song is a love song in which Harrison also conveys his wonder at the idyllic island setting. Harrison recorded "Soft Touch" in 1978 at his home studio, FPSHOT, in Oxfordshire. The track includes synthesizer contributions from

Steve Winwood Stephen Lawrence Winwood (born 12 May 1948) is an English musician and songwriter whose genres include blue-eyed soul, rhythm and blues, blues rock, and pop rock. Though primarily a guitarist, keyboard player, and vocalist prominent for his dis ...

and was co-produced by Harrison and

Russ Titelman Russ Titelman (born August 16, 1944, Los Angeles, California, United States) is an American record producer and songwriter. He has to date won three Grammy Awards. He earned his first producing the Steve Winwood song " Higher Love", and his se ...

Background and composition

began writing "Soft Touch" in March 1976 while holidaying with his girlfriend, Olivia Arias, in the

. The holiday served as a songwriting session for Harrison's first album on his

Dark Horse A dark horse is a previously lesser-known person, team or thing that emerges to prominence in a situation, especially in a competition involving multiple rivals, that is unlikely to succeed but has a fighting chance, unlike the underdog who is exp ...

record label, '' Thirty Three & ⅓'', and also as an escape from the problems he faced with the copyright infringement suit relating to his 1970 hit song "

My Sweet Lord "My Sweet Lord" is a song by the English musician George Harrison, released in November 1970 on his triple album ''All Things Must Pass''. It was also released as a single, Harrison's first as a solo artist, and topped charts worldwide; it was ...

".Madinger & Easter, p. 453. The title for "Soft Touch" came from American musician

Jim Keltner James Lee Keltner (born April 27, 1942) is an American drummer and percussionist known primarily for his session work. He was characterized by Bob Dylan biographer Howard Sounes as "the leading session drummer in America". Howard Sounes. ''Do ...

, who used to call Harrison a "soft touch" because of his generosity towards his friends and fellow musicians. Caneel Bay Sunset by Cottage 7

Harrison based the melody on the horn line in his 1970 track " Run of the Mill".Madinger & Easter, p. 458. In his 1980 autobiography, ''

I, Me, Mine ''I, Me, Mine'' is an autobiographic memoir by the English musician George Harrison, formerly of The Beatles. It was published in 1980 as a hand-bound, limited edition book by Genesis Publications, with a mixture of printed text and multi-colou ...

'', he recalls that the new composition originated from his playing the horn part on a guitar. He says that the song's lyrics convey "everything that was going on in the Islands … the wind, the cool breeze blowing, the palm trees, the new moon rising".Harrison, p. 344. As with the early drafts of " It's What You Value", which was also inspired by his friendship with Keltner, the handwritten lyrics are reproduced in ''I, Me, Mine'' on stationery from the Caneel Bay Plantation in

Virgin Islands National Park The Virgin Islands National Park is a national park of the United States preserving about 60% of the land area of Saint John, U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as more than of adjacent ocean, and nearly all of Hassel Island, just off the Charlott ...

. In her foreword to the 2002 edition of ''I, Me, Mine'', Olivia Harrison refers to Harrison's brief commentary on "Soft Touch" as an example of how his handwritten notes reveal significant details that may not be apparent at first glance. She comments on his inclusion of the phrase "Bridge (''noch ein mal'')", which uses the German for "One more time", a phrase that

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, 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 Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

took to calling out to each other on stage during their shows in Hamburg in the early 1960s. As further background to "Soft Touch", she recalls that she and Harrison were joined in the Virgin Islands by comedian

Eric Idle Eric Idle (born 29 March 1943) is an English actor, comedian, songwriter, musician, screenwriter and playwright. He was a member of the British comedy group Monty Python and the parody rock band the Rutles. Idle studied English at Pembroke Co ...

Monty Python Monty Python, also known as the Pythons, were a British comedy troupe formed in 1969 consisting of Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin. The group came to prominence for the sketch comedy ser ...

, and that the noise they created attracted complaints from television producer

Norman Lear Norman Milton Lear (July 27, 1922December 5, 2023) was an American screenwriter and producer who produced, wrote, created, or developed over 100 shows. Lear created and produced numerous popular 1970s sitcoms, including ''All in the Family'' (1 ...

and his wife, activist and journalist

Frances Lear Frances Lear (''née'' Loeb, July 14, 1923 – September 30, 1996) was an American activist, magazine publisher, editor and writer. Biography Lear was born with only a first name, Evelyn, to an unwed mother in Hudson, New York, at the Vand ...

, who were staying in the neighbouring house. Olivia adds that, once the Lears learned that it was George Harrison who was responsible for the loud music, Norman Lear "again knocked on our door, this time apologising and pleading for George to play as much music as he liked".Harrison, p. 5. "Soft Touch" is a

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin , or or ), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. The origins of secularity can be traced to the Bible itself. The concept was fleshed out through Christian hi ...

love song and, in the view of theologian

Dale Allison Dale C. Allison Jr. (born November 25, 1955) is an American historian and Christian theologian. His areas of expertise include the historical Jesus, the Gospel of Matthew, Second Temple Jewish literature, and the history of the interpretation ...

