Claim: My Sweet Lord's lyrics are supposed to serve as a call to abandon sectarianism.

`` My Sweet Lord '' is a song by English musician and former Beatle , George Harrison . It was released in November 1970 on his triple album All Things Must Pass . Also issued as a single , Harrison 's first as a solo artist , `` My Sweet Lord '' topped charts worldwide and was the biggest-selling single of 1971 in the UK . In America and Britain , the song was the first number one single by an ex-Beatle . Harrison originally gave the song to his fellow Apple Records artist Billy Preston to record ; this version , which Harrison co-produced , appeared on Preston 's Encouraging Words album in September 1970 .   Harrison wrote `` My Sweet Lord '' in praise of the Hindu god Krishna , while at the same time intending the lyrics to serve as a call to abandon religious sectarianism through his deliberate blending of the Hebrew word hallelujah with chants of `` Hare Krishna '' and Vedic prayer . The recording features producer Phil Spector 's Wall of Sound treatment and heralded the arrival of Harrison 's much-admired slide guitar technique , which one biographer described as being `` musically as distinctive a signature as the mark of Zorro '' . Preston , Ringo Starr , Eric Clapton , and the group Badfinger are among the other musicians appearing on the recording .   Later in the 1970s , `` My Sweet Lord '' was at the centre of a heavily publicised copyright infringement suit , due to its similarity to the Ronnie Mack song `` He 's So Fine '' , a 1963 hit for the New York girl group the Chiffons . In 1976 , Harrison was found to have subconsciously plagiarised the earlier tune , a verdict that had repercussions throughout the music industry . He claimed to have used the out-of-copyright `` Oh Happy Day '' , a Christian hymn , as his inspiration for the song 's melody .   Harrison performed `` My Sweet Lord '' at the Concert for Bangladesh in August 1971 , and it remains the most popular composition from his post-Beatles career . He reworked the song as `` My Sweet Lord -LRB- 2000 -RRB- '' for inclusion as a bonus track on the 30th anniversary reissue of All Things Must Pass . Many artists have covered the song including Andy Williams , Peggy Lee , Edwin Starr , Johnny Mathis , Nina Simone , Julio Iglesias , Richie Havens , Megadeth , Boy George , Elton John , Jim James , Bonnie Bramlett and Elliott Smith . `` My Sweet Lord '' is ranked 460th on Rolling Stone magazine 's list of `` the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time '' . The song reached number 1 in Britain for a second time when re-released in January 2002 , two months after Harrison 's death .