November 29, 2021, marked two decades without George Harrison, the former Beatle, extraordinary soul, and my hero. His legacy, however, extends far beyond his untimely death, as Harrison created a life rich with music, love, laughter, and spirituality. Both his music and career were beautiful and direct reflections of how he saw the world.
Harrison was born on February 25, 1943, the youngest child born to Harold and Louise Harrison. He grew up in a loving household with two brothers and a sister and had arguably the happiest upbringing of any of the other Beatles. George attended the Liverpool Institute High School for Boys from 1954 to 1959, but he often sat in the back of the class doodling guitars on his school books. It was on the bus to school that he would meet another young lad by the name of Paul McCartney and they would bond over their shared love of music. Eventually, George’s father bought him a Dutch Egmond flat-top acoustic guitar, kick-starting his music career. His mother was an immense music fan, often rattