Historical Figure
George Harrison
1943–2001
English musician (1943–2001)
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Biography
George Harrison was an English musician who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Known as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison played a significant role in shaping the band's musical direction and established a successful solo career, particularly through his interest in non-Western musical influences.
In Their Own Words (5)
If you're listening to this song You may think the chords are going wrong But they're not We just wrote it like that
Only a Northern Song (1967) , 1967
I really want to see you, Really want to be with you, Really want to see you lord, But it takes so long, my lord.
My Sweet Lord (1970) , 1970
I don't know how you were diverted You were perverted too. I don't know how you were inverted No one alerted you.
While My Guitar Gently Weeps (1968) , 1968
I look at you all see the love there that's sleeping While my guitar gently weeps.
While My Guitar Gently Weeps (1968) , 1968
Try to realize it's all within yourself, No one else can make you change. And to see you're really only very small And life flows in within you and without you.
Within You Without You, from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) , 1967
Timeline
The story of George Harrison, told in moments.
Born at 12 Arnold Grove in Wavertree, Liverpool. The youngest of four children. His father drives a bus. George picks up guitar at 14 after hearing Elvis on the radio. His earliest influences: George Formby, Django Reinhardt, Carl Perkins.
Discovers the sitar on the set of Help! Begins studying Indian classical music under Ravi Shankar. Introduces the Beatles to Indian instruments and Transcendental Meditation. "Norwegian Wood" features his sitar playing. The quiet Beatle is reshaping the band's direction more than anyone realizes.
Releases All Things Must Pass, a triple album. He'd stockpiled songs for years because Lennon and McCartney dominated the Beatles' albums. "My Sweet Lord" hits number one. The album outsells anything Lennon or McCartney release that year. Phil Spector produces it with his Wall of Sound. George is 27.
Organizes the Concert for Bangladesh at Madison Square Garden with Ravi Shankar. Two shows, 40,000 people. Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, and Leon Russell join him on stage. It raises $243,000 for UNICEF relief. It's the first major benefit concert in rock history. Live Aid is 14 years away.
Co-founds HandMade Films to finance Monty Python's Life of Brian after EMI pulls out. He mortgages his house to cover the 4-million-dollar budget. The film earns $20 million. "I've always wanted to be in a Monty Python film," he explains. "The only way I could was to produce one."
Dies of lung cancer at 58 in Los Angeles. A lifelong smoker. In 1999, a schizophrenic intruder broke into his home and stabbed him over 40 times. His wife Olivia beat the attacker with a lamp and a fireplace poker. Harrison survived that. The cancer he didn't.
Artifacts (3)
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