Michael Bostwick

Michael Paul Trevor Bostwick (born 17 May 1988) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for National League North club Boston United.

Bostwick started his career at Millwall, and played regularly for the club's under-18 team and reserve team. At the age of 17, he joined Conference National club Crawley Town on a work experience loan during the latter stages of 2005–06 season. Bostwick played regularly for Crawley until he was recalled by Millwall in January 2007. He was told he was surplus to requirements at the club and subsequently signed for Rushden & Diamonds on an 18-month contract, where he played eight matches before being released by Rushden at the end of the 2006–07 season. He joined Ebbsfleet United in August 2007 ahead of the 2007–08 season, helping Ebbsfleet win the FA Trophy at Wembley Stadium in May 2008. Bostwick rejected a contract offer from Ebbsfleet, and signed for Stevenage Borough shortly after the FA Trophy success. He played regularly in the club's defence and midfield throughout his time at Stevenage, winning the FA Trophy once again in May 2009 and helping the club earn back-to-back promotions from the Conference Premier into League One.

After making 206 appearances during his four years at Stevenage, Bostwick signed for Championship club Peterborough United in July 2012, where he spent five seasons; playing 228 times and helping the club win the Football League Trophy in 2014. He then joined Lincoln City ahead of the 2017–18 season, winning the EFL Trophy in 2018 before being named the club's Player of the Year as they finished the 2018–19 season as League Two champions. Bostwick signed for fellow League One club Burton Albion in August 2020, before rejoining former club Stevenage, initially on loan in January 2022, and then on a permanent basis in May 2022. After helping Stevenage earn promotion into League One during the 2022–23 season, Bostwick joined Boston United of the National League North in June 2023.

## Early life

Bostwick was born in Eltham, Greater London and grew up in South East London. Bostwick supports West Ham United, and his footballing hero when growing up was Rio Ferdinand.

## Club career

### Millwall

Bostwick began his career as a trainee with Millwall, and was a regular in the club's under-18 team, as well as playing several times for the reserve team. During the latter stages of the 2005–06 season, Bostwick joined Conference National club Crawley Town on work experience. The move counted as work experience, as opposed to a loan, because of Bostwick's age; subsequently he could not appear for the first team of another Football League club, but was eligible to play for the first team of a non-League club. He made his debut for Crawley a week after joining the club, coming on as an 89th-minute substitute in a 1–0 victory against Forest Green Rovers on 18 March 2006. He made his first match on 15 April 2006, playing the whole match in a 2–0 victory against Aldershot Town, scoring Crawley's second goal. He played eight times for Crawley during his two-month work experience, scoring three goals. On his return to his parent club in May 2006, Bostwick signed a one-year contract with Millwall.

Shortly before the start of the 2006–07 season, Bostwick was loaned out to Crawley Town for a second spell at the club. He played in the club's first five matches of the season, scoring twice from midfield in a 3–2 away win at Stevenage Borough on 18 August 2006. Crawley Town extended the loan deal until the end of the season on 31 August 2006, although Millwall were able to recall him in the January transfer window if they deemed it necessary. Bostwick played 25 times during the first half of the season, scoring twice, before Millwall recalled him in January 2007.

### Rushden & Diamonds

Having made no first-team appearances for Millwall, Bostwick was allowed to leave the club on a free transfer to sign for Rushden & Diamonds on an 18-month contract. Rushden were managed by Graham Westley, who had previously written about Bostwick's credentials in his weekly column in The Non-League Paper when Westley was out of work. Bostwick debuted for Rushden in the club's 2–1 away victory at league leaders Dagenham & Redbridge on 10 February 2007. He was sent-off for the first time in his career in Rushden's 2–2 draw with Aldershot Town on 24 March 2007, receiving a red card for two bookable offences. Bostwick played eight matches for Rushden, although fell out of favour at the club in March 2007 after Westley was sacked. He was released by the club at the end of the 2006–07 season.

### Ebbsfleet United

At the start of the 2007–08 season, Bostwick signed for Conference Premier club Ebbsfleet United on an initial three-month contract, with a view to a contract extension after the three-month period. He was signed to add "depth to the squad", as well as to "provide cover at the back and midfield areas". He made his Ebbsfleet debut on 18 August 2007, starting the match at centre back in a 1–0 victory at Nene Park against his former employers, Rushden. He scored his first goal for the club in a 1–1 draw against Exeter City on 22 September 2007. Bostwick signed a new contract at Ebbsfleet on 23 November 2007, keeping him signed to the club until the end of the 2007–08 season. Bostwick played regularly in the club's FA Trophy run during the season, making seven appearances in the club's FA Trophy matches, and scoring in a 1–1 draw against Aldershot Town in the semi-final second leg on 15 March 2008. He also played the full match in the final as Ebbsfleet won 1–0 against Torquay United at Wembley Stadium on 10 May 2008. He made 51 appearances for Ebbsfleet in all competitions during the season, scoring five times.

### Stevenage

Bostwick was offered a new contract by Ebbsfleet ahead of the 2008–09 season, but rejected the offer and instead opted to join fellow Conference Premier club Stevenage Borough on a two-year deal, playing under the management of Graham Westley for the second time. He made his debut for Stevenage in the club's opening match of the season, a 5–0 defeat to Wrexham at the Racecourse Ground on 9 August 2008. Bostwick was used in both the centre of defence and central midfield during the first half of the 2008–09 season, as well as playing at full back in the club's 1–0 defeat to Kettering Town in September 2008. He scored his first goal for the club on 7 October 2008, the winning goal in the 80th-minute against Mansfield Town to give Stevenage a 3–2 victory. Bostwick played in all seven of the club's FA Trophy run that season, including playing the whole match in Stevenage's 2–0 victory against York City in the 2009 FA Trophy final at Wembley Stadium on 9 May 2009. The FA Trophy victory meant that Bostwick had won the competition in consecutive years. Bostwick made 49 appearances in his first season at Stevenage, scoring three times.

Bostwick's first goal of the 2009–10 season came in the club's 2–1 victory against Rushden & Diamonds at Broadhall Way on 29 August 2009, scoring from the edge of the area to give Stevenage the lead. He scored a volley away at Chester City on 19 September 2009, although due to Chester City being expelled from the league, Bostwick's goal, and subsequently Stevenage's 1–0 win, were removed from the records. Bostwick played in the club's 2–0 victory against Kidderminster Harriers at Aggborough on 17 April 2010, the match that secured Stevenage's place in the Football League for the first time in the club's history. He also played in five of the club's FA Trophy fixtures during the 2009–10 season, scoring once in a match against Dover Athletic in January 2010. He played in the 2010 FA Trophy final at Wembley Stadium and was unable to record a third consecutive Wembley victory as Stevenage were defeated 2–1 to Barrow after extra time. Bostwick played 52 matches in all competitions, scoring eight times. At the end of the season, Bostwick was out of contract and Westley stated he expected him to leave, saying it would be "very difficult" to keep hold of him. Despite this, Bostwick signed a new two-year deal with Stevenage on 10 June 2010, having also attracted transfer interest from several League One clubs.

He made his Football League debut in the club's opening match of the 2010–11 season, a 2–2 draw with Macclesfield Town on 7 August 2010, playing the whole match. He scored his first goal of the season in the club's first victory in the Football League on 21 August 2010, in a 3–1 win against Stockport County, scoring with a shot from 30-yards to double Stevenage's lead just before half-time. Bostwick scored his second goal of the 2010–11 season in Stevenage's 3–1 FA Cup victory over Newcastle United on 8 January 2011. Bostwick picked up a loose pass and scored from 25-yards out to give Stevenage a two-goal lead. He played 51 matches during the season, scoring three goals. This included three appearances in the 2010–11 League Two play-offs following Stevenage's sixth-placed finish. Stevenage earned promotion to League One after a 1–0 victory against Torquay United at Old Trafford on 28 May 2011, with Bostwick playing the whole match.

Bostwick started in Stevenage's first ever League One fixture, a 0–0 draw against Exeter City on 6 August 2011. He signed a two-year contract extension with the club on 26 August 2011. Bostwick played regularly during the 2011–12 season, making 53 appearances and scoring eight goals from midfield, as Stevenage lost 1–0 over two legs in the League One play-off semi-final. During his four seasons with the club, Bostwick made 207 appearances, scoring 22 goals.

### Peterborough United

Bostwick signed for Championship club Peterborough United on a three-year contract on 9 July 2012, for an undisclosed fee. Peterborough chairman Darragh MacAnthony stated that Bostwick was manager Darren Ferguson's "number one transfer target for the summer". He made his Peterborough debut in the club's first match of the 2012–13 season, playing the whole match in a 4–0 home victory against Southend United in the League Cup on 14 August 2012. Bostwick scored his first goal for the club in his fourth appearance, halving the deficit with a "stunning volley from the edge of the area" as Peterborough lost 2–1 at home to Leeds United on 25 August 2012. He was made captain ahead of Peterborough's home match against Derby County on 27 October 2012, and opened the scoring in the match with a volley, his second goal of the season, in a 3–0 victory. Bostwick made 42 appearances for Peterborough in his first season there, scoring five goals, as Peterborough were relegated from the Championship. During the 2013–14 season, Bostwick reverted from central midfield to playing regularly at centre-back. He made 57 appearances in all competitions, scoring four times. This included six appearances in the Football League Trophy as Peterborough won the competition; Bostwick played the whole match in the final, a 3–1 victory against Chesterfield at Wembley Stadium on 30 March 2014.

He signed a new three-and-a-half year contract with Peterborough on 10 March 2015, with MacAnthony stating Bostwick could return to his midfield role as "you can see what he brings to that position". He scored seven times in 41 matches throughout the 2014–15 season, which included ending the season scoring three times in his last two games. Having played regularly in the first-team under Ferguson for two seasons, Bostwick continued to do so under new manager Graham Westley during the 2015–16 season, who had previously managed Bostwick at Rushden & Diamonds and Stevenage. He played 43 times and scored four goals that season, with Peterborough finishing in 13th place in League One. Bostwick scored three times in 45 appearances under the management of Grant McCann throughout the 2016–17 season and was voted as Peterborough's Player of the Year for the season at the club's end-of-season awards ceremony. During his five years at Peterborough, he made 228 appearances in all competitions, scoring 23 times.

### Lincoln City

Bostwick signed for newly promoted League Two club Lincoln City on a two-year contract on 20 July 2017. He joined Lincoln for an undisclosed fee, with Peterborough having received a higher offer from Blackburn Rovers, although Bostwick did not want to relocate to the north of England. He made his debut for Lincoln in the club's 2–2 draw away at Wycombe Wanderers on 5 August 2017, and scored his first goal in a 2–1 victory against Chesterfield at Sincil Bank on 7 October 2017. He made seven appearances in Lincoln's EFL Trophy run that season as the club won the trophy after defeating Shrewsbury Town in the 2018 EFL Trophy final at Wembley Stadium on 8 April 2018. It was the second time Bostwick had won the trophy in his career; and the fourth cup competition he had won at Wembley Stadium. He scored six times in 51 appearances during his first season at Lincoln and was selected in the 2017–18 EFL League Two Team of the Season having helped the defence keep 17 clean sheets. Bostwick extended his contract with Lincoln for an extra year on 26 April 2018, keeping him at the club until June 2020.

During the 2018–19 season, Bostwick scored in Lincoln's FA Cup third round 2–1 defeat to Premier League club Everton on 5 January 2019. He played regularly in the centre of defence for manager Danny Cowley that season, making 49 appearances as Lincoln won promotion into League One after finishing as League Two champions. Bostwick was voted Lincoln's Player of the Year at the end of the season. Having started the 2019–20 season as a regular in the first-team line-up, Bostwick sustained a calf injury in Lincoln's 1–0 home defeat to Bristol Rovers on 14 September 2019, during which he was a substituted at half-time. He returned to the first team in December 2019, although suffered a recurrence of the injury in a 3–1 defeat at Sunderland on 4 January 2020. Having returned to the team a month later, the regular season was curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. He was included in Lincoln's list of released players on 28 May 2020 and Bostwick left the club upon the expiry of his contract.

### Burton Albion

Bostwick signed for League One club Burton Albion on 5 August 2020, on a one-year contract. The transfer materialised after Bostwick had spoken to his former teammate and Burton fitness coach Chris Beardsley about joining the club. He debuted for Burton in a 1–1 draw against Accrington Stanley in the EFL Cup on 4 September 2020. Bostwick was predominantly on the substitutes' bench in the opening three months of the 2020–21 season, making five league appearances. He returned to the starting line-up in December 2020 and was a regular under new manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink for the remainder of the season. Bostwick scored his first goal for Burton in a 2–0 away victory against Northampton Town on 13 February 2021. His goal in the match came from an indirect free-kick within Northampton's penalty area. He made 31 appearances during the season, scoring twice, as Burton finished 16th in League One having spent most of the season in the relegation places. Described as "influential" and "key" during the second half of the season, Burton confirmed that Bostwick had signed a one-year contract extension with the club in July 2021. Bostwick was released by the club at the end of the 2021–22 season.

### Return to Stevenage

Having made 10 appearances for Burton throughout the first half of the 2021–22 season, during which he suffered a hamstring injury, Bostwick rejoined League Two club Stevenage on 4 January 2022, on loan for the remainder of the 2021–22 season. Bostwick played 14 times for Stevenage during the loan agreement, with the club avoiding relegation with three games remaining. His release from Burton was confirmed on 9 May 2022 and he signed for Stevenage on a permanent basis on 23 May 2022. Bostwick made 37 appearances during the 2022–23 season as Stevenage earned promotion into League One after finishing in second place in League Two. He left the club upon the expiry of his contract at the end of the season.

### Boston United

Bostwick joined National League North club Boston United on 6 June 2023.

## International career

Bostwick was called up to play for the England C team, who represent England at non-League level, in a match against Italy C in Benevento in November 2008. He came on as a 56th-minute substitute in a match that ended 2–2. He was called up again for a match against Belgium under-23s at the Kassam Stadium in May 2009, withdrawing due to injury. Bostwick was called up once more to play against Poland under-23 team in Grodzisk Wielkopolski on 20 October 2009, but again withdrew due to injury.

## Personal life

With his first partner, Bostwick had two children, a daughter and a son. With his current wife he has one daughter.

## Career statistics

## Honours

Ebbsfleet United

- FA Trophy: 2007–08

Stevenage

- League Two runner-up: 2022–23; play-offs: 2011
- Conference Premier: 2009–10
- FA Trophy: 2008–09; runner-up: 2009–10

Peterborough United

- Football League Trophy: 2013–14

Lincoln City

- EFL League Two: 2018–19
- EFL Trophy: 2017–18

Individual

- PFA Fans' League Two Player of the Year: 2018–19

- Conference Premier Team of the Year: 2009–10
- Peterborough United Player of the Year: 2016–17
- EFL League Two Team of the Year: 2017–18
- Lincoln City Player of the Year: 2018–19

English association football player

England men's semi-pro international footballers

National League (English football) players


Caroline Harrison

Caroline Lavinia Harrison (née Scott; October 1, 1832 – October 25, 1892) was an American music teacher and the first lady of the United States from 1889 until her death. She was married to President Benjamin Harrison, and she was the second first lady to die while serving in that role.

The daughter of a college professor, Harrison was well-educated, and she expressed interest in art, music, and literature throughout her life. She married Benjamin Harrison in 1853 and taught music while he engaged in a legal and political career. She was heavily involved in the community, working at her church, participating in charity work, and managing local institutions such as an orphanage and a women's club. During the Civil War, she contributed to the war effort through women's volunteer groups. When her husband was nominated for the presidency, she was a hostess as her home became the center of a front porch campaign.

As first lady, Harrison took little interest in her duties as hostess and dedicated much of her time to charity work. She was in favor of women's rights, and she co-founded the Daughters of the American Revolution, serving as its first President General. Harrison engaged in a major undertaking to renovate the White House, having much of its interior and utilities entirely redone. These renovations included the addition of electricity, though the family declined to use it for fear of electrocution. Her plans for the White House would later influence the construction of the East Wing and the West Wing. She also took inventory of furnishings and other possessions kept in the White House, beginning the practice of White House historical preservation.

## Early life

Caroline Lavinia Scott was born in Oxford, Ohio, on October 1, 1832, to Mary Potts Neal, a teacher at a girls' school, and John Witherspoon Scott, a Presbyterian minister and professor at Miami University. Caroline's parents were abolitionists, and were active in the Underground Railroad. Her great-grandfather was the founder of the first Presbyterian church in the United States, and of the College of New Jersey, which was later renamed Princeton University. She had two sisters and two brothers. Among her family, she was known as "Carrie". Her father left Miami University following a dispute over his abolitionist beliefs, and the family moved to Cincinnati. Her parents were supporters of women's education, and they ensured that she was well educated.

While in Cincinnati, Caroline attended a girls' school that her father founded. Caroline's father also took a job teaching science and mathematics at Farmer's College in Cincinnati. Caroline began a courtship with Benjamin Harrison, one of her father's students at Farmer's College. The extent of their relationship was kept secret, and the two would often meet for buggy and sleigh rides together. They would also secretly attend dancing parties, which were seen as sinful at her father's institute. When Caroline's father was appointed the first president of the Oxford Female Institute, the Scotts returned to Oxford, and Benjamin transferred to Miami University so he could be close to Caroline.

In addition to her enrollment as a student, Scott took a part-time job at the institute teaching art and music. They were engaged in 1852, but they delayed the marriage until the following year. While Harrison advanced his legal career, Scott took a job as a music teacher in Carrollton, Kentucky, with Bethania Bishop Bennet. Bennet had previously been in charge of the Oxford Female Institute. Caroline was severely overworked while in Kentucky, which negatively affected her health: as a result she and Benjamin wed sooner than originally planned. They were married on October 20, 1853, with Caroline's father presiding.

