In 1976, George Harrison joined Paul Simon for a haunting 'SNL' duet of 'Homeward Bound'

The Beatles released their culture-shattering debut album, Please Please Me, in March 1963. A year and a half later, as the British Invasion was starting to take hold, an American folk-rock duo named Simon & Garfunkel released their first LP, the largely overlooked Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. In many ways, through the rest of the decade, these two bands were kindred spirits—prioritizing harmonic cleverness and lyrical depth, evolving to experiment more in the studio. They even collapsed at essentially the same time: Simon & Garfunkel released their final studio project, Bridge Over Troubled Water, in January 1970; four months later, The Beatles bid farewell with Let It Be.

Of course, all of their respective songwriters continued with solo careers, and it only felt natural that they’d collaborate in some way. That summit took place on November 20, 1976, during the eighth episode of Saturday Night Live’s second season. Paul Simon was pulling double duty that evening, hosting the show and serving as musical guest—but George Harrison also served as a second musical guest, appearing in two promo videos and duetting with Simon on two tunes, Simon & Garfunkel’s 1966 classic "Homeward Bound" and his own 1969 Beatles anthem "Here Comes the Sun."

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A mesmerizing (and slightly surreal) duet

Their take on "Homeward Bound" is mesmerizing, partly because of how surreal it is to hear those two voices intertwining. Over a pair of gentle acoustic guitars, they bounce back and forth between harmonies and lead lines, Harrison singing the second verse with a reverent sweetness—you can tell he genuinely loves the melody, even appearing to smile at a couple of points. Plus, he adds a little bluesy guitar solo during the closing instrumental section, seemingly to Simon’s delight. (Their stripped-down version of "Here Comes the Sun" is equally lovely, as they take a similar tag-team approach, Simon adding his warm baritone and ornate fingerpicking.)

The musicians truly dominated this episode, even contributing to some classic comedic moments. In his quirky opening monologue, Simon performed his ballad "Still Crazy After All These Years" while dressed in a turkey costume—until calling the whole thing off mid-song out of faux-embarrassment. Harrison, meanwhile, took part in a hilarious cold-open bit with producer Lorne Michaels, haggling over the latter’s previous $3,000 offer for The Beatles to reunite on SNL.

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The blossoming of a real friendship

Harrison and Simon appeared to become close following this performance. American Songwriter points to a Rolling Stone piece honoring the late Beatle, with Simon reportedly reflecting, "Though we’re in the same generation and weaned on Buddy Holly, Elvis, and the Everly Brothers, it must have seemed as strange to him to be harmonizing with someone other than Lennon or McCartney as it was for me to blend with someone other than Art Garfunkel. Nevertheless, it was an effortless collaboration.”

Simon also shared his memories of Harrison during a 2014 late-night interview with Conan O’Brien. "He was an extraordinary guy, as everybody knows," the songwriter said. "Amazing person, not just as a musician, but very open, kind…just a certain percentage of him [was] Beatles, and the rest just regular—interested in life, interested in the world, interested in the mind. It was really a pleasure to hang out with him."

He talked about visiting Harrison’s Friar Park estate, where they played ukuleles and listened to music from their youth on the former Beatle’s jukebox. Simon even shared a memory that showcased Harrison’s signature dry humor: "When you drive in [at Friar Park], are these enormous boulders?" he recalled. "I said, 'Is that a sculpture, or is that natural on the property?' He said, 'No, they were on the property, but we brought them here and put them in this field over here.' Right around that time, Paul McCartney had put out an album called Standing Stone, and George said, 'But when Ringo [Starr] came here to visit [and] asked me about the stones, I said to Ringo, 'Oh, yeah, Paul sent that to us as a promo for Standing Stone.'"

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