Sidenote; This was written for my English Composition class at my Community College, so the essay did have a length requirement and had to fit into the grading rubric which limited a bit of a my writing ability. Promised it in Mid April to all those who follow me on social media, here it is 3 May. After finals I will hopefully be able to expand up each topic. Peace, Chaos and Good Vibes -L.
"This Is The Quiet One? He never shut up!" - Eric Idle
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| George Harrison, 1965. Captured by Henry Grossman |
The Concert For George 7:30 p.m February 28, 2018, I sat with my eyes locked on the colossal screen presented at the Kendall Square Landmark Theatre as it projected images of Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, Paul McCartney, Billy Preston and other lovable musicians rejoicing in harmonies and memories of admirable George Harrison.
The Concert For George was a beyond beautiful tribute held a year after the passing of the force and light that was George Harrison, arranged by close friend Eric Clapton, who gathered friends and musicians throughout Harrison's life to perform renditions of Harrison's original compositions - with the exception of George's mentor Ravi Shankar, whom written an original piece for the show. As well, as Joe Brown whom closed the show with a tear - jerking "I'll See You In My Dreams". Wiping my eyes as I left the theater, my original thoughts about George were only made clearer; George Harrison was anything but
The Quiet One.
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| R-L; Harrison, Starr, McCartney, Lennon |
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During the frenzy of Beatlemania, the mop-topped Liverpool Lords were equipped with nicknames such as, "the Smart One", given to John Lennon, as he was the only Beatle to go on to college and by 1964 had his first published book out. Paul McCartney had been fitted with "the Cute One", thanks to his soft features and doe-eyes. "the Funny One" belonged to Ringo Starr, with his quirky humor and not as refined looks compared to the rest of the group he walked among. Lastly, George Harrison was referred to as "the Quiet One". It was hard though, as one could imagine, to be considered anything but "quiet" while hanging around the magnitude of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, whether it was with them as a duo or in their own individual rights. However, it was even in the early days of The Beatles, perhaps even with the earlier band The Quarrymen, in the basement of original drummer Pete Best's home, that George Harrison became a prominent source in the bands history. In 1958, when McCartney had introduced fifteen year old George Harrison to John Lennon on top of a double decker bus, he had proven himself that he was an exceptional musician time after time, even lending backing and lead vocals while playing noteworthy lead guitar. In 1963, Harrison showed himself as a songwriter on The Beatles third LP,
With The Beatles, composing his first original song, "Don't Bother Me". His songwriting skills and dominance in the band only improved from there.
In The Beatles active years alone, George Harrison had written numerous hits for the group. From "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" to the double-platinum, number one hit "Something". Harrison also wrote "Here Comes The Sun", which peaked in U.S charts at 14 and is perhaps one of his most recognizable songs. Just look in the 21st Century, The Beatles discography had been made digitally avaliable for download and streaming via iTunes (in 2010) and Spotify (in 2015); both sites have had HUGE success and popularity with Beatles viewing. To quote journalist Jeff Slate and his article written this past February,
"This is likely a surprise to everyone but Harrison’s most diehard fans.
And yet, “Here Comes the Sun” and “Something” have regularly outpaced
“Hey Jude,” “Let It Be” and “Yesterday,” songs long-considered to be
staples of the band’s storied catalog. Meanwhile Harrison’s solo tracks,
from the mega-hit “My Sweet Lord” to lesser known gems like “What Is
Life” and “Handle With Care” — the signature song of Harrison’s band
with Petty, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison and Jeff Lynne — regularly outpace
songs like John Lennon’s “Imagine,” “Instant Karma” and “Jealous Guy.”
He also tops Paul McCartney’s “Maybe I’m Amazed” and “Band On the Run”
as well as Ringo Starr’s “It Don’t Come Easy” on Spotify and Apple
Music’s charts." - George Harrison at 75: How the quietest Beatle became the most popular one of all (NBC THINK)
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| First 100 Days on Spotify- Note the the #1 song. |
If he wasn't topping the charts, Harrison was bringing the outside sources, widening the cultural knowledge and experience of not only himself, but of those around him. During the 1965 filming of The Beatles second motion picture,
Help!, the group were introduced to Indian-style music and instruments, such as the
Sitar. It wasn't long until the music quickly found its way off the film set and into the heart, soul and mind of George. In their second 1965 album,
Rubber Soul, the Sitar made its debut on Beatles tracks with "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)"; it certainly wouldn't be the last time these influences would be heard. Their 1966 album,
Revolver, proved that the once smart-suited boys singing about holding hands were now expanding into the sixties counterculture of acid trips, psychedelic colors and expressionism. With this came the influence of Harrison's love for Indian culture by being featured more and more in The Beatles work like the albums "Love You Too" and "Tomorrow Never Knows". By exploring and highlighting these influences The Beatles albums and sound became even more predominant and unique. The eastern vibe can also be heard in Beatles tracks "The Inner Light", "Within You, Without You", as well as each one of their solo careers, not to mention the entire sixties movement that lead to retreats, reflection and spirituality.
In 1970, Paul McCartney announced his departure from the group, splitting the band as well as many hearts across the world. By this point, George had proven himself to stand on a pedestal just as high as his (now) former band-mates and writing duo of Lennon-McCartney. In fact, it was even during the reign of the mop tops that George had slipped out of the four-headed sweater that The Beatles were knitted into and tried on another size, one called film.