Benjamin and Caroline were often contrasted with one another, as Benjamin's serious personality was distinct from Caroline's friendly demeanor. After their marriage, they stayed at the Harrison family home in North Bend, Ohio until Benjamin was admitted to the bar 1854, at which point they moved to Indianapolis. The Harrisons struggled financially in the early years of their marriage; though the Harrison family had been well-to-do, their wealth had been diluted over generations. Caroline kept house while Benjamin worked as an attorney. While she was pregnant with her first child in 1854, Caroline stayed at her family home in Ohio. The Harrisons' lives were further complicated by a fire that destroyed their home in Indianapolis the same year.

The Harrisons had three children, two of whom survived to adulthood. Russell Benjamin Harrison was born on August 12, 1854; Mary Scott Harrison was born on April 3, 1858; and another daughter died at birth in 1861. The family lived more comfortably as Benjamin's legal career advanced. In addition to keeping house, Caroline took up several hobbies. She began china painting and playing the piano and the organ. Harrison also established an art studio from which she taught ceramics and other forms of art. The Harrisons were active in the First Presbyterian Church; Caroline participated in the church choir, sewing society, and fundraisers, and she also taught Sunday school. She was also active in the community, joining the Indianapolis Orphans' Asylum board of managers in 1860 and holding the position until her death. She served as the president of the Indianapolis Woman's Club. Other organizations to which she contributed include the Indianapolis Benevolent Society, a group that distributed aid in the community, and the Home for Friendless Women, a woman's retirement home.

## Civil War and senator's wife

Harrison experienced periods of loneliness and depression as her husband began his political career, for he was often away and their marriage was neglected. This was exacerbated by the onset of the Civil War, at which time both Caroline and Benjamin sought to help in the war effort. Caroline joined volunteer groups such as the Ladies Patriotic Association and the Ladies Sanitary Committee. When visiting her husband at the soldiers' camp, she would mend uniforms and perform other chores, and when at home in Indianapolis, she would tend to wounded soldiers. She continued her education after the war, taking literature and art classes. Her pursuit of literature led her to establish the Impromptu Club, a local literary discussion group, while her pursuit of art became such that she began featuring her work in art exhibitions. She also took a position on the board of lady managers of the Garfield Hospital. Harrison faced several serious health problems in the 1880s: she took a severe fall on the ice, underwent surgery in 1883, and became seriously ill in 1886. In 1874, the Harrisons oversaw the construction of a sixteen-room house. It was finished in 1875, and gave Caroline experience in planning a home that would prove valuable when she became first lady years later.

Benjamin continued to pursue politics after the war. He ran an unsuccessful campaign to be the Governor of Indiana in 1876, and he was elected to the United States Senate in 1880. After his election, Caroline oversaw the family's move to a rented suite in Washington, D.C. She served as an advisor in his political career and assisted him in his political campaigns. Her work as a family hostess grew significantly when her husband was chosen as the Republican candidate for the 1888 presidential election. He ran a front porch campaign as was common at the time, bringing thousands of people through their home. She also became a public figure in her own right, and she was used in the campaign to contrast with the popular incumbent first lady Frances Cleveland. The campaign was stressful for Harrison, and she expressed a hope to find privacy in the White House. Her husband was elected president, and was sworn in on March 4, 1889.

## First Lady of the United States

Harrison was responsible for a large family in the White House; in addition to the president and herself, the White House was home to their two children and their families, Caroline's father, Caroline's sister Elizabeth, and Elizabeth's widowed daughter. Managing this large family contributed to her image as grandmotherly and as an ideal of domestic life. Both her daughter and her daughter-in-law helped with the responsibilities of the first lady. She considered her domestic duties to be her primary responsibilities, expressing little interest in her role as White House hostess. Harrison continued in her artistic pursuits while she was first lady, and she would mail ceramic milk sets to parents that named their children after the president.

To appeal to the public, Harrison would arrange publicity photos of her infant grandson, popularly known as "Baby McKee". She also continued her charitable work as first lady, giving her little time to organize grand receptions. She did implement some reforms for presidential receptions; Harrison abolished the practice of handshaking in receiving lines, and she restored dancing as a common practice. Harrison caused one major political controversy in 1889 when she accepted a seaside cottage from John Wanamaker as a gift, leading to accusations of bribery.

Harrison supported women's rights movements while serving as first lady. It was on her advice that her husband appointed Alice Sanger to the White House staff, the first woman to hold such a position. Harrison also organized educational programs in the White House for the wives and daughters of cabinet members, including ceramics and French classes. In 1890, Harrison was one of the founding members of the Daughters of the American Revolution, a woman's organization that celebrated the contributions of women during the founding of the United States. Her involvement gave the organization legitimacy, and her first speech to the group was the first public speech to be written and delivered by a first lady. The same year, she and several other women helped raise funds for the Johns Hopkins University Medical School on the condition that it admit women. This was the first medical school in the United States to accept women, and it would lead to similar policies in other medical schools.

### Renovations and preservation

When she became the first lady, Harrison inspected the White House in its entirety and found many problems that she wished to address. The structure had been damaged by rot as well as by pests such as termites and rats. She consulted with Thomas Edison to bring electricity into the building, but he concluded that it could not safely incorporate electrical wiring in its current state. The extended family also found that there were not enough bedrooms between them and that there was only one bathroom. She took particular issue with the integration of the residential spaces and public offices, allowing visitors access to the family's quarters. She wished to entirely reconstruct the White House, even drawing plans with architect Frederick D. Owen, but Congress was unwilling to fund the project. Instead, Congress authorized \$35,000 () for renovations, decoration, and modernization.

Harrison made large changes with the allocated funds. The rooms were repainted, and the drapes, carpets, and upholstery were replaced. The kitchens, which had not been updated in over forty years, were modernized. More bathrooms were installed, and new furniture was purchased for the house. Wooden structures in the state rooms were repainted ivory, and five layers of floorboards were replaced due to rot. She oversaw the installation of electrical wiring over a period of four months, but the family and much of the staff were afraid to use the light switches. She also authorized other utilities, including the installation of a heating system and modernized plumbing. The wood-frame bathtubs were replaced with iron tubs. To address the rat problem, she released ferrets,and she had the basement redone with concrete floors and tiled walls. For decoration, Harrison introduced the use of orchids as the official floral decoration at state receptions, and she also had the first White House Christmas tree put up. The Green Room was redone in rococo style. By the time she had finished, she had refurbished the White House in its entirety, becoming the first first lady to do so.

Harrison took interest in the history of the White House, and she would offer personal tours. She ended the practice of selling off furnishing at the end of a presidential administration to preserve historic pieces from past administrations and mitigate a continual need of refurnishing. She especially took interest in china from previous administrations that had been stored in the attic, organizing it and creating what would become the White House china collection. She also designed china of her own to be used as the official White House china of her husband's presidency. She had her husband order a total account of the furniture in the White House that documented the history of every item. One such item, the Resolute desk, was also used by subsequent presidents. Under her management, the White House hired its first art curator, a practice that would be revived by the Kennedy administration.

### Illness and death

In 1891, it was discovered that Harrison had tuberculosis. As her health declined, she delegated her responsibilities to relatives, primarily her daughter Mary. This caused conflict with the second lady and the wife of the Secretary of State, who both felt that they were entitled to the position. She traveled to spend the summer of 1892 in the Adirondack Mountains, as the air was considered healthful for tuberculosis patients. After her condition became terminal, she returned to the White House. Her condition was worsened by suspicions that her husband had begun a romantic relationship with her niece Mary Scott Dimmick. In respect for her condition, both her husband and his opponent limited their campaign activity in the 1892 presidential election.

Harrison died on October 25, 1892, two weeks before her husband was defeated for reelection. It is believed that she died from a combination of tuberculosis and another illness, such as typhoid fever or influenza. Preliminary services were held in the East Room, then her body was returned to Indianapolis for the final funeral at her church and her burial at Crown Hill Cemetery. Her duties as first lady were taken over by their daughter Mary for the remainder of the term. In 1896, Benjamin married Mary Scott Dimmick.

## Legacy

Harrison is described as an "underrated" first lady who was more active than most first ladies of her generation. She is ranked poorly by historians, typically being placed in the bottom quartile in historian polls. Coverage of Harrison in historical analysis has been limited. Early historical analysis of Harrison's performance as first lady often emphasized her role as a housekeeper, but her legacy has been reconsidered to include her advocacy for the arts, women's causes, and White House preservation. A bronze statue of Harrison was placed in the Oxford Community Arts Center garden in 2018, the site previously being the location of the Oxford Female Institute.

