George Harrison † (February 25, 1943 – November 29, 2001 [aged 58]), was an English singer, songwriter, musician, author and sitarist. He gained worldwide fame as the lead guitarist for The Beatles. After the group disbanded in 1970, he had a successful solo career.
History[]
Early life & Career[]
In the mid-1950s he met Paul McCartney and later played lead guitar in the band the Quarry Men, which eventually became the Beatles.
At the height of the Beatles' popularity, he was often characterised as the "Quiet Beatle", noted for his introspective manner and his growing interest in Hinduism. In the mid 1960s he began playing the sitar, which influenced the sound of the Beatles music in such songs as "Norwegian Wood," "Love You To", and "Within You Without You". His experimentation with the instrument brought him into contact with the sitar virtuoso Ravi Shankar, who became a close friend and mentor.
While not the primary composer in the group (Lennon and McCartney wrote most of the Beatles' material), as time went on his songs improved greatly and his material earned respect from both his fellow Beatles and the music-buying public. Notable examples include "Taxman", "Here Comes the Sun", "Something", and "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", which was strongly influenced by the music of his friend Roy Orbison and featured a guitar solo by Eric Clapton.
Solo Career[]
After the Beatles split in 1970, Harrison released a number of albums that were critically and commercially successful, both as solo projects and as the member of other groups. After many years of being limited in his contributions to the Beatles' catalog, he unleashed a torrent of material in the first major solo work released after the breakup, the triple album All Things Must Pass. It was by far the most successful of the ex-Beatles' debut solo releases. Harrison owned a mansion in England called Friar Park, where he lived from 1970 until he died. He built his own recording studio inside the mansion, which for a time was better than Abbey Road Studios, where the Beatles had made their records. Having a private studio meant Harrison could work on songs and recordings anytime he wanted.
Ravi Shankar came to Harrison during 1971 with news about a war in Bangladesh, where thousands of people had died and millions more were refugees and starving. Shankar asked for Harrison's help to give a benefit show to buy food for them. Harrison called on many of his musician friends, who put together an all-star charity concert to help the refugees. The Concert for Bangla Desh, a live recording, became a best-selling album, raised money for the refugees, and brought worldwide attention to the problems in their country. It also inspired later benefits, including Live Aid in the 1980s.
In 1973, Harrison released Living in the Material World, another successful album, scoring #1 in the U.S. and #2 in the U.K. The album's lead single, "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)", also became the #1 single in the U.S., pushing Wings' song "My Love" to #2, marking the only time since 1964 that two Beatles held both the #1 and #2 songs.
In 1974, Harrison contracted laryngitis, making his voice terrible. In addition, he was going through a divorce with his first wife, Pattie Boyd. He also toured the U.S. with Ravi Shankar, still while his voice was in terrible shape. He released his album, Dark Horse, which was a complete failure.
Thirty Three & 1/3 was released in 1976, to mostly favorable reviews. In 1978, George married his second wife, Olivia Arias, and their first and only child, Dhani Harrison, was born later that year. In the same year, he placed a mortgage on the aforementioned Friar Park to pay for the Monty Python film Life of Brian. The following year, he released his eponymous album.
In 1980, John Lennon was shot and killed. George Harrison made a tribute to him on the album Somewhere in England, titled "All Those Years Ago". The song references The Beatles and Lennon's songs "All You Need Is Love" and "Imagine". The original version of Somewhere in England was rejected by Warner Bros., because it was "too laid back". Harrison was forced to rework the album. His next album, Gone Troppo, was another commercial failure. These events made Harrison less interested in music, and he took a break from music, only releasing 1 song in between 1982 and 1986 (I Don't Want To Do It).
In 1987, Harrison released Cloud Nine, including the immensely successful song "Got My Mind Set On You". Other tracks included "This Is Love", "When We Was Fab", "Devil's Radio", and the title track. Cloud Nine was a success, inspiring George to start making more music again.
Harrison found a new musical partner in the 1980s, when Jeff Lynne of Electric Light Orchestra began to write and record songs with him. The two men worked well together and became close friends. Harrison and Lynne formed another band, the Traveling Wilburys, with fellow musicians Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, and Roy Orbison. The Traveling Wilburys recorded two albums, which became hits.
In the '90s, Harrison lived mostly quietly, working on The Beatles Anthology and his upcoming album. Originally titled Portrait of a Leg End, and then, comedically, Your Planet Is Doomed - Vol. 1, Harrison settled on the title Brainwashed. However, he was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1997. In 1997, George was attacked by a man who had broken into Friar Park. The man was armed with a kitchen knife and stabbed Harrison about 40 times. Dhani Harrison said about the incident: "He didn't let it affect him. But it definitely, took years off his life, y'know. Like, if you're trying to fight cancer and then you're trying to stay alive for something like that... you know, It's gotta, it's gotta take it out of you, you know." Harrison passed away in 2001 leaving his album unfinished. Dhani Harrison and Jeff Lynne completed the album in 2002 and it was released the same year. Brainwashed received positive reviews and the song "Marwa Blues" won the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance.
Death & Legacy[]
In the 1990s, decades of smoking cigarettes caused Harrison to develop throat cancer. He later developed lung cancer that later metastasized to his brain, the latter of which ended up killing him on November 29, 2001. His family issued a last statement from him: "Everything else can wait, but the search for God cannot wait, and love one another." Even music was not as important to Harrison as his wanting people to learn to get along with each other, and to make the world a better place.
A year after Harrison's death, Jeff Lynne, Dhani Harrison (George's son), the two remaining Beatles (Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr), and other musicians held the Concert for George, which remembered Harrison's music, his life, and his gifts to humanity. All the profits from the concert were given to charity.
Quotes[]
- "Here comes the sun, Doo Doo Doo Doo."
- "Something in the way she moves attracts me like no other lover."
- "Ringo gonna go Ringoo all over his wife. That's a bunch of spleef!"
- "If I needed someone to love, you're the one that I'd be thinking of. If I needed someone!"
- "We were talking about the space between us all and the people who hide themselves behind a wall of illusion."
- "Don't bother me."
- "Ravi Shankar has taught me well. The sitar is my weapon, and the Hindu haters are my target! If you say you stop listening to my song 'My Sweet Lord' halfway because I start saying 'Hare Krishna,' then you are not psychedelic enough for me. We Beatles are leaders of the psychedelic movement, and if you think your Christianity is psychedelic, then you are a fool!"
- "Each day just goes so fast. I turn around, it's passed.You don't get time to hang a sign on me."
- "Let me tell you how it will be. There's one for you, 19 for me. 'Cause I'm the taxman. Yeah, I'm the taxman."
Discography[]
- Wonderwall Music (1968)
- Electronic Sound (1969)
- All Things Must Pass (1970)
- The Concert for Bangladesh (1971)
- Living in the Material World (1973)
- Dark Horse (1974)
- Extra Texture (Read All About It) (1975)
- Thirty Three & 1/3 (1976)
- George Harrison (1979)
- Somewhere in England (1981)
- Gone Troppo (1982)
- Cloud Nine (1987)
- Live in Japan (1992)
- Brainwashed (2002)
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