, lacks the religious aspect commonly found in Harrison's love songs. Author Ian Inglis writes that whereas the term "soft touch" usually refers to someone who is easy to convince, in Harrison's song, it describes "a caring and gentle nature", with the lyrics evoking "physical and emotional tenderness".Inglis, p. 70. He says that the words work in tandem with the music, which includes a "delicate" descending riff. Inglis describes the narrative as a mix of "warm contentment", through phrases such as "eyes that shine", "treetops whisper" and "a new moon", and the idyllic surroundings, evoked through the references to ocean waves and sailing.

Recording

Harrison did not include "Soft Touch" on ''Thirty Three & ⅓'' but recorded it in 1978 for his next album, ''

''. In the intervening years, he had increasingly sought out activities outside music, which included travel with Arias, compiling material for his autobiography, and participating in Idle's comedy projects. The sessions for the album took place at Harrison's studio, FPSHOT, in Oxfordshire between April and October 1978, and coincided with a period of tranquility in his lifeMadinger & Easter, p. 457. as he and Arias awaited the birth of their first child.

Andy Newmark Andrew Newmark (born July 14, 1950)

, who played drums on the song, described Harrison as "a new George" and "only mellower" compared with when they had worked together in 1974 – a year when Harrison had exhausted himself through his commitment to launching Dark Horse Records in conjunction with his first concert tour as a solo artist. Although most of the album was written on the Hawaiian island of

Maui Maui (; Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ) is the second largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2). It is the List of islands of the United States by area, 17th-largest in the United States. Maui is one of ...

in February 1978, "Soft Touch" fitted the tropical theme of Harrison's more recent material. Harrison biographer Elliot Huntley describes the musical arrangement as having "lashings of acoustic and Hawaiian lideguitars", while author

Alan Clayson Alan Clayson (born 3 May 1951, Dover, Kent) is an English singer-songwriter, author and music journalist. He gained popularity in the late 1970s as leader of the band Clayson and the Argonauts. In addition to contributing to publications such as ...

considers it to be more evocative of Maui than other tracks on the album, with the song "transmitt ngthe blue curvature of the ocean" through the "swoop" of Harrison's guitar riffs.Clayson, p. 368. Simon Leng comments that the arrangement, particularly the guitar parts, mirrors that of the song "Round and Round" from

Splinter A splinter (also known as a sliver) is a fragment of a larger object, or a foreign body that penetrates or is purposely injected into a body. The foreign body must be lodged inside tissue to be considered a splinter. Splinters may cause initia ...

's final album for Dark Horse, ''Two Man Band''.Leng, p. 208. He also cites "Soft Touch" as an example of Harrison adopting a less American sound in his work; referring to

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 ...

conga The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest ...

playing on the track, Leng writes: "he sounds English, not Cuban; like Cooper, not

Armando Peraza Armando Peraza (May 30, 1924 – April 14, 2014) was a Cuban Latin jazz percussionist and a member of the rock band Santana. Peraza played congas, bongos, and timbales. Biography Early life Born in Lawton Batista, Havana, Cuba in 1924 (althou ...

Release

''George Harrison'' was released on Dark Horse Records on 20 February 1979. "Soft Touch" was sequenced as the penultimate track, between " Your Love Is Forever" and " If You Believe". Inglis recognises it as the last song in a trilogy of tracks that "celebrate his newfound domestic bliss", after "Dark Sweet Lady" and "Your Love Is Forever". In Britain, "Soft Touch" was also issued as the

of the album's lead single, "

", on 16 February. In North America, it instead appeared as the B-side of the follow-up single, "

", which was originally scheduled as the lead single. Harrison did minimal promotion for the album, content to let the music make its mark as he focused on establishing HandMade Films to finance ''

Monty Python's Life of Brian ''Monty Python's Life of Brian'' (also known as ''Life of Brian'') is a 1979 British biblical black comedy film starring and written by the comedy group Monty Python (Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Micha ...

'' and other Python-related film projects.Snow, p. 68. In an interview with Mick Brown, for ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'', Harrison said he was pleased with all the songs on the album but identified "Soft Touch" and "If You Believe" as the ones he was least impressed by. He said that "Soft Touch" was "just pleasant but there's nothing special about it, I feel."Mick Brown
"A Conversation with George Harrison"
''

'', 19 April 1979 (retrieved 12 August 2017). The title of the song was adopted for an international Harrison

fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleas ...

that was produced in Glasgow. The publication turned its scope to cover all the former Beatles in the early 1980s, however, due to Harrison's withdrawal from the public eye following John Lennon's murder in New York. Leng views "Soft Touch" as another "instalment of South Seas bliss" from Harrison and indicative of the artist's avoidance of all contemporary musical trends on his self-titled 1979 album. Leng adds that the song would have held little appeal to rock critics at the time but instead satisfied the criteria outlined by Harrison's friends among the