Harrison was celebrated in her day as a model of domestic life for proficiently managing the White House. In her role as White House hostess, she is described as unsuccessful, being unable to maintain good relations with Washington society and lacking the grandeur associated with past first ladies. Her desire for privacy often superseded her duties as the public face of the White House. In particular, she was often compared to and sometimes overshadowed by her immediate predecessor Frances Cleveland, who was much younger and widely beloved.

Contemporary historians recognize Harrison for her renovation work in the White House, and her renovation projects had a major effect on future presidencies. Her rejected proposal to remodel the White House would be adapted into a future renovation plan, resulting in the construction of the building's East Wing and West Wing. Frances Cleveland, who managed the White House both before and after Harrison, expressed her approval of the renovations. Harrison's work remains one of the most comprehensive projects to affect the White House. Her measures to preserve White House china and other furnishings have established long-standing collections.

## See also

- Letitia Christian Tyler – wife of John Tyler who also died while serving as first lady
- Ellen Axson Wilson – wife of Woodrow Wilson who also died while serving as first lady

First Lady of the United States from 1889 to 1892

Presidents General of the Daughters of the American Revolution


Something (Beatles song)

"Something" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1969 album Abbey Road. It was written by George Harrison, the band's lead guitarist. Together with his second contribution to Abbey Road, "Here Comes the Sun", it is widely viewed by music historians as having marked Harrison's ascendancy as a composer to the level of the Beatles' principal songwriters, John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Two weeks after the album's release, the song was issued on a double A-side single, coupled with "Come Together", making it the first Harrison composition to become a Beatles A-side. The pairing was also the first time in the United Kingdom that the Beatles issued a single containing tracks already available on an album. While the single's commercial performance was lessened by this, it topped the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States as well as charts in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and West Germany, and peaked at number 4 in the UK.

The track is generally considered a love song to Pattie Boyd, Harrison's first wife, although Harrison offered alternative sources of inspiration in later interviews. Owing to the difficulty he faced in getting more than two of his compositions onto each Beatles album, Harrison first offered the song to Joe Cocker. As recorded by the Beatles, the track features a guitar solo that several music critics identify among Harrison's finest playing. The song also drew praise from the other Beatles and their producer, George Martin, with Lennon stating that it was the best song on Abbey Road. The promotional film for the single combined footage of each of the Beatles with his respective wife, reflecting the estrangement in the band during the months preceding their break-up in April 1970. Harrison subsequently performed the song at his Concert for Bangladesh shows in 1971 and throughout the two tours he made as a solo artist.

"Something" received the Ivor Novello Award for the "Best Song Musically and Lyrically" of 1969. By the late 1970s, it had been covered by over 150 artists, making it the second-most covered Beatles composition after "Yesterday". Shirley Bassey had a top-five UK hit with her 1970 recording, and Frank Sinatra regularly performed the song. Other artists who have covered it include Elvis Presley, Ray Charles, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, James Brown, Smokey Robinson and Johnny Rodriguez. In 1999, Broadcast Music Incorporated named "Something" as the 17th-most performed song of the twentieth century, with 5 million performances. In 2000, Mojo ranked "Something" at number 14 in the magazine's list of "The 100 Greatest Songs of All Time"; it was ranked 110th on Rolling Stone's 2021 list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time". In 2002, a year after Harrison's death, McCartney and Eric Clapton performed it at the Concert for George tribute at London's Royal Albert Hall.

## Background and inspiration

George Harrison began writing "Something" in September 1968, during a session for the Beatles' self-titled double album, also known as "the White Album". In his autobiography, I, Me, Mine, he recalls working on the melody on a piano, at the same time as Paul McCartney recorded overdubs in a neighbouring studio at London's Abbey Road Studios. Harrison suspended work on the song, believing that with the tune having come to him so easily, it might have been a melody from another song. In I, Me, Mine, he wrote that the middle eight "took some time to sort out".

The opening lyric was taken from the title of "Something in the Way She Moves", a track by James Taylor, another Apple Records artist. While Harrison imagined the composition in the style of Ray Charles, his inspiration for "Something" was his wife, Pattie Boyd. In her 2007 autobiography, Wonderful Today, Boyd recalls: "He told me, in a matter-of-fact way, that he had written it for me. I thought it was beautiful ..." Boyd discusses the song's popularity among other recording artists and concludes: "My favourite [version] was the one by George Harrison, which he played to me in the kitchen at Kinfauns."

Having begun to write love songs that were directed at both God and a woman, with his White Album track "Long, Long, Long", Harrison later cited alternative sources for his inspiration for "Something". In early 1969, according to author Joshua Greene, Harrison told his friends from the Hare Krishna Movement that the song was about the Hindu deity Krishna; in an interview with Rolling Stone in 1976, he said of his approach to writing love songs: "all love is part of a universal love. When you love a woman, it's the God in her that you see." By 1996, Harrison had denied writing "Something" for Boyd. That year, he told a music journalist that "everybody presumed I wrote it about Pattie" because of the promotional film accompanying the release of the Beatles' recording, which showed the couple together.

## Composition

In the version issued on the Beatles' 1969 album Abbey Road, which was the first release for the song, "Something" runs at a speed of around 66 beats per minute and is in common time throughout, although it is doubled during the bridge, corresponding de facto to 132 bpm. It begins with a five-note guitar figure, which functions as the song's chorus, since it is repeated before each of the verses and also closes the track. The melody is in the key of C major until the eight-measure-long bridge, or middle eight, which is in the key of A major. Harrison biographer Simon Leng identifies "harmonic interest ... [in] almost every line" of the song, as the melody follows a series of descending half-steps from the tonic over the verses, a structure that is then mirrored in the new key, through the middle eight. The melody returns to C major for the guitar solo, the third verse, and the outro.

Leng considers that, lyrically and musically, "Something" reflects "doubt and striving to attain an uncertain goal". Author Ian Inglis writes of the confident statements that Harrison makes throughout regarding his feelings for Boyd. Referring to lines in the song's verses, Inglis writes: "there is a clear and mutual confidence in the reciprocal nature of their love; he muses that [Boyd] 'attracts me like no other lover' and 'all I have to do is think of her,' but he is equally aware that she feels the same, that 'somewhere in her smile, she knows.'" Similarly, when Harrison sings in the middle eight that "You're asking me will my love grow / I don't know, I don't know", Inglis interprets the words as "not an indication of uncertainty, but a wry reflection that his love is already so complete that it may simply be impossible for it to become any greater". Richie Unterberger of AllMusic describes "Something" as "an unabashedly straightforward and sentimental love song" written at a time "when most of the Beatles' songs were dealing with non-romantic topics or presenting cryptic and allusive lyrics even when they were writing about love".

## Pre-Abbey Road recording history

### The Beatles' Get Back/Let It Be rehearsals

Harrison introduced "Something" at a Beatles session on 19 September 1968, when he played it to George Martin's stand-in as producer of The Beatles, Chris Thomas, while the latter was working out the harpsichord part for Harrison's track "Piggies". Despite Thomas's enthusiasm for the new composition, Harrison chose to focus on "Piggies". He told Thomas that he intended to offer "Something" to singer Jackie Lomax, whose debut album Harrison was producing for Apple Records. "Something" was not among the tracks released on Lomax's album, much of which was recorded in Los Angeles after The Beatles was completed.

After Harrison rejoined the Beatles in January 1969 for their Get Back film project (later released as Let It Be), "Something" was one of many recent compositions that he offered to the group. Leng describes this period as a prolific one for Harrison as a songwriter, comparing it with John Lennon's peak of creativity over 1963–64, yet Harrison's songs received little interest from Lennon and McCartney amid the tense, uncooperative atmosphere within the band. Martin was also unimpressed by "Something" at first, considering it "too weak and derivative", according to music journalist Mikal Gilmore.

The Beatles rehearsed the song at Apple Studio on 28 January. With the proceedings being recorded by director Michael Lindsay-Hogg for the planned documentary film, tapes reveal Harrison discussing his unfinished lyrics for "Something" with Lennon and McCartney, since he had been unable to complete the song's second line, which begins "Attracts me ..." To serve as a temporary filler, Lennon suggested "like a cauliflower", which Harrison then altered to "like a pomegranate". In their study of the available tapes, Doug Sulpy and Ray Schweighardt write that the Beatles gave the song two run-throughs that day, which was the only occasion that they attempted it during the Get Back/Let It Be project.

### Harrison solo demo

Following the Beatles' brief efforts with "Something" on 28 January, Harrison talked with Lennon and Yoko Ono about recording a solo album of his unused songs, since he had already stockpiled enough compositions "for the next ten years", given his usual allocation of two tracks per album, and to "preserve this, the Beatle bit, more". Lennon offered his support for the idea, similarly keen that his and Ono's recording projects outside the Beatles could continue without jeopardising the band's future. On 25 February 1969 – his 26th birthday – Harrison entered Abbey Road Studios and taped solo demos of "Something", "Old Brown Shoe" and "All Things Must Pass", the last two of which had also been rejected recently by Lennon and McCartney.

With Ken Scott serving as his engineer, he recorded a live take of "Something", featuring electric guitar and vocal. By this point, Harrison had completed the lyrics, although he included an extra verse, sung to a counter-melody, over the section that would comprise his guitar solo on the Beatles' subsequent official recording. This demo version of "Something" remained unreleased until its inclusion on the Beatles' outtake collection Anthology 3 in 1996.

### Joe Cocker demo

In March 1969, Harrison gave "Something" to Joe Cocker to record, having decided that it was more likely to become a hit with Cocker than with Lomax. Referring to this and similar examples where Harrison placed his overlooked songs with other recording artists, Ken Scott has rebutted the idea that he lacked confidence as a songwriter in the Beatles, saying:

> I think he was totally confident about the songs. The insecurity may have been, if the Beatles kept going, "How many songs am I going to be able to get on each album?", and with the backlog sort of mounting up ... [to] get it out there, and get something from it.

Assisted by Harrison, Cocker recorded a demo of the song at Apple. While musicologist Walter Everett suggests that this was the same recording of "Something" that appeared on the Joe Cocker! album in November 1969, Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn writes that Cocker subsequently remade the track.

## Recording and production

The Beatles undertook the recording of Abbey Road with a sense of discipline and cooperation that had largely been absent while making the White Album and Let It Be. Having temporarily left the group in January 1969 partly as a result of McCartney's criticism of his musicianship, Harrison exhibited a greater level of assertiveness regarding his place in the band, particularly while they worked on his compositions "Something" and "Here Comes the Sun". In addition, like Lennon and McCartney, Martin had come to fully appreciate Harrison as a songwriter, later saying: "I first recognised that he really had a great talent when we did 'Here Comes the Sun.' But when he brought in 'Something,' it was something else ... It was a tremendous work – and so simple."

The group recorded "Something" on 16 April before Harrison decided to redo the song, a new basic track for which was then completed at Abbey Road on 2 May. The line-up was Harrison on Leslie-effected rhythm guitar, Lennon on piano, McCartney on bass, Ringo Starr on drums, and guest musician Billy Preston playing Hammond organ. On 5 May, at Olympic Sound Studios, McCartney re-recorded his bass part and Harrison added lead guitar. According to EMI engineer Geoff Emerick, Harrison asked McCartney to simplify his playing, but McCartney refused. At this point, the song ran to eight minutes, due to the inclusion of an extended, jam-like coda led by Lennon's piano.

After taking a break from recording, the band returned to "Something" on 11 July, when Harrison overdubbed what would turn out to be a temporary vocal. With the resulting reduction mix, much of the coda, along with almost all of Lennon's playing on the main part of the song, was cut from the recording. The piano can be heard only in the middle eight, specifically during the descending run that follows each pair of "I don't know" vocal lines. On 16 July, Harrison recorded a new vocal, with McCartney overdubbing his harmony vocal over the middle eight and Starr adding both a second hi-hat part and a cymbal.

Following another reduction mix, at which point the remainder of the coda was excised from the track, Martin-arranged string orchestration was overdubbed on 15 August, as Harrison, working in the adjacent studio at Abbey Road, re-recorded his lead guitar part live. Writing for Rolling Stone in 2002, David Fricke described the Beatles' version of "Something" as "actually two moods in one: the pillowy yearning of the verses ... and the golden thunder of the bridge, the latter driven by Ringo Starr's military flourish on a high-hat cymbal". Leng highlights Harrison's guitar solo on the recording as "a performance that is widely regarded as one of the great guitar solos", and one in which Harrison incorporates the gamaks associated with Indian classical music, following his study of the sitar in 1965–68, while also foreshadowing the expressive style he would adopt on slide guitar as a solo artist.

## Release

### Selection for single release

Apple Records issued Abbey Road on 26 September 1969, with "Something" sequenced as the second track, following Lennon's "Come Together". Lennon considered "Something" to be the best song on the album. Having ensured that "Old Brown Shoe" was chosen as the B-side for the Beatles' single "The Ballad of John and Yoko", according to his later recollection, Lennon now pushed Allen Klein to release "Something" as a single from Abbey Road. Coupled with "Come Together", the single was issued on 6 October in America (as Apple 2654) and 31 October in Britain (as Apple R5814).

The release marked the first time that a Harrison composition had been afforded A-side treatment on a Beatles single, as well as the only time during their career that a single was issued in the UK featuring tracks already available on an album. In a 1990 letter to Mark Lewisohn, Klein rebutted a claim made by Lewisohn in his book The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions, that the single was intended as a money-making exercise: Klein said it was purely a mark of Lennon's regard for "Something" and "to point out George as a writer, and give him courage to go in and do his own LP. Which he did." Following the Beatles' break-up in April 1970, Harrison's ascendancy as a songwriter would continue with his triple album All Things Must Pass, building on the promise of White Album tracks such as "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and his two contributions to Abbey Road.

### Promotional film

The promotional film for "Something" was shot in late October 1969, not long after Lennon privately announced that he was leaving the band. By this time, the band members had grown apart. As a result, the film consisted of separate clips, edited together, featuring the Beatles walking around the grounds of their homes with their respective wives. Harrison's segment shows him and Boyd together in the garden at Kinfauns; in author John Winn's description, Harrison appears "solemn" while Boyd is seen "smiling sweetly" and "sporting leather and fur coats". Winn also comments on the attractiveness of all the wives in contrast to the unkempt appearance of McCartney, especially, who had sunk into depression at the realisation that the Beatles were over. The four segments were edited and compiled into a single film clip by Neil Aspinall. Writing in The New York Times following Aspinall's death in 2008, Allan Kozinn said: "What Mr. Aspinall's idyllic film avoided showing was that the Beatles were at that point barely on speaking terms. In the film, no two Beatles are seen together."

In 2015, following restoration overseen by Apple's Jonathan Clyde, the "Something" promo film was included in the Beatles' video compilation 1 and its expanded edition, 1+. Rolling Stone journalist Rob Sheffield comments on the significance of the clip, with regard to the band's history:

> [E]ach couple projects a totally different vibe – George and Patti peacocking in their hippie-royalty finery, Paul and Linda on the farm in Scotland with Martha the sheepdog, Ringo and Maureen goofing around on motorbikes, John and Yoko serene in their matching black robes. Each Beatle looks like he's found what he was looking for – but they're heading for four separate futures.

In her review of 1+, for Paste, Gillian Gaar says that with the Beatles' promotional films of their singles, from "Love Me Do" to "Something" (the last one they made during their career), "you can see the development of the promo clip, progressing from a short film that simply served up a straight performance to a piece of work that was striving to be something more artistic."

## Reception

### Contemporary reviews

Time magazine declared "Something" to be the best track on Abbey Road, while John Mendelsohn wrote in Rolling Stone: "George's vocal, containing less adenoids and more grainy Paul tunefulness than ever before, is one of many highlights on his 'Something,' some of the others being more excellent drum work, a dead catchy guitar line, perfectly subdued strings, and an unusually nice melody. Both his and Joe Cocker's version will suffice nicely until Ray Charles gets around to it." Writing in Saturday Review magazine, Ellen Sander described "Something" as "certainly one of the most beautiful songs George Harrison has ever written" and added: "He feels his way through the song, instinctively cutting through its body and into the core, emoting so clearly and so gracefully that at the moment he peals 'I don't know, I don't know,' it is shown that even what is not known can be understood."

According to Beatles biographer Nicholas Schaffner, "Something" showed Harrison following McCartney's populist approach and some "long-haired music critics" were repelled by the song's use of lush MOR-style orchestration. An outspoken critic of Abbey Road, The New York Times's Nik Cohn derided it and "Here Comes the Sun" as "mediocrity incarnate". By contrast, Lon Goddard of Record Mirror described the song as "another beautiful Harrison composition" in the style of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", saying that "It leaps scales in its heavy orchestral arrangement, then drifts down to George's simple but effective guitar style."

In his review of the single, Derek Johnson of the NME lauded the track as "a real quality hunk of pop" with a "strident lead guitar which exudes a mean and moody quality". Johnson stated his regret that Harrison "isn't featured more regularly as a singer", and concluded of "Something": "It's a song that grows on you, and mark my words, it will – in a big way!" As guest singles reviewer for Melody Maker, Keef Hartley said it was "probably the best track" on Abbey Road, adding: "What I was waiting for was that guitar solo because George Harrison is just about the only guitar player I know of who can plan a solo so it doesn't sound as though it is planned."

### Commercial performance

Although its commercial impact was lessened by the ongoing success of the parent album, "Something" / "Come Together" was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on 27 October. During the single's chart run on Billboard in the US, "Something" peaked at number 3 until the magazine changed its practice of counting sales and airplay separately for each song; following this change on 29 November, the single topped the Billboard Hot 100, for one week. "Come Together" / "Something" became the Beatles' eighteenth number 1 single in Billboard, surpassing Elvis Presley's record of seventeen. In the other US national charts, Record World listed "Something" / "Come Together" at number 1 for two weeks and "Come Together" / "Something" for the remaining three weeks at number 1, while in Cash Box magazine, which continued to rank each song separately, "Something" peaked at number 2 and "Come Together" spent three weeks at number 1.

