page_title: Thirty Three & 1/3
section_title: Release
hierarchical_section_title: Thirty Three & 1/3 / Release
caption_attribution_description: English: Announcement of Warner Bros. distribution deal for Dark Horse Records
context_page_description: Thirty Three & ​¹⁄₃ is the seventh studio album by English musician George Harrison, released in November 1976. It was Harrison's first album release on his Dark Horse record label, the worldwide distribution for which changed from A&M Records to Warner Bros. as a result of his late delivery of the album's master tapes. Among other misfortunes affecting its creation, Harrison suffered hepatitis midway through recording, and the copyright infringement suit regarding his 1970–71 hit song "My Sweet Lord" was decided in favour of the plaintiff, Bright Tunes Music. The album contains the US top 30 singles "This Song" – Harrison's satire on that lawsuit and the notion of plagiarism in pop music – and "Crackerbox Palace". Despite the problems associated with the album, many music critics recognised Thirty Three & ​¹⁄₃ as a return to form for Harrison after his poorly received work during 1974–75, and considered it his strongest collection of songs since 1970's acclaimed All Things Must Pass.
  Harrison recorded Thirty Three & ​¹⁄₃ at his Friar Park home studio, with production assistance from Tom Scott.
context_section_description: By mid 1976, A&M Records were concerned that Dark Horse's roster of artists – which included Shankar, Stairsteps and little-known groups such as Splinter and Jiva – had failed to provide a return on the company's investment from the past two years. A&M decided to offload the label and, in an attempt to recoup its costs, the company sued Harrison for $10 million in September 1976, citing his late delivery of Thirty Three & ​¹⁄₃. That same month, New York judge Richard Owen ruled on the copyright infringement suit, stating that Harrison had "subconsciously plagiarised" part of the melody to the Chiffons song in his 1970 composition. Having settled with A&M by returning his personal advance, Harrison moved Dark Horse over to Mo Ostin-run Warner Bros. Records, where his friend Derek Taylor held an executive position. Thirty Three & ​¹⁄₃ and its lead single, "This Song", were both released that November.
  Thirty Three & ​¹⁄₃ outsold Dark Horse and Extra Texture in America, where it peaked at number 11 on its way to being certified gold by the RIAA and selling around 800,000 copies. In Britain, the album made it to number 35. While the singles "This Song" and "Crackerbox Palace" both became US hits, peaking at number 25 and 19, respectively, on the Billboard Hot 100, none of the three singles issued in the UK – "This Song", "True Love" and "It's What You Value" – placed on the national chart, then a top 50. Music journalist Paul Du Noyer later wrote of the contrasting reception: "Punk rock rendered Harrison obsolete in his homeland but US radio warmed to the expertise and tunefulness of it all."
  In 2004, Thirty Three & ​¹⁄₃ was remastered and reissued, both separately and as part of the deluxe box set The Dark Horse Years 1976–1992, with the addition of a bonus track, "Tears of the World". The latter was an outtake from the 1980 sessions for Harrison's album Somewhere in England.
caption: Billboard magazine ad announcing Dark Horse's new partnership with Mo Ostin and Warner Bros. Records
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