he was the one who had most to lose by remaining a Beatle and the most to gain by going solo. Although he enjoyed his elite status—he famously snapped at one of the engineers, “You don’t talk to a Beatle like that”—he was the one the others underestimated. His lead-guitar solos were sometimes played by Paul; to make it more galling, Paul didn’t claim the credit, leaving the world to spend years thinking George played the solos in “Taxman” or “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” John called him “the invisible man,”
