Early attempts and basic track The Beatles recorded "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" several times during the sessions for their
self-titled double album, also known as "the White Album". The recording sessions, which began in late May 1968, were characterised by a lack of co-operation among the four band members, and by what Lennon's bandmates regarded as the overly intrusive presence of his new romantic partner,
Yoko Ono. In this atmosphere, Harrison had initially been reluctant to present his new compositions to the group. Take 1 on 25 July – the version later issued on
Anthology 3 – was a solo performance by Harrison, playing his
Gibson J-200 acoustic guitar, with an overdubbed harmonium part. Sessions on 16 August and 5 September produced full band recordings of the song. In the case of the 16 August version, an overdubbing session on 3 September marked the first time that the Beatles had used
eight-track recording at EMI Studios. According to
Ken Scott, the band's recording engineer, Harrison saw the eight-track recorder in a corridor and, defying EMI regulations that new equipment should be thoroughly tested, insisted that they use it immediately. and considered that his abilities had long been held back by Lennon and McCartney, was nevertheless reluctant to participate; he later recalled that his initial response was: "I can't do that. Nobody ever plays on Beatles records." Harrison convinced him, and Clapton's lead guitar part, played on Harrison's
Gibson Les Paul electric guitar
"Lucy" (a recent gift from Clapton), was overdubbed that evening. Recalling the session in his 2007 autobiography, Clapton says that, while Lennon and McCartney were "fairly non-committal", he thought the track "sounded fantastic", adding: "I knew George was happy, because he listened to it over and over in the control room". Harrison recalled that Clapton's presence also ensured that his bandmates "tr[ied] a bit harder" and "were all on their best behaviour". The Beatles carried out the remaining overdubs, which included an ascending piano
motif, played by McCartney, over the introduction,
Hammond organ by Harrison, and further percussion by Starr. McCartney also added a second bass part, played on his
Fender Jazz Bass rather than on either of his usual
Höfner or
Rickenbacker models.
Mixing Still wary that his contribution might present too much of a departure from the band's sound, Clapton requested that Harrison give the lead guitar track a more "Beatley" sound when mixing the song. During final mixing for the White Album, on 14 October, the guitar part was run through an
ADT circuit with "varispeed", with engineer
Chris Thomas manipulating the oscillator to achieve the desired "wobbly" effect. According to Everett, Lennon's tremolo-rich guitar part, recorded on 5 September, was retained only in the song's
coda. Everett credits Clapton's guitar contribution with making the Beatles recording a "monumental" track. As particularly notable features, he highlights the increasing lengths of thrice-heard first scale degrees (0:17–0:19), the restraint shown by rests in many bars then unexpected appearances (as at 0:28–0:29), commanding turnaround phrases (0:31–0:33), expressive string bends marking modal changes from C to C (0:47–0:53), power retransition (1:21–1:24), emotive vibrato (2:01–2:07), and a solo (1:55–2:31) with a "measured rise in intensity, rhythmic activity, tonal drive and registral climb". In October 1968, Harrison reciprocated by co-writing "
Badge" with Clapton and playing on
Cream's recording of the track. ==Release and reception==