Crackerbox Palace
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Crackerbox Palace" | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Single by George Harrison | ||
| from the album 'Thirty Three & 1/3' | ||
| Released | 1977 | |
| Format | vinyl record 7" | |
| Recorded | 1976 | |
| Genre | Rock | |
| Length | 3:57 | |
| Label | Dark Horse Records (US) | |
| Producer(s) | George Harrison | |
| Chart positions | ||
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| George Harrison singles chronology | ||
| "This Song" (1976) |
"Crackerbox Palace" (1977) |
"Blow Away" (1979) |
"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 #19 on the American pop charts. The song itself was inspired by Harrison's meeting with a man named George Greif. At the 1975 Midem Music Festival, Harrison met the man and remarked to him that he resembled the legendary comedian Lord Buckley (Harrison had admired Buckley for many years). 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". Thinking that it had the making of a song, Harrison jotted the words "Crackerbox Palace" down on a cigarette pack, and later, wrote the song, which he appropriately titled "Crackerbox Palace". 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").
Harrison appeared as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live on November 20, 1976. Paul Simon was the host of the episode, and the two performed a memorable acoustic set together. A whimsical music video ("short film" back then) accompanying Crackerbox Palace debuted on the program. In the video, directed by Eric Idle, Harrison, various other celebrities, and a cast of dozens "welcome you to Crackerbox Palace" where "we've been expecting you". Neil Innes appears as a carriage-pushing nanny/mother, and the Pantomime Princess Margaret from Monty Python's Flying Circus appears as well as Graham Chapman playing the recurring character of the Colonel once again.
