George Harrison’s ‘My Sweet Lord’: All-Star Video
by Best Classic Bands Staff
Fred Armisen and Ringo Starr, in a scene from the “My Sweet Lord” video
George Harrison’s iconic song, “My Sweet Lord,” finally received its first official music video on Dec. 15, 2021. The clip features an all-star cast from the worlds of music, TV, film and comedy including Ringo Starr, Jeff Lynne, Joe Walsh, Mark Hamill, and Jon Hamm, as well as Harrison’s widow, Olivia, and son, Dhani. Harrison himself also appears in the clip. Directed by Lance Bangs, the video stars Fred Armisen and Vanessa Bayer as metaphysical special agents who are tasked by the head of a clandestine agency, played by Hamill, to search for that which can’t be seen.
Also making appearances are actors Darren Criss, Rosanna Arquette; “Weird Al” Yankovic, Reggie Watts, Patton Oswalt, and dozens more. The full cast list in order of appearance is below. The clip was part of a 50th anniversary celebration of Harrison’s All Things Must Pass album.
Harrison’s groundbreaking British film studio, HandMade Films, was responsible for such classic films as Monty Python’s Life of Brian and Time Bandits. The “My Sweet Lord” music video pays tribute to his sense of humor and his indelible impact on both music and comedy.
Said director Bangs, “The approach was to represent the song visually while these agents and inspectors kept missing the metaphysical wonder around them. Images are choreographed to the sounds of vocal melodies, guitar strums, drum patterns, chord changes. George threaded a sense of humor through all of his videos, so we kept that spirit and filled the cast with friends and admirers of his music, many coming from the current comedy landscape. I tracked down vintage prime lenses from some of the films George’s HandMade Films had produced, and I hope that viewers can feel a sense of wonder and searching while they watch it.”
Watch the official music video
The video for “My Sweet Lord” boasts the 2020 mix of the song mixed by triple GRAMMY Award-winning engineer, Paul Hicks (The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, John Lennon), released August 6 via Capitol/UMe on a suite of 50th anniversary editions of Harrison’s monumental masterpiece, All Things Must Pass. Harrison’s masterwork was completely remixed from the original tapes and expanded with 47 (42 previously unreleased) demos and outtakes, allowing listeners to enjoy and explore the album and the recording sessions like never before. Decades in the making and lovingly crafted by the Harrison family, the album was remixed to fulfill Harrison’s longtime desire. Executive produced by Dhani Harrison, with the product produced by David Zonshine, the new mix transformed the album by sonically upgrading it – making it sound brighter, fuller and better than ever.
Related: Our review of the ATMP boxed set
“My Sweet Lord” was originally released in the U.S. on Nov. 23, 1970. It reached #1 in just five weeks, on Dec. 26. The 50th Anniversary Uber Deluxe Edition of All Things Must Pass won the GRAMMY Award for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package at the 64th Annual GRAMMY Awards, in 2022.
See the cast of the “My Sweet Lord” music video below the links.
“My Sweet Lord” Music Video Cast, in Order of Appearance:
Mark Hamill
Fred Armisen
Vanessa Bayer
Moshe Kasher
Natasha Leggero
Jeff Lynne
Reggie Watts
Darren Criss
Patton Oswalt
“Weird Al” Yankovic
David Gborie
Sam Richardson
Atsuko Okatsuka
Rosanna Arquette
Brandon Wardell
Ringo Starr
Joe Walsh
Jon Hamm
Brett Metter
Anders Holm
Dhani Harrison
Rupert Friend
Angus Sampson
Taika Waititi
Eric Wareheim
Tim Heidecker
Kate Micucci
Riki Lindhome
Alyssa Stonoha
Mitra Jouhari
Sandy Honig
Olivia Harrison
Aimee Mullins
Courtney Pauroso
Natalie Palamides
Shepard Fairey
Claudia O’Doherty
Tom Scharpling
Paul Scheer
Sarah Baker
3 Comments so far
Jump into a conversationThere was a music video about 5 years ago on you tube showing a mixing board.
Id prefer more George in this than all the others . I would’ve had the people coming into the theater and watching George performing this song at the Bangla Desh concert…and made it look like that great group of performers were on stage and Ringo could be applauding his younger self every time he was shown on stage. As it is the cast will date this video. Most stars of today won’t be known in 5 or 10 years but the greats at MSG so many years ago will be.
That’s a clever idea, Tim. I enjoyed the many one-offs by the cast, although as an aging dinosaur, I didn’t know who a lot of them were.
They all seemed to be having great fun, and the silliness certainly was in George’s wheelhouse. But I too, would have preferred a more George-centric concept, especially as this concept kind of missed the mark, trying as it did to be clever. Still, it was enjoyable to see all those folks obviously having a good time making this, and, as flawed as the narrative was, it did have a bit of a Beatlesque surrealism to it.
The video’s content is fun, but it’s a mismatch. This is a deeply spiritual song and something to be chanted. Armisen et al are fun, but they’re getting in the way of something more important. And I’m agnostic. This song helped me understand the good thing behind all religions; it helped me open my heart. This video diminishes it.