George Harrison
On the 25th of February 1943, George Harrison was born at 12 Arnold Grove in Wavertree, Liverpool. He grew up as the youngest of four children to Harold and Louise Harrison. His mother, a shop assistant of Irish Catholic descent, encouraged his musical interests with loud singing that rattled their windows. By early 1956, an epiphany struck while riding his bicycle when he heard Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel" playing from a nearby house. This moment sparked his lifelong passion for rock and roll.
Harrison enrolled at Dovedale Primary School before attending Liverpool Institute High School for Boys from 1954 to 1959. Though the school offered a music course, he felt disappointed by the absence of guitars. At age 14, a friend named Raymond Hughes offered to sell him a guitar. His mother paid £3.10s., for the instrument, which cost about three pounds and ten shillings. He formed a skiffle group called the Rebels with his brother Peter and friend Arthur Kelly.
In March 1958, McCartney urged Harrison to audition for Lennon's skiffle group, the Quarrymen. Playing at Rory Storm's Morgue Skiffle Club, Harrison performed Arthur Smith's "Guitar Boogie Shuffle." Lennon initially thought Harrison was too young at fifteen years old. A second meeting on the upper deck of a Liverpool bus changed everything. Harrison impressed Lennon by performing the lead guitar part for the instrumental "Raunchy." He soon became a full member, though his father wanted him to continue his education.
During the Beatles' American tour in August 1965, David Crosby of the Byrds introduced Harrison to Indian classical music. Harrison described sitar maestro Ravi Shankar as "the first person who ever impressed me in my life." In June 1966, he met Shankar at Mrs Angadi's home and asked to be his student. On the 6th of July, Harrison traveled to India to buy a sitar from Rikhi Ram & Sons in New Delhi.
Harrison began using the instrument on the Beatles song "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)." This track opened floodgates for Indian instrumentation in rock music. Lavezzoli called it "the most accomplished performance on sitar by any rock musician." In September, following their final tour, Harrison returned to India to study sitar for six weeks with Shankar. He initially stayed in Bombay before moving to a houseboat on a remote lake in Kashmir.
His influence grew through songs like "Love You To" on Revolver (1966) and "Within You Without You" on Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967). These compositions represented the band's first genuine foray into Indian music. By late 1968, Harrison recorded "The Inner Light" at EMI's studio in Bombay using local musicians playing traditional instruments. The song derived from a quotation from the Tao Te Ching and reflected his deepening interest in Hinduism.
After the Beatles disbanded, Harrison released the triple album All Things Must Pass in November 1970. It topped charts on both sides of the Atlantic and produced his biggest hit single, "My Sweet Lord." The album was co-produced by Phil Spector using his "Wall of Sound" approach. Musicians included Starr, Clapton, Gary Wright, Billy Preston, Klaus Voormann, and the whole of Delaney and Bonnie's Friends band.
In August 1971, Harrison organized the Concert for Bangladesh at New York's Madison Square Garden. Over 40,000 people attended two shows to raise money for starving refugees during the Bangladesh Liberation War. Shankar opened the show, which featured Dylan, Clapton, Leon Russell, Badfinger, Preston, and Starr. A triple album titled The Concert for Bangladesh won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year.
Tax troubles later tied up many proceeds, but Harrison stated: "Mainly the concert was to attract attention to the situation... The main thing was, we spread the word and helped get the war ended." In 1973, he toured North America with his Dark Horse Tour. Despite positive reviews from some critics, the consensus reaction was negative due to what Inglis called Harrison's "sermonizing." His laryngitis-affected vocals led some to call it "dark hoarse." He visited the White House on the 16th of November 1974 with President Gerald Ford's son Jack.
The murder of John Lennon on the 8th of December 1980 disturbed Harrison deeply. Following this tragedy, Harrison modified lyrics of a song written for Starr into a tribute called "All Those Years Ago." It included vocal contributions from Paul and Linda McCartney as well as Starr's original drum part. The single peaked at number two in US charts and appeared on Somewhere in England (1981).
