Crackerbox Palace

"Crackerbox Palace"
Netherlands picture sleeve
Single by George Harrison
from the album Thirty Three & 1/3
B-side	"Learning How to Love You"
Released	24 January 1977
Format	vinyl record 7"
Genre	Rock, pop
Length	3:58
Label	Dark Horse Records
Writer(s)	George Harrison
Producer(s)	George Harrison with Tom Scott
George Harrison singles chronology
"This Song" (1976) "Crackerbox Palace" (1977) "True Love" (1977)
Thirty Three & 1/3 track listing 10 tracks Side one "Woman Don't You Cry for Me" "Dear One" "Beautiful Girl" "This Song" "See Yourself" Side two "It's What You Value" "True Love" "Pure Smokey" "Crackerbox Palace" "Learning How to Love You"

"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's meeting with a man named George Greif.^[1] At the 1975 Midem Music Festival, Harrison met the man and remarked to him that he resembled the late comedian Lord Buckley (Harrison had admired Buckley for many years).^[1] As chance would have it, Greif was Buckley's former manager, and he invited Harrison to come see Buckley's old Los Angeles home, which he called "Crackerbox Palace".^[1] Thinking that the phrase had the makings of a song, Harrison jotted the words "Crackerbox Palace" down on a cigarette pack, and later wrote the song.^[1] The song includes references to Greif ("I met a Mr. Greif") and to Lord Buckley ("know that the Lord is well and inside of you").^[1]

A whimsical promotional film accompanied the single and was first shown on 20 November 1976, episode of Saturday Night Live. Directed by Monty Python's Eric Idle, the film featured Harrison, Neil Innes (as the carriage-pushing nanny/mother, a bathrobe-clad man with a duck on his head, and as a church authority),^[2] future wife Olivia Arias, John Cleese and various other friends, in an array of wild costumes. The film was shot in and around the grounds of Harrison's home, Friar Park.

Personnel

• George Harrison – vocals, slide guitars, acoustic guitar, synthesizer, handclaps, backing vocals
• Tom Scott – lyricon, saxophones
• Richard Tee – keyboards
• Willie Weeks – bass
• Alvin Taylor – drums
• Emil Richards – marimba

Chart performance

Weekly singles charts

Chart (1977) Peak position Canadian RPM 100[3] 19 Canadian RPM 100 Adult Contemporary[4] 17 US Billboard Hot 100[5] 19 US Cash Box Top 100[6] 17

Year-end charts Chart (1977) Position Canadian RPM[7] 150

References

1. Thirty Three & 1/3 (CD booklet). George Harrison. Dark Horse Records. 2004. p. 5.
2. "Words of Innespriation: The Lyrics and Unplanned Career of Neil Innes". NeilInnes.org. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
3. "RPM Top Singles, March 26, 1977", Library and Archives Canada (retrieved 11 April 2014).
4. "RPM Top Singles, April 9, 1977", Library and Archives Canada (retrieved 12 May 2015).
5. "George Harrison > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles", AllMusic (retrieved 11 April 2014).
6. http://50.6.195.142/archives/70s_files/19770319.html
7. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.5502b&type=1&interval=20&PHPSESSID=svql38aumv775v0cnndfs5ptj6