As the preferred side, "Something" was number 1 in Canada (for five weeks), Australia (five weeks), West Germany (two weeks), New Zealand and Singapore. The combined sides reached number 4 in Britain. There, the release was highly unusual, given the traditional preference for non-album singles. In addition, according to former Mojo editor Paul Du Noyer, "so enormous were sales of Abbey Road that demand for the single was inevitably dampened."

Along with "Here Comes the Sun", "Something" was included on the Beatles' 1973 compilation album 1967–1970, thereby giving Harrison two of the four tracks representing Abbey Road. In 1976, Capitol sequenced it as the opening track of The Best of George Harrison, a compilation that, against Harrison's wishes, combined his best-known compositions from the Beatles era with his hits as a solo artist. The song was subsequently included on the band's themed compilations Love Songs and The Beatles Ballads.

On 17 February 1999, "Something" was certified double Platinum by the RIAA. In its 2014 list titled "The Beatles' 50 Biggest Billboard Hits", Billboard places the double A-side single in sixth place, immediately after "Let It Be" and ahead of "Hello, Goodbye".

## Retrospective assessments and legacy

Along with "Here Comes the Sun", the song established Harrison as a composer to match Lennon and McCartney. Writing in his book Revolution in the Head, author and critic Ian MacDonald described "Something" as "the acme of Harrison's achievement as a writer". MacDonald highlighted the song's "key-structure of classical grace and panoramic effect", and cited the lyrics to verse two as "its author's finest lines – at once deeper and more elegant than almost anything his colleagues ever wrote".

Like Lennon, both McCartney and Starr held the song in high regard. In the 2000 book The Beatles Anthology, Starr paired "Something" with "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" as "Two of the finest love songs ever written", adding, "they're really on a par with what John and Paul or anyone else of that time wrote"; McCartney said it was "George's greatest track – with 'Here Comes the Sun' and 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps'". Among Harrison's other peers, Paul Simon described "Something" as a "masterpiece" and Elton John said: "'Something' is probably one of the best love songs ever, ever, ever written ... It's better than 'Yesterday,' much better ... It's like the song I've been chasing for the last thirty-five years."

In a 2002 article for The Morning News, Kenneth Womack included Harrison's guitar solo on the track among his "Ten Great Beatles Moments". Describing the instrumental break as "the song's greatest lyrical feature – even more lyrical, interestingly enough, than the lyrics themselves", Womack concluded: "A masterpiece in simplicity, Harrison's solo reaches toward the sublime, wrestles with it in a bouquet of downward syncopation, and hoists it yet again in a moment of supreme grace." Guitar World included the performance as the magazine's featured solo in June 2011. Later that year, "Something" was one of the two "key tracks" highlighted by Rolling Stone when the magazine placed Harrison at number 11 on its list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists".

In July 1970, "Something" received the Ivor Novello Award for "Best Song Musically and Lyrically" of 1969. In 2005, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) named it as the 64th-greatest song ever. According to the BBC, the song "shows more clearly than any other song in The Beatles' canon that there were three great songwriters in the band rather than just two". The Beatles' official website states that "Something" "underlined the ascendance of George Harrison as a major songwriting force".

"Something" became the second most covered Beatles song after "Yesterday". In 1999, Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI) named it as the 17th-most performed song of the twentieth century, with 5 million performances. In 2000, Mojo ranked "Something" at number 14 in the magazine's list of "The 100 Greatest Songs of All Time". It was ranked 273rd on Rolling Stone's 2004 list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time", 278th on the magazine's revised list in 2010, and 110th in 2021. In 2006, Mojo placed it 7th in the list of "The 101 Greatest Beatles Songs", while four years later, the track appeared at number 6 on a similar list compiled by Rolling Stone. In 2019, the staff of Entertainment Weekly ranked "Something" at number 5 in their list of the Beatles' best songs.

## Cover versions

### Shirley Bassey

Among the song's many cover versions, Welsh singer Shirley Bassey recorded a successful version of "Something". It was released in 1970 as the title track to her album of the same name. Also issued as a single, it became Bassey's first top-ten hit in the UK since "I (Who Have Nothing)" in 1963, peaking at number 4 and spending 22 weeks on the chart. The single also reached the top twenty in other European countries and peaked at number 6 on Billboard's Easy Listening (later Adult Contemporary) chart.

Bassey said she had been unaware of the song's origins when recording "Something". She later suggested that she and Harrison could become a singer-and-songwriter pairing on the scale of Dionne Warwick and Burt Bacharach. After reading these comments in 1970, Harrison wrote "When Every Song Is Sung" with Bassey in mind, although she never recorded the composition.

### Frank Sinatra

Frank Sinatra was particularly impressed with "Something", calling it "the greatest love song of the past 50 years", despite having long disapproved of the Beatles. According to Du Noyer, he "especially admired the way the lyric evokes a girl who isn't even present". Aside from performing "Something" numerous times in concert, Sinatra recorded the song for a single in October 1970 and then for his 1980 triple album Trilogy: Past Present Future.

During his live performances, Sinatra was known to mistakenly introduce "Something" as a Lennon–McCartney composition. By 1978, he had begun correctly crediting Harrison as its author. Harrison went on to adopt Sinatra's minor lyrical change (in the song's middle eight, singing "You stick around, Jack ...") in his live performances over 1991–92. In The Beatles Anthology, Harrison says he viewed Sinatra as being part of "the generation before me" and so only later came to appreciate the American singer's adoption of the song.

### Other artists

Harrison's composition began accumulating cover versions almost immediately after the release of Abbey Road, starting with Joe Cocker's recording. The song became a standard and was readily adapted by artists in a wide range of styles, including easy-listening and instrumental jazz. In Nicholas Schaffner's description, the many interpretations made the song ubiquitous "from the Borscht Belt to the dentist's waiting room".

Lena Horne recorded "Something" in the jazz style for her 1970 album with guitarist Gabor Szabo, titled Lena & Gabor. An instrumental version by Booker T. & the M.G.'s, from their Abbey Road tribute album McLemore Avenue, peaked at number 76 on the Billboard Hot 100 in August 1970. The R&B groups the O'Jays and Smokey Robinson and the Miracles also covered it, as did easy-listening stars such as Bert Kaempfert and Liberace. Fulfilling Harrison's hopes, Ray Charles issued a version on his 1971 album Volcanic Action of My Soul.

Referring to the song's adoption by easy-listening artists, Harrison later said: "When even Liberace covered it [in 1970], you know that it's one of them that ends up in an elevator ..." Harrison attributed its popularity among other artists to the easily mastered, five-note melody. Du Noyer partly refutes this explanation, saying that it was equally a vehicle for "the most advanced vocalists" such as Peggy Lee, along with Sinatra and Bassey.

"Something" was one of the very few Beatles songs that Elvis Presley chose to play; Lewisohn highlights his interpretation among the "dozens of high-profile covers". Presley performed it on his 1973 Aloha from Hawaii TV special, the recording from which appeared on the accompanying bestselling album. A version from Presley's August 1970 Las Vegas concert season subsequently appeared on the box sets Walk a Mile in My Shoes: The Essential '70s Masters (1995) and Live in Las Vegas (2001). In 1974, a recording by Johnny Rodriguez reached number 6 on Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart and number 85 on the Hot 100. In Canada, Rodriguez's single peaked at number 11 on the RPM country chart.

By 1972, over 150 artists had recorded "Something". In his 1996 Harrison biography The Quiet One, Alan Clayson said the song had attracted "nearly 200 cover versions". In 1972, Harrison told music journalist Mike Hennessey that the Robinson and Cocker versions were among his favourites. In later interviews, he said that the best cover version was a recording by James Brown, in which the singer declares "I got to believe in something!" over the main riff. Harrison commented that the recording was relatively obscure in Brown's catalogue: "It was one of his B-sides. I have it on my jukebox at home. It's absolutely brilliant."

### Harrison tributes

Bruce Springsteen opened his first show after Harrison's death on 29 November 2001 by playing "Something", followed by a rendition of Harrison's solo hit "My Sweet Lord". Elton John gave a solo performance of the song at New York's Carnegie Hall in April 2002, as part of a one-hour Harrison tribute during the eleventh annual Rainforest Foundation concert.

In honour of Harrison's fondness for the instrument, Paul McCartney played a ukulele rendition of "Something" throughout his 2002–03 world tour and included the track on his Back in the U.S. and Back in the World live albums. At the Concert for George, held at London's Royal Albert Hall on 29 November 2002, he and Eric Clapton performed a version that began with McCartney alone on ukulele, then reverted to the familiar rock arrangement with Clapton taking over as lead singer and backing from Starr, Preston and others. Following its appearance in David Leland's film Concert for George (2003) and on the accompanying live album, this performance of "Something" was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.