In 1968, Harrison became the first Beatle to have a solo album with
Wonderwall, the soundtrack to a movie with the joining title starring Jane Birkin, who played a character named after The Beatle chart topper, "Penny Lane". It wasn't the only film that Harrison would work on. A decade later in 1978, George Harrison and American attorney, Dennis O'Brien, went into business together creating
HandMade Films, a film production and distribution company that saved the popular
Monty Python franchise. During the
Life of Brian phase of Python, the original financiers, EMI Films, had retracted their offer, putting the group in the position of funding their own project. Here George, friend of the Python crew, mortgaged his own home to help finance the film. Python regular, Eric Idle reflected on Harrison's generosity by stating,
"It was the most anybody's ever paid for a cinema ticket in history."
Besides the
Monty Python franchise, HandMade Films went on to create films that starred Sean Penn, Michael Caine, Madonna, and more. Yes, John Lennon also had his day in film when he starred in
How I Won The War. Ringo Starr delved into film with
The Magic Christian,
Candy and smaller films when trying to pursue his career in acting. However, Harrison used his film experience to produce multiple projects, saving a franchise and forming a business that is still partaking in films within the past decade; the latest film being
127 Hours, in 2010.
"Well, he never shut up. George had a lot to say. Boy, did he have a lot to say. That's hysterical to me, you know, that he was known as the quiet one." - Tom Petty
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| The Traveling Wilburys |
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Tom Petty was just one of the handfuls, dozens, hundreds of friends Harrison had collected over his time here in the Material World. Compared to the other Beatles, granted Lennon had left this world far too soon, George's collaborations could be argued to be the most impact out of the bunch. John Lennon had worked with Eric Clapton during the Plastic Ono Band stages, and had helped David Bowie get ahead with "Fame". Lennon had also worked with Harry Nilsson, Sir Elton John, Mick Jagger, and got to sing with his childhood hero, Chuck Berry when John and Yoko co-hosted the
Mike Douglas Show. Paul McCartney has recorded with Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, George Michael, Tony Bennett, Brian Wilson, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Dave Grohl, Kanye West, and Rhianna, and that's just to name a few. Ringo Starr as a fill-in drummer has recorded more song with other musicians than any other Beatle, then look at the talent he's worked with in His All-Starr Band, which consist of accomplished musicians changing with every tour. George Harrison, in recorded tracks and albums alone, has worked with Eric Clapton, Carl Perkins, Jim Keltner, Billy Preston, Ravi Shankar, Bob Dylan, Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, Leon Russell, Jackie Lomax, Jool's Holland, Gary Wright, need I go on and write another paper just on Harrison's collaborations and contributions? George was even part of one of the worlds biggest supergroups, The Traveling Wilbury's, featuring the voice of a generation, Mr. Bob Dylan, Jeff Lynne of Electric Light Orchestra, lead Heartbreaker Tom Petty, crooner and statuesque Roy Orbison, and the talented, noteworthy, lead session drummer in the U.S. Jim Keltner!
What separates George's collaborations than the others was he did the least quietest thing one can do, he used his spotlight and the publicity of those around him to bring awareness to charities. Whether it was with Ravi Shankar and forming a killer line up for the Concert for Bangladesh in 1971 or in 1989 with The Traveling Wilbury's raising money for orphan's with "Nobody's Child". George Harrison even setting up the Living In The Material World Foundation, a foundation founded in 1973 that the Harrison estate puts as; "George established the Foundation to encourage the exploration of
alternate and diverse forms of artistic expression, life views and
philosophies as well as a way to support established charities and
people with special needs." (Read more on the Living In The Material World Foundation by clicking
here).
McCartney is a showman, any Beatles, or music fan for that matter, can
clearly see that
Macca loves the crowd, and thrives from the attention,
waves and kisses. Ringo has retracted
himself from the light as time creeps upon us, but his shows are not to
miss and his witty social media updates proves he's living his best life.
John took a a five year gap out of the music scenes to play stay at home
dad, a full-time job in itself, but he never was shy about his thoughts
in front of a reporter or a camera. Let's not forget that John was even
on the streets that unforgettable night, signing autographs for his fans, one in
particular, as he was getting in his car for an interview. Perhaps,
George was the Quiet One in the way that his public persona was more muffled than
the others. His second wife, Olivia, recalls him being called for shows
and interviews but he'd refusing to do them. Harrison's passions ranged from
music to gardening, parenting, racing, film, cultural, spiritual, and
much more. With that being said, his inner thoughts and guidance where
only on another level that could only be heard in chants and in the mind
of himself and practice.
George Harrison may have been the baby Beatle but his thought process, kindness, appreciation, and humble manner seemed to put him years a head of the rest. Even stating once that he sometimes "felt a thousand years old". Throughout all of the people who came into George's life and the experiences he had since a young boy in the industrial city of Liverpool, there is no denying that George Harrison had grown to become on of the most prolific men in the business. His songwriting and messages of the higher power, greater good, love, opening locked doors, and searching for life's unanswerable questions only to recognize that "It's All Up To What You Value" is ten times as effective as a message that is being by McCartney's concert styling of "Now I want all the girls over here to go 'Yay!' and all the men in the crowd to go 'ooo yay!'", but please don't get me wrong, I'm forever in debt to Sir Paul. George's messages just speak on a level of knowledge and curiosity that even in the hushed tones and slides of
All Things Must Pass or hours of meditation, his message was being amplified. George Harrison may have been perceived in the public eye as the Quiet
One but Harrison could have been a mute and still his heart, soul, body
and mind would have shook the world upside down and inside out louder
than any psychotic fool with a megaphone. \
"The Quiet One" or just
quite knowledgeable and wise beyond his years and pop culture itself?