Harrison did not release new albums for five years after 1982's Gone Troppo received little notice. In November 1987, he released Cloud Nine, co-produced with Jeff Lynne of Electric Light Orchestra. The album included his rendition of James Ray's "Got My Mind Set on You," which went to number one in the US. Recorded at his Friar Park estate, the slide guitar playing featured prominently.
In 1988, Harrison formed the Traveling Wilburys with Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan, and Tom Petty. They gathered in Dylan's garage to record "Handle with Care" for a European single. His record company decided the track was too good for its B-side purpose and asked for a full album. Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 reached number three in the US and was certified triple platinum. Harrison used pseudonyms like Nelson Wilbury and Spike Wilbury for their second album.
In 1978, Harrison co-founded HandMade Films with Peter Sellers' friend Denis O'Brien. Their opportunity came when EMI Films withdrew funding from Monty Python's Life of Brian. Harrison financed production by mortgaging his home. Idle later called this "the most anybody's ever paid for a cinema ticket." The film grossed $21 million at the box office in the US.
Time Bandits (1981) became one of HandMade's most successful efforts. With a budget of $5 million, it earned $35 million in the US within ten weeks. Harrison served as executive producer for 23 films including Mona Lisa (1986) and Withnail and I (1987). He made cameo appearances in several films, recording five new songs for Shanghai Surprise.
Following box office bombs in the late 1980s, HandMade's financial situation became precarious due to debt incurred by O'Brien. The company ceased operations in 1991 and sold three years later to Paragon Entertainment. Harrison sued O'Brien for $25 million for fraud and negligence. An $11.6 million judgment resulted in 1996.
In December 1999, Harrison and his wife Olivia were victims of a knife attack by intruder Michael Abram. The 34-year-old paranoid schizophrenic broke into their Friar Park estate and attacked Harrison with a kitchen knife. Abram punctured a lung and caused head injuries before being incapacitated by Harrison's wife using a fireplace poker and lamp. Harrison later stated: "I felt exhausted and could feel the strength draining from me... I believed I had been fatally stabbed."
He was hospitalized with more than 40 stab wounds, and part of his punctured lung was removed. In May 2001, it was revealed that Harrison underwent surgery to remove a cancerous growth from one of his lungs. By July 2001, he was treated for a brain tumor at a clinic in Switzerland.
On the 29th of November 2001, Harrison died at age 58 at McCartney's property on Heather Road in Los Angeles. He died in the company of Olivia, Dhani, Shankar, and Hare Krishna devotees who chanted verses from the Bhagavad Gita. His final message read: "Everything else can wait, but the search for God cannot wait, and love one another." His body was cremated at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
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Common questions
When and where was George Harrison born?
George Harrison was born on the 25th of February 1943 at 12 Arnold Grove in Wavertree, Liverpool. He grew up as the youngest of four children to Harold and Louise Harrison.
How did George Harrison start playing music?
George Harrison began his musical journey after hearing Elvis Presley's Heartbreak Hotel from a nearby house while riding his bicycle in early 1956. His mother paid £3.10s for his first guitar, which he used to form the skiffle group called the Rebels with his brother Peter and friend Arthur Kelly.
Who introduced George Harrison to Indian classical music?
David Crosby of the Byrds introduced George Harrison to Indian classical music during the Beatles American tour in August 1965. Harrison later met sitar maestro Ravi Shankar at Mrs Angadi home in June 1966 and traveled to India on the 6th of July to study with him.
What major charity event did George Harrison organize in 1971?
George Harrison organized the Concert for Bangladesh at New York Madison Square Garden in August 1971 to raise money for starving refugees during the Bangladesh Liberation War. Over 40,000 people attended two shows featuring artists like Dylan Clapton Leon Russell Badfinger Preston and Starr.
When did George Harrison die and where was he when he passed away?
George Harrison died on the 29th of November 2001 at age 58 at McCartney property on Heather Road in Los Angeles. He died in the company of Olivia Dhani Shankar and Hare Krishna devotees who chanted verses from the Bhagavad Gita.