Cheer Down
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"Cheer Down" is a song by 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 ...
that was first released in 1989. The track was his contribution to the soundtrack of the film ''
Lethal Weapon 2 ''Lethal Weapon 2'' is a 1989 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Richard Donner, and starring Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci, Joss Ackland, Derrick O'Connor and Patsy Kensit. It is a sequel to the 1987 film ''Lethal Weapon'' ...
'' and was also issued as a single. Harrison wrote the song with
Tom Petty Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American musician who was the lead vocalist and guitarist of the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, formed in 1976. He previously led the band Mudcrutch, was a member of the lat ...
and co-produced the recording with
Jeff Lynne Jeffrey Lynne (born 30 December 1947) is an English musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the co-founder of the rock music, rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), which was formed in 1970. As a songwriter, h ...
. The song has appeared on the Harrison compilation albums '' Best of Dark Horse'' and '' Let It Roll''. A live version recorded with
Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...
was included on Harrison's 1992 album '' Live in Japan''.


Composition and recording

The title of the song is attributed to Harrison's wife
Olivia Olivia may refer to: People * Olivia (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Olivia (singer) (Olivia Longott, born 1981), American singer * Olívia (basketball) (Carlos Henrique Rodrigues do Nascimento, born 1974 ...
, who would tell her husband, "Okay, cheer down, big fellow" when he became too enthusiastic. Harrison first recorded a rhythm track for the song during the sessions for his 1987 album ''
Cloud Nine Cloud Nine, cloud 9 or cloud nine is a name colloquially given to the state of euphoria, and may refer to: Books and comics * Cloud 9 (comics), a Marvel Comics superhero that debuted in ''Avengers: The Initiative'' * ''Cloud Nine'' (novel), a 19 ...
''. He subsequently finished the lyrics with assistance from
Tom Petty Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American musician who was the lead vocalist and guitarist of the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, formed in 1976. He previously led the band Mudcrutch, was a member of the lat ...
. The following year, along with "Run So Far" and "That Kind of Woman", "Cheer Down" was among the four compositions that Harrison offered to
Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...
for inclusion on the latter's album ''
Journeyman A journeyman, journeywoman, or journeyperson is a worker, skilled in a given building trade or craft, who has successfully completed an official apprenticeship qualification. Journeymen are considered competent and authorized to work in that fie ...
''. Clapton instead decided to use it for the soundtrack to the film ''
Lethal Weapon 2 ''Lethal Weapon 2'' is a 1989 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Richard Donner, and starring Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci, Joss Ackland, Derrick O'Connor and Patsy Kensit. It is a sequel to the 1987 film ''Lethal Weapon'' ...
'', which he had been commissioned to supply, but he persuaded Harrison to contribute his own recording for inclusion in the film. Harrison completed "Cheer Down" at his home studio, FPSHOT, in March 1989. The song was again co-produced by
Jeff Lynne Jeffrey Lynne (born 30 December 1947) is an English musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the co-founder of the rock music, rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), which was formed in 1970. As a songwriter, h ...
, who had served the same role on ''Cloud Nine'', in addition to forming
the Traveling Wilburys The Traveling Wilburys were a British-American supergroup consisting of Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty. Originating from an idea discussed by Harrison and Lynne during the sessions for Harrison's 1987 album '' ...
with Harrison and Petty. The completed recording features a long closing
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 tha ...
solo that author Simon Leng admires for its fluency and variation. In Leng's description, during this section, Harrison's playing "runs the gamut from Indian blues chops to two-part countermelodies and sweeping
Pete Drake Roddis Franklin "Pete" Drake (October 8, 1932 – July 29, 1988), was a Nashville-based American record producer and pedal steel guitar player. One of the most sought-after backup musicians of the 1960s, Drake played on such hits as Lynn Anderson' ...
jaunts through the octaves".


Release

"Cheer Down" was used over the closing credits of ''Lethal Weapon 2''. It was then issued as the opening track on the accompanying soundtrack album, released on 10 August 1989 in the United States, and as a single to promote the film there, on 22 August. Issued on
Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...
, the single's
B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...
was "That's What It Takes", a track from ''Cloud Nine''. The UK release, which took place on 27 November, on Harrison's Warner-distributed
Dark Horse A dark horse is a previously lesser-known person or thing that emerges to prominence in a situation, especially in a competition involving multiple rivals, or a contestant that on paper should be unlikely to succeed but yet still might. Origin Th ...
record label, instead used the newly recorded "Poor Little Girl" as the B-side. The single was the last such release by Harrison as a solo artist during his lifetime. In October 1989, "Cheer Down" was included on Harrison's Dark Horse Records compilation album ''
Best of Dark Horse 1976–1989 ''Best of Dark Horse 1976–1989'' is a compilation album by English musician George Harrison, released in October 1989. His second compilation, after the Capitol/EMI collection ''The Best of George Harrison'' (1976), it contains songs from Harri ...
'', as the final track. Although ''Best of Dark Horse'' is no longer in print, "Cheer Down" was included on the 2009 career-spanning compilation '' Let It Roll: Songs by George Harrison''. It also appeared on the reissued soundtrack album in 2013, as part of a box set titled ''Lethal Weapon Soundtrack Collection''.