Formula 1 Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

community, for "nice, relaxing music". Inglis admires the synergy of lyrics and music on the song as "effortless and entirely natural", and adds: "While contemporary genres such as

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

and heavy metal sometimes found it difficult to blend intimate, romantic messages with sympathetic musical accompaniments, Harrison seems to have achieved a near-seamless blend of the two." He recognises Harrison's co-producer,

, and the playing of backing musicians such as

as equally responsible for this achievement, saying that their contributions contrasted with the extravagance heard on some of Harrison's early 1970s work and so matched his requirement for "a less aggressive, and more subtle, musical philosophy" from 1976 onwards.Inglis, pp. 70–71.

Personnel

According to Simon Leng: *

– vocals, acoustic and electric guitars,

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos that ...

s, backing vocals *

–

synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

Neil Larsen Neil Larsen (born August 7, 1948) is an American jazz keyboardist, musical arranger and composer. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio and grew up in Sarasota, Florida before relocating to New York and then, in 1977, Los Angeles. Early life Larsen was ...

– organ *

Willie Weeks Willie Weeks (born August 5, 1947) is an American bass guitarist. He has gained fame performing with famous musicians in a wide variety of genres. He has been one of the most in-demand session musicians throughout his career. Weeks has also ga ...

– bass *

Andy Newmark Andrew Newmark (born July 14, 1950)

– drums *

–

Notes

References

Sources

* Dale C. Allison Jr, ''The Love There That's Sleeping: The Art and Spirituality of George Harrison'', Continuum (New York, NY, 2006; ). * Keith Badman, ''The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After the Break-Up 1970–2001'', Omnibus Press (London, 2001; ). *

, ''George Harrison'', Sanctuary (London, 2003; ). *

, ''I Me Mine'', Chronicle Books (San Francisco, CA, 2002

980 Year 980 ( CMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Peace is concluded between Emperor Otto II (the Red) and King Lothair III (or Lothair IV) at Margut, ending the Franco-Germa ...

). *

Bill Harry William Harry (born 17 September 1938) is the creator of ''Mersey Beat'', a newspaper of the early 1960s which focused on the Liverpool music scene. Harry had previously started various magazines and newspapers, such as ''Biped'' and ''Premier ...

, ''The George Harrison Encyclopedia'', Virgin Books (London, 2003; ). * Elliot J. Huntley, ''Mystical One: George Harrison – After the Break-up of the Beatles'', Guernica Editions (Toronto, ON, 2006; ). * Ian Inglis, ''The Words and Music of George Harrison'', Praeger (Santa Barbara, CA, 2010; ). *

Ashley Kahn Ashley Kahn (b. 1960) is an American music historian, journalist, and producer. He was born in the Bronx, New York, and was raised in Cincinnati. Kahn graduated from Columbia University in 1983. While attending Columbia, he hosted a jazz and blues ...

(ed.), ''George Harrison on George Harrison: Interviews and Encounters'', Chicago Review Press (Chicago, IL, 2020; ). * Simon Leng, ''While My Guitar Gently Weeps: The Music of George Harrison'', Hal Leonard (Milwaukee, WI, 2006; ). * Chip Madinger & Mark Easter, ''Eight Arms to Hold You: The Solo Beatles Compendium'', 44.1 Productions (Chesterfield, MO, 2000; ). * Robert Rodriguez, ''Fab Four FAQ 2.0: The Beatles' Solo Years, 1970–1980'', Backbeat Books (Milwaukee, WI, 2010; ). *

Mat Snow Mat Snow (born 20 October 1958) is an English music journalist, magazine editor, and author. From 1995 to 1999, he was the editor of '' Mojo'' magazine; he subsequently served in the same role on the football magazine '' FourFourTwo''. During th ...

, ''The Beatles Solo: The Illustrated Chronicles of John, Paul, George, and Ringo After The Beatles'' (Volume 3: ''George''), Race Point Publishing (New York, NY, 2013; ). *

Gary Tillery Gary Tillery is an American writer and artist known for his biographies focusing on the spiritual lives of famous figures, and for his public sculptures. His 2009 book, ''The Cynical Idealist'', was named the official book of the 2010 Theatre Wi ...

, ''Working Class Mystic: A Spiritual Biography of George Harrison'', Quest Books (Wheaton, IL, 2011; ). *

Bob Woffinden Robert Woffinden (31 January 1948 – 1 May 2018) was a British investigative journalist. Formerly a reporter with the ''New Musical Express'', he later specialised in investigating miscarriages of justice. He wrote about a number of high-profi ...

, ''The Beatles Apart'', Proteus (London, 1981; ). {{George Harrison singles 1979 songs George Harrison songs Songs written by George Harrison Song recordings produced by George Harrison Song recordings produced by Russ Titelman Music published by Oops Publishing and Ganga Publishing, B.V.