Harrison, George (25th February 1943-29th November
2001)
He was a guitarist, singer-songwriter and film producer
born in Liverpool, England.His primary school was just off Penny
Lane
which has since been made famous in The Beatles song of the same name.He went on to the Liverpool
Institute of Boys which is now the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts
and studied there from 1954 to 1959.Regarded as a poor student, he left without attaining any
qualifications.He knew Paul
McCartney from school and they both lived in the same area and traveled the
same bus, often smoking on the top deck, as was later featured on "A
Day in the Life".Paul
introduced him to John Lennon and he began to play lead guitar for The
Quarrymen while his father helped them get local social club bookings for
gigs.After he left school he
became an apprentice electrician.The band became the Silver Beetles and then The Beatles and although
he played many of the guitar solos they were done under the direction of
Paul McCartney and some others were modified or directed by George Martin,
who later said "I was always rather beastly to George".His talent grew and by the end of
the 1960s he was an accomplished guitarist and in the 1970s he was known
for his signature sound of slide work.He was known as the "Quiet Beatle" as he wasn't as
outspoken and extrovert as the others, although he did have a good sense of
humour.He was the lead
vocalist on all The Beatles songs that he wrote himself including the
widely performed song "Something".David Crosby introduced him to the
work of Ravi Shankar and he became fascinated with the sitar, being the
first Western pop musician to play one on the song "Norwegian
Wood".As his interest in
Indian culture grew he immersed himself in Hinduism and he and his wife,
Patti Boyd, took a pilgrimage to visit holy places and meet gurus.He became involved with the Hare
Krishna traditions and remained associated with them until his death.Eric Clapton became a close friend,
and later the husband of Patti Boyd, and they co-wrote "Badge"
for the group Cream, and the bridge on it was the basis for The Beatles
song "Here Comes the Sun".After the disbandment of the group in 1970 he released the first
triple album by a rock artist which was All
Things Must Pass.He
organized the Concert for Bangladesh
in 1971 which is now seen as the first major charity concert featuring many
top performers.He started the
record company Dark Horse in Los Angeles, where he met his second wife Olivia, and
played as a guitarist for other bands that recorded on the label under the
pseudonym Hari Georgeson.In
the late 1980s he became part of the Traveling Wilburys with Roy Orbison,
Jeff Lynne, Bob Dylan and Tom Petty.As a fan of the Monty Python team and The Goons he started the film
production company Handmade Films which saw success with The Life of Brian, Withnail and I
and Time Bandits among
others.An intruder entered
into his home in December 1999 and although he and Olivia managed to fight
him off he sustained multiple stab wounds and a punctured lung.He recovered from this but his
battle from recurring cancer ended in his death in December 2001 at the age
of 58.His final months
included working on albums with Jools Holland and the Electric Light
Orchestra's album Zoom on
which he was a guest guitarist.After his death a memorial concert was held at the Royal Albert Hall
in London
with his son Dhani performing on vocals and guitar.He was inducted into the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame in 2004 and the planet 4149 discovered in 1984 was named
in his honour.
Beatles Recordings
If I Fell (John Lennon/Paul McCartney)
Got to Get You into My Life (John Lennon/Paul
McCartney)