Live version

Harrison performed "Cheer Down" throughout his 1991 Japanese tour with Clapton, which was Harrison's first tour since 1974. "Cheer Down" was the most recent song included in Harrison's set list; in addition, it was one of the few selections to showcase his slide guitar playing, since otherwise he delegated his slide parts to Clapton's guitarist,
Andy Fairweather-Low Andrew Fairweather Low (born 2 August 1948) is a Welsh guitarist and singer. He was a founding member and lead singer of 1960s pop band Amen Corner, and in recent years has toured extensively with Roger Waters, Eric Clapton and Bill Wyman's R ...
. During the concerts, Harrison took to introducing it as a song from the musical '' South Pacific''. A version recorded on 15 December 1991 at the
Tokyo Dome is an indoor stadium in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. It was designed as a baseball stadium following its predecessor, Korakuen Stadium. Construction on the stadium began on May 16, 1985, and it opened on March 17, 1988. It was built on the site of th ...
appears on Harrison's 1992 double album '' Live in Japan''. He also performed it at the Natural Law Party Concert, held at the
Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...
in London on 6 April 1992. For this performance – which was Harrison's only full-length concert as a solo artist in Britain – Petty's lead guitarist in
the Heartbreakers The Heartbreakers, sometimes referred to as Johnny Thunders' Heartbreakers, were an American punk rock band formed in New York City in 1975. The band spearheaded the first wave of punk rock. History Johnny Thunders (vocals/guitar) and Jerry N ...
, Mike Campbell, replaced Clapton. American
dobro Dobro is an American brand of resonator guitars, currently owned by Gibson and manufactured by its subsidiary Epiphone. The term "dobro" is also used as a generic term for any wood-bodied, single-cone resonator guitar. The Dobro was originally ...
player
Rainer Ptacek Rainer Ptacek, also known mononymously as Rainer (June 7, 1951 – November 12, 1997), was a German-American guitarist and singer-songwriter based in Tucson, Arizona for much of his adult life. His guitar technique, which incorporated slide, fin ...
performed "Cheer Down" in 1997. Along with a version of Harrison's
Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...
track "
Within You Without You "Within You Without You" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1967 album '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''. Written by lead guitarist George Harrison, it was his second composition in the Indian classical style, af ...
", the song was issued on Ptacek's 2001 album ''Live at the Performance Center''.


Track listings

* US (
Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...
): 7-inch vinyl 7-22807, cassette 4-22807 # "Cheer Down" # "That's What It Takes" * UK (
Dark Horse Records Dark Horse Records is a record label founded by former The Beatles, Beatle George Harrison in 1974. The label's formation coincided with the winding down of the Beatles' Apple Records and allowed Harrison to continue supporting other artists' ...
): 7-inch vinyl W2696 # "Cheer Down" # "Poor Little Girl" * UK (Dark Horse Records): 12-inch single W2696T, CD W2696CD, cassette W2696C # "Cheer Down" # "Poor Little Girl" # "
Crackerbox Palace "Crackerbox Palace" is the ninth track on George Harrison's 1976 album, ''Thirty Three & 1/3''. The song was released as the second single from the album and reached number 19 in the American pop charts. History The song was inspired by Harrison ...
"


Personnel

The following personnel are credited by Simon Leng: *
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 ...
 – vocals, guitar,
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 tha ...
s *
Jeff Lynne Jeffrey Lynne (born 30 December 1947) is an English musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the co-founder of the rock music, rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), which was formed in 1970. As a songwriter, h ...
 – bass, guitar, keyboards, backing vocals *
Richard Tandy Richard Tandy (born 26 March 1948) is an English musician. He is best known as the keyboardist in the rock band Electric Light Orchestra ("ELO"). His palette of keyboards (including Minimoog, Clavinet, Mellotron, and piano) was an important in ...
 – piano *
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 ...
 – percussion *
Ian Paice Ian Anderson Paice (born 29 June 1948) is an English musician, best known as the drummer and last remaining original member of the rock band Deep Purple. He is often cited as one of the greatest drummers of all-time. He remains the only member ...
 – drums


References


Sources

* * * * * * * * {{authority control 1989 songs 1989 singles George Harrison songs Dark Horse Records singles Song recordings produced by George Harrison Song recordings produced by Jeff Lynne Songs written by George Harrison Songs written by Tom Petty Music published by Oops Publishing and Ganga Publishing, B.V. Lethal Weapon (franchise)