A Happy Birthday to "The Quiet One", George Harrison

Having a rockin' good time with A Hard Day's Night

   Nicknamed " The Quiet Beatle", this never failed to amuse George { at one point he said " If I was quiet, the others must have been REALLY LOUD ", or words to that effect }. His voice was always heard within the group, though the other three may not have taken such a voice all that seriously. It is true that George, only 20 when they played America in 1964,  had to fight to get his thoughts and ideas taken with any serious consideration, especially in those early days of extra large, world-crazed fame. As the group progressed and George got a bit older, dropped acid, and became more mature, he held considerable influence over his bandmates. His introduction of the sitar to pop music on John's Norwegian Wood was a subtle direction the group would go both musically { more inward, fewer love songs } and personally. George, becoming involved in Eastern religion and philosophy, introduced the group to The Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in 1967. John, Paul and Ringo, by this time completely over the whole Beatlemania thing, were receptive to alternate lifestyles and philosophies. This is basically why John indulged in so much acid in the mid-60's, not just for the rush { there was that, of course } but what you can learn or take from that rush. Religion was another rush for the group. But to Harrison it was more and he would be the only Beatle to remain interested and active in the mysticism and culture of India. 

While his sitar gently weeps.

     Early on I noticed a cynicism or bitterness in George's songs, those few he wrote that actually made it to their albums :  Don't Bother Me, Think For Yourself, Taxman, even the classic While My Guitar Gently Weeps has some pointed lyrics on the waste and indulgence of someone George may be fond of, but whom he is not shy of criticizing { that person may even be himself }. During the Let It Be sessions George walked out on the group for what most folks { wrongly, as it turns out } thought was a disagreement with Paul McCartney, which is captured on film in Let It Be. What is less well known is that Harrison also had it out with John later the same day and that's when he walked, telling them " See ya round the clubs" as an exit line. John's reaction was to incorporate Eric Clapton in George's place, but Harrison came back before Clapton was so much as approached. Before he would commit to come back to the group George made a demand : he would under no circumstances play in a big coliseum or amphitheater when the group was to give their big concert to close the film. Hence, we got the rooftop concert on January 30, 1969, the last time the group would perform live, rather than a proper big-time sendoff. George also brought along keyboardist Billy Preston not only to help musically but also to act as a sort of personal "emollient", to quote George Martin's phrase. Everyone liked Preston and he brought out the best in the other three, leaving petty bullshit behind.

An unusually happy George during the hell of Let It Be

George Harrison's greatest period as a songwriter was from 1968 to about 1973 or 74. He was the first to jump start his solo career with the triple album set All Things Must Pass and the hugely influential Concert For Bangladesh in 1970 and 1971. Living in the Material World in 1973 was another big hit album but it's follow up 1974's Dark Horse was badly received as was the concert tour to promote the album. It was the first tour of America for any of The Beatles since the bitter break up of the group in 1970. After that Harrison's career was earth bound and rarely soared again, although his big comeback in 1987 with Cloud Nine and his part in the mega-group The Traveling Wilburys around the same time brought him back into the spotlight after years in the shadows. Harrison also co-founded Handmade Films, a production company best known for it's Monty Python association but also responsible for such films as The Long Good Friday, Mona Lisa and Time Bandits. George also had a interest in cars and auto racing. Another little known fact : in the early 70's, while still married to Pattie Boyd, Harrison and Ringo's first wife Maureen had an affair. His friendship with Ringo survived.

 

   On November 29, 2001 George left this world far too early at the age of 58. In those 58 years Harrison managed to affect people worldwide not only with his music, which is his most formidable gift to us, but also through his interest in all things Hindu and help making it known to the Western world. Rolling Stone founder and editor Jann Werner said that George's talent as " a guitarist who was never showy but who had an innate, eloquent melodic sense. He played exquisitely in the service of the song. "  A toast to George, "the Quiet One". Hare Krishna. 


                   Sources : Wikipedia page on George Harrison
                                   Revolution in the Head by Ian MacDonald
                                   You Never Give Me Your Money by Peter Doggett
                                   The Beatles Anthology                                                                                                        Photos taken from the internet, at random