New George Harrison Song to Be Released

George Harrison, whose battles with ill health have generated intense media speculation, has recorded a new song to be released this month — and credited it to "RIP Ltd. 2001."

The song, "Horse to the Water," was recorded with British pianist and bandleader Jools Holland at Harrison's home in Switzerland last month, Holland's official Web site said.

The site describes the song as "a cross between 1960's Bob Dylan and 1970's John Lennon ... not a ballad and not rock."

Holland, former keyboard player for the band Squeeze, met Harrison during filming of the Beatles Anthology documentary in 1995.

"George suggested we do a track, and it was wonderful to work with one of the great, legendary artists in the world," Holland said in comments carried on the site.

The song, co-written by Harrison and his son Dhani, appears on Holland's album Small World Big Band, which will be released in Britain by Warner Music on Nov. 19.

The song's publishing credit is listed as "RIP Ltd. 2001," apparently short for "rest in peace." Holland's site said the credit "reveals George's dark sense of humor."

Recent media reports have said the 58-year-old Harrison has undergone experimental cancer treatment at Staten Island University Hospital in New York. Neither the hospital nor Harrison's representatives have confirmed the reports.

Harrison, the youngest of the four Beatles, underwent radiation treatment for cancer earlier this year. In May, his lawyers announced he'd had a cancerous growth removed from one of his lungs.

In 1998, Harrison was treated for throat cancer, which he blamed on smoking. In 1999, he suffered a punctured lung when he was stabbed by an intruder who broke into his country home near London.

After the Beatles broke up in 1970, Harrison, the youngest and quietest of the Fab Four, went on to a successful solo career with hits including "My Sweet Lord." He had success again in the 1980s with the Traveling Wilburys, but has recorded infrequently in recent years.