Bob Dylan also played the song live during his November 2002 concerts, as a tribute to Harrison. McCartney continued to perform "Something", adopting the Concert for George mix of ukulele and rock backing. A version with this musical arrangement was included on his 2009 album Good Evening New York City.

## Live performances by Harrison

Harrison played "Something" at the two Concert for Bangladesh shows, held at Madison Square Garden in New York on 1 August 1971. His first live performance as a solo artist, he was backed by a large band that included Starr, Preston, Clapton and Leon Russell. The version used on the live album and in the 1972 concert film was taken from the evening show that day, when Harrison played it as the final song before returning to perform "Bangla Desh" as an encore.

Harrison included "Something" in all of his subsequent, and rare, full-length concert appearances. For his 1974 North American tour with Ravi Shankar, he had been reluctant to feature any material from the Beatles' catalogue, but at the urging of Shankar and Preston during rehearsals, he added "Something" to the setlist. To the disappointment of many fans, he chose to alter some of the song's lyrics (such as changing the first line to "If there's something in the way, remove it"). Further distancing himself from the Beatles' legacy, Harrison told journalists at the start of the tour that he would join a group with Lennon "any day" but rejected the idea of working again with McCartney, since he preferred Willie Weeks as a bassist. MacDonald comments that this statement was likely in reference to McCartney's "too fussily extemporised" bass part on the Beatles' 1969 recording. With Boyd having left Harrison for Clapton earlier in 1974, Larry Sloman of Rolling Stone described the reworked "Something" as "a moving diary of his love life".

A version from Harrison's December 1991 tour of Japan with Clapton – Harrison's only other tour as a solo artist – appears on the Live in Japan double album (1992). Inglis writes of the track having "extra poignancy" by this time, "in that the woman for whom it was written had been married to, and divorced from, Harrison and Clapton in turn". Inglis adds: "It is not a new interpretation of the song, but it does suggest a new perspective, in which words and music are used by two close friends to reflect on the lives they have led."

## Personnel

According to Walter Everett, Bruce Spizer and Kenneth Womack:

The Beatles

- George Harrison – lead vocal, lead and rhythm guitars
- John Lennon – piano
- Paul McCartney – bass guitar, backing vocal
- Ringo Starr – drums

Additional musicians

- Billy Preston – Hammond organ
- George Martin – string arrangement
- Unidentified session musicians – twelve violins, four violas, four cellos, string bass

## Charts and certifications

### Beatles version

### Shirley Bassey version

### Certifications (Beatles version)

1969 song by the Beatles

Song recordings produced by George Martin


Russet sparrow

The russet sparrow (Passer cinnamomeus), also called the cinnamon or cinnamon tree sparrow, is a passerine bird of the sparrow family Passeridae. A chunky little seed-eating bird with a thick bill, it has a body length of 14 to 15 cm (5.5–5.9 in). Its plumage is mainly warm rufous above and grey below. It exhibits sexual dimorphism, with the plumage of both sexes patterned similarly to that of the corresponding sex of house sparrow. Its vocalisations are sweet and musical chirps, which when strung together form a song.

Three subspecies are recognised, differing chiefly in the yellowness of their underparts. The subspecies rutilans and intensior breed in parts of eastern Asia, where they are usually found in light woodland, and the subspecies cinnamomeus breeds in the Himalayas, where it is usually associated with terrace cultivation. The russet sparrow is the typical sparrow of human habitations in towns where the house and Eurasian tree sparrows are absent. In the southern part of its range, the russet sparrow prefers higher altitudes, but in the north it breeds by the sea. The russet sparrow is known well enough in the Himalayas to have a distinct name in some languages, and is depicted in Japanese art.

This sparrow feeds mainly on the seeds of herbs and grains, but it also eats berries and insects, particularly during the breeding season. This diet makes it a minor pest in agricultural areas, but also a predator of insect pests. While breeding, it is not social, as its nests are dispersed. It forms flocks when not breeding, although it associates with other bird species infrequently. In some parts of its range, the russet sparrow migrates, at least to lower altitudes. Its nest is located in a tree cavity, or a hole in a cliff or building. The male chooses the nest site before finding a mate and uses the nest for courtship display. The typical clutch contains five or six whitish eggs. Both sexes incubate and feed the young.

## Taxonomy

The English ornithologist John Gould described a specimen of the russet sparrow collected in the Himalayas at a meeting of the Zoological Society of London in December 1835 under the binomial name Pyrgita cinnamomea. His description was included in the volume of the society's proceedings for 1835 that was published on 8 April 1836. Its specific name comes from the Neo-Latin cinnamomeus, "cinnamon-coloured". The russet sparrow was described as Fringilla rutilans, by the Dutch zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck, from a specimen collected in Japan. Temminck's description is contained in his Nouveau recueil de planches coloriées d'oiseaux which was issued in 102 livraisons or parts between 1820 and 1839. It was at one time believed that the livraison containing the description of the russet sparrow was issued in 1835 but it has now been established that it appeared sometime in 1836 but as the precise date is not known under the rules of the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature it is deemed to have been published on 31 December 1836. Most taxonomists give priority to Gould's publication and use the binomial name Passer cinnamomeus for the russet sparrow.

The russet sparrow has usually been placed in the genus Passer, and within this genus it is seen as a part of the "Palearctic black-bibbed sparrow" group, which includes the Eurasian tree sparrow as well as the house sparrow. It has generally been seen as a close relation of the house sparrow, and Richard Meinertzhagen even considered it to be the same species as the Somali sparrow, one of the house sparrow's closest relatives.

However, studies of mitochondrial DNA indicate that the russet sparrow is an early offshoot or basal species among the Palearctic black-bibbed sparrows. While mitochrondrial DNA suggests speciation in Passer occurred during the Miocene and Pliocene, British ornithologist J. Denis Summers-Smith estimated that the russet sparrow separated from the other Palearctic black-bibbed sparrows about 25,000 to 15,000 years ago, during the last glacial period. During this time, sparrows would have been isolated in ice-free refugia, such as the lower Yangtze valley, which Summers-Smith considered the most likely centre of evolution for the russet sparrow.

Thirteen subspecies have been described, but only three are widely recognised, these differing largely in the colour of their underparts. The subspecies Passer cinnamomea rutilans breeds in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and southeastern and central China. The subspecies intensior, described in 1922 by Walter Rothschild from Yunnan, breeds in southwest China and parts of India, Burma, Laos, and Vietnam. In a large part of Sichuan intensior intergrades with P. c. rutilans, and a number of subspecies names have been proposed for the intergrades. The nominate subspecies cinnamomeus, described by Gould from the northwestern Himalayas, breeds from northern Arunachal Pradesh to Nuristan in Afghanistan.

## Description

The russet sparrow is a small chunky bird, with plumage warm rufous in overall colour. It is a medium-sized sparrow at 14 to 15 cm (5.5–5.9 in) and 18 to 22.5 grams (0.63–0.79 oz). It has a thick bill suited to eating seeds, which is black on the breeding male, horn-coloured on the non-breeding male, and yellowish with a dark tip on the female. Wingspans for males range between 6.8 to 8.2 cm (2.7–3.2 in) and those for females from 6.7 to 7.7 cm (2.6–3.0 in). Tail, bill, and tarsus lengths are 4.3 to 5.1 cm (1.7–2.0 in), 1.1 to 1.3 cm (0.43–0.51 in), and 1.6 to 1.8 cm (0.63–0.71 in), respectively.

Measurements for the russet sparrow vary geographically, between the three subspecies, and also within the Himalayan subspecies cinnamomeus. The subspecies cinnamomeus is generally larger than the others, and within this form there is a tendency for birds at higher altitudes to be larger, and a clinal variation in size with the smallest birds in the west of the range and the largest in the east.

The iris is chestnut in colour. The legs of both sexes are pale brown to pinkish-brown. The flight of all sparrows is swift, and that of the russet sparrow is described as swifter and more direct than that of the Eurasian tree sparrow.

### Plumage

The sexes differ, or are dimorphic, in their plumage, and have a similar pattern to that in the corresponding sex of house sparrow. There is some variation between the three subspecies, especially in the colouration of the underparts. Birds of the subspecies rutilans are off-white on their cheeks and the sides of their necks, and have pale grey underparts. Birds of the subspecies intensior have a pale yellow wash on their underparts and cheeks, as well as darker upperparts, while those of the subspecies cinnamomeus have a heavy yellow tinge to their underparts.

Moult is poorly recorded, the only records coming from Sakhalin and Himachal Pradesh. In Sakhalin, moult occurs in August and September, between the breeding season and migration. In Himachal Pradesh, aviculturalist G. A. Perreau observed captive and wild birds and reported that they were yellow from December to spring and whitish during the remainder of the year, a pattern which may be atypical.

The breeding male is bright russet or cinnamon red on its upperparts from its crown to its rump, with a black streaking on its mantle. It has a small black bib and black around its eye, separated from the russet of its crown by a very thin white supercilium, a stripe running from the bill to the rear of the head. The side of its neck and cheek are off-white, and its underparts are pale grey or washed with yellow, varying geographically. Shoulders and greater coverts are chestnut, and its median coverts are black at the base with white at the tips. The rest of the wing is light brown with black tinges. Its tail is blackish brown, edged with ashy brown. The non-breeding male differs little from the breeding male, being paler with more orange upperparts. The only species with which the male is easily confused is the Eurasian tree sparrow, which differs in its black cheek spot and brown back.

The female has mostly pale brown upperparts, and pale grey underparts, so it resembles the female house sparrow. It differs from the house sparrow in its slightly darker, russet-tinged plumage. It has a conspicuous cream supercilium from above its eye nearly around its head, and a bold dark brown stripe through its eye. It has mostly greyish brown wings and a back streaked with black and buff. The juvenile is similar to the female, though more pale and sandy. As the male reaches its first winter, it resembles the adult, differing in less bold chestnut and a dusky bib.

### Voice

The russet sparrow's vocalisations are described by most sources as "the sweetest and most musical" of any sparrow. Its basic call is a cheep or chilp, similar to that of other sparrows. This call is monosyllabic, unlike the house sparrow's chirrup call, and is softer than that of the other sparrows. This call is given as a flight call, or by displaying males. Recorded variations include a chweep given by males at the nest and a trilled cheeep. Sometimes the male strings calls together and sings them in a strident tone, to create a sort of short song, transcribed as cheep chirrup cheeweep or chreet-chreet-chreet. The song is interspersed with sibilant chu-swik notes similar to those of the white wagtail. A thin swee swee vocalisation not unlike that of an Indian robin has been reported, but the context of this call is unrecorded. During territorial disputes, males give a rapid chit-chit-chit call.

## Distribution and habitat

The russet sparrow is found in parts of eastern Asia and in the Himalayas. It is not known whether its distribution is continuous between these two areas, since the political sensitivity of the Brahmaputra River's valley near the China-India border makes the area less accessible to ornithologists. In the Himalayas the russet sparrow breeds from the far northeast of India through southeastern Tibet, Bhutan, Sikkim, Nepal, Uttarakhand, and Himachal Pradesh to Kashmir and Nuristan in Afghanistan. Here, the russet sparrow makes short movements to lower altitudes between November and April in many areas.

In eastern Asia, the russet sparrow is found in Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands, a small part of mainland Russia, Japan, southern Korea, and part of northern China, where it is mostly migratory. It is distributed through southern China and Taiwan, and the mountainous parts of Burma, southern Northeast India, Laos, and Vietnam, where it is mostly resident. The russet sparrow also occurs as a winter visitor in southern Japan, the further south of China, and northern Thailand. In eastern Asia, the autumn migration occurs between August and November.

The russet sparrow appears to be abundant in most habitats across most of its very large range, and in the some areas it is among the most common birds. In Southeast Asia, its range has contracted at lower elevations due to global warming, but it has also moved higher at high elevations and it remains common. Although its global population has not been quantified, it is assessed for the IUCN Red List as least concern for global extinction.

Breeding takes place in mountains and uplands across most of the range. This preference for high altitudes is influenced by latitude: in the farthest south of its range it never breeds below 2,500 metres (8,200 ft) above mean sea level, but in the northernmost part of its range it often breeds by the sea. In eastern Asia, the russet sparrow prefers light woodland, but it is sometimes found in towns and agricultural areas. In Sakhalin, it breeds mostly in riparian forest. In Hokkaidō, the russet sparrow finds a greater food supply for its young in more remote forests, and has greater reproductive success.

In the Himalayas, it is strongly associated with terrace cultivation, and it probably only spread to the Himalayas when these agricultural practices arrived 3000 to 4000 years ago. In towns where it occurs alongside the house or tree sparrow, it is found in gardens and less built up areas. In those hill stations in India where both the house and the russet sparrow occur, the house sparrow breeds around more-built up areas and bazaars, whereas the russet sparrow is "rather more up market at the larger houses with gardens and open spaces". In towns where it is the only sparrow, it is not dependent on trees, breeding around houses and eating scraps in streets. In the winter, migratory birds occur in open cultivated land and riverine grasslands, but are never far from shrubs or trees.

## Behaviour

In many aspects of its behaviour, the russet sparrow is similar to the house and Eurasian tree sparrows. Like them, it feeds on the ground, but spends most of its time perching on branches. Unlike those species, it prefers open, exposed branches for perching. The russet sparrow is described as shy and wary by some observers, but J. Denis Summers-Smith found it approachable in Indian hill stations. Flocking russet sparrows feed close to the ground, moving forward as birds from the rear of a flock move to the front, in what is called "roller feeding".

Outside its breeding season, the russet sparrow is gregarious and forms flocks to find food, though it infrequently associates with other birds. Wintering flocks tend to keep away from human habitation. The russet sparrow is also social at night during the winter, and it forms large communal roosts in trees and bushes. In the breeding season, the female roosts in the nests and the male nests in foliage nearby.

The adult russet sparrow is mostly a seed-eater, eating the seeds of herbs and weeds as well as rice, barley, and other grains. Berries, such as those of the kingore (certain Berberis spp.), are also eaten when available. Nestlings are fed mostly on insects, especially caterpillars and larval beetles obtained on trees and flying insects caught by aerial pursuit. During the breeding season adults also consume insects.

Mortality rates in the russet sparrow have not been studied, but it is known that many young birds die from Isospora infections, to which the bird has little resistance. Other recorded parasites of the russet sparrow include Protocalliphora blowflies, and Menacanthus chewing lice.

### Breeding

The russet sparrow's breeding season is short, lasting about three months. The Himalayan subspecies cinnamomeus has been recorded breeding from April to August, the nominate subspecies breeds from May to July, and the subspecies intensior is believed to breed in March. During its breeding season, the russet sparrow is not gregarious, and its nests are dispersed uniformly rather than clustered. Its nests are most frequently built in tree cavities, often disused woodpecker nests. The russet sparrow has been recorded breeding alongside the Eurasian tree sparrow and white wagtail in black kite nests, taking advantage of the territorial defence of the kites to avoid nest predation. Other nest locations include the eaves of thatched roofs, stone walls and embankments, and electric junction boxes. In Bhutan, it nests in holes in the outer walls of monasteries, often alongside the Eurasian tree sparrow. In Sakhalin, it will sometimes build free-standing nests in bushes. The russet sparrow also uses the disused nests of the red-rumped swallow, and a pair of russet sparrows has been recorded attempting to oust a pair of black-crested tits from their nest.

The male chooses the nest site, and uses it for his courtship display, spending much time calling nearby. When a female comes near a male at his nest the male begins to display by raising his head, drooping his wings, pushing his chest forward, and lowering his tail. He then bows up and down in front of the female, who will lunge and then fly away if unreceptive. Both sexes take part in building the nest, which consists of a loose, untidy bunch of dry grass which fills the nesting cavity, lined with fur and feathers for warmth.

Eggs are elongated ovals, with a fine texture and a slight gloss. They are whitish in overall colour with a grey tinge and brown spots, streaks, or blotches. The average size of the egg is 19.2×14.2 millimetres (0.75×0.55 in). Eggs are similar to those of the Eurasian tree sparrow, differing in a duller colour and more narrow shape, though they cannot be separated from those of the other sparrows with certainty. Two clutches of four or sometimes five or six eggs are laid in a year. In Hokkaidō, clutches are laid between early May and early July, with two peaks in laying around mid May and late June. Both sexes incubate and feed the young, with the male often being more active in feeding the nestlings. In Hokkaidō, nestlings hatch weighing about 2 to 5 grams (0.071 to 0.176 oz), and fledge fourteen or fifteen days after hatching, weighing 15 to 55 grams (0.53 to 1.94 oz). The common cuckoo has been recorded in old literature as a brood parasite of the russet sparrow.

## Relationships with humans

In parts of the range, the russet sparrow inhabits towns, and in most of its range, it occurs near cultivation, and is a minor pest of agriculture. Though it damages crops, it also feeds its nestlings largely on insect pests. In China, the russet sparrow has been recorded as a captive bird, kept with the Eurasian tree sparrow. In Japan it was eaten in the 1870s and sold in the Yokohama game market. The russet sparrow is known well enough in the Himalayas that in most languages it has a different vernacular name from the Eurasian tree sparrow. Examples of these vernacular names include lal gouriya in Hindi and kang-che-go-ma in Tibetan. The Japanese artist Hokusai portrayed the russet sparrow, and due to this, it has appeared on postage stamps featuring Japanese art in Japan, The Gambia, and Guyana.

Small passerine bird found in Asia