The Celtic “A” today is done in honor of Apple Records.
Apple Records is a record label founded by the Beatles in 1968 as a division of Apple Corps Ltd. It was initially intended as a creative outlet for the Beatles, both as a group and individually, plus a selection of other artists including Mary Hopkin, James Taylor, Badfinger, and Billy Preston. In practice, the roster had become dominated by the mid-1970s with releases of the former Beatles as solo artists. Allen Klein managed the label from 1969 to 1973, then it was managed by Neil Aspinall on behalf of the Beatles and their heirs. Aspinall retired in 2007 and was replaced by Jeff Jones.

Apple Corps Ltd was conceived by the Beatles in 1967 after the death of their manager Brian Epstein. It was intended to be a small group of companies (Apple Retail, Apple Publishing, Apple Electronics, and so on) as part of Epstein’s plan to create a tax-effective business structure. The first project that the band released after forming the company was their film Magical Mystery Tour, which was produced under the Apple Films division. Apple Records was officially founded by the group after their return from India in 1968 as another sub-division of Apple Corps.

Living in the Material World is the fourth studio album by English musician George Harrison, released in 1973 on Apple Records. As the follow-up to 1970’s critically acclaimed All Things Must Pass and his pioneering charity project, the Concert for Bangladesh, it was among the most highly anticipated releases of that year. The album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America two days after release, on its way to becoming Harrison’s second number 1 album in the United States, and produced the international hit “Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)”. It also topped albums charts in Canada and Australia, and reached number 2 in Britain.

Living in the Material World is notable for the uncompromising lyrical content of its songs, reflecting Harrison’s struggle for spiritual enlightenment against his status as a superstar, as well as for what many commentators consider to be the finest guitar and vocal performances of his career. In contrast with All Things Must Pass, Harrison scaled down the production for Material World, using a core group of musicians comprising Nicky Hopkins, Gary Wright, Klaus Voormann and Jim Keltner. Ringo Starr, John Barham and Indian classical musician Zakir Hussain were among the album’s other contributors.

Upon release, Rolling Stone described it as a “pop classic”, a work that “stands alone as an article of faith, miraculous in its radiance“.

Rather than revisit compositions left over from the All Things Must Pass sessions, Harrison’s material for Living in the Material World was drawn from the 1971–72 period, with the exception of one song.

Whereas Harrison’s Krishna devotionals on All Things Must Pass had been uplifting celebrations of faith, his latest compositions betrayed a more austere quality, partly as a result of the Bangladesh experience. His musical arranger, John Barham, would later suggest that a spiritual “crisis” might have been the cause; other observers have pointed to Harrison’s failing marriage to Boyd.

Author Gary Tillery writes of Material World’s lyrical content: “The album expresses his impressions of the mundane and the spiritual worlds and the importance of ignoring the lures of the everyday world and remaining focused on the eternal verities.”

Even in seemingly conventional love songs such as … “Don’t Let Me Wait Too Long“, Harrison appeared to be addressing his deity as much as any human partner. Musically, [it] reflects the influence of Brill Building songwriters of the early 1960s, while Harrison sings of a love delivered “like it came from above”. Harrison wrote and recorded “Don’t Let Me Wait Too Long” during a period marked by his heightened devotion to Hindu spirituality, which coincided with marital problems with his first wife, Pattie Boyd, and the financial complications affecting his Bangladesh aid project.

Although produced by Harrison alone, the recording employs aspects of the Wall of Sound production synonymous with his former collaborator Phil Spector – through the use of reverb, two drummers and multiple acoustic rhythm guitar parts. The musicians accompanying Harrison on the track are Gary Wright, Nicky Hopkins, Ringo Starr, Klaus Voormann and Jim Keltner. In November 1976, during the filming of their joint appearance on Saturday Night Live, Harrison performed “Don’t Let Me Wait Too Long” with singer Paul Simon, but the song did not appear in the broadcast.

How I love you baby
So don’t let me wait too long

How I love you baby
So don’t let me wait too long

How I miss you baby
So don’t let me wait too long

How I miss you baby
So don’t let me wait too long

‘Till you’re here by my side
Now only you know how to dry up all
Of those tears that I’ve cried

Here, with your love
Now only you know how to lay it down
Like it came from above

You know it’s you that I love

Now don’t let me wait too long
Now don’t let me wait too long
Now don’t let me wait too long
Now don’t let me wait too long

Till you’re here by my side
Now only you know how to dry eye up
All of those tears that I’ve cried

Here with your love
Now only you know how to lay it there
Like it came from above

You know that it’s you that I love

So don’t let me wait too long
So don’t let me wait too long

How I miss you baby
So don’t let me wait too long

How I miss you baby
So don’t let me wait,

Don’t let me wait,
Don’t let me wait too long

Songwriters: George Harrison