George Harrison’s ‘My Sweet Lord’ Gets a Star-Studded Music Video
A long list of celebrities - including Ringo Starr, Jeff Lynne, Joe Walsh and "Weird Al" Yankovic - have come together in a new music video for George Harrison’s classic song “My Sweet Lord.”
The clip stars former Saturday Night Live cast members Fred Armisen and Vanessa Bayer as “metaphysical special agents who are tasked by the head of a clandestine agency, played by Mark Hamill, to search for that which can’t be seen.”
Their mission brings them first to a library, where the duo combs through a forest of literature searching for clues. From there, they move on to a nearby movie theater, where a helpful usher, played by Emmy winner Darren Criss, aids in the search. At one point, two unruly moviegoers (Starr and Walsh) throw popcorn at the investigators. The long list of cameos also includes actors Jon Hamm and Rosanna Arquette; comedians Reggie Watts, Patton Oswalt, Natasha Leggero, Tim Heidecker, Eric Wareheim, Kate Micucci, Riki Lindhome and Paul Scheer; Academy Award-winning filmmaker Taika Waititi and visual artist Shepard Fairey.
You can watch the video below.
Harrison’s son, Dhani, executive produced the piece. He and his mother, Olivia, also have cameos, while the late George Harrison is briefly seen in archival footage.
"Making this was one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life,” director Lance Bangs - whose music-video credits include work with Nirvana, Green Day, R.E.M. and the Black Keys - said in a press release. ““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.”
Released in 1970, “My Sweet Lord” was the breakout single from Harrison’s celebrated solo album All Things Must Pass. The LP hit No. 1 on the Billboard chart, eventually selling more than 7 million copies in the U.S. The album’s 50th-anniversary edition recently received a Grammy nomination for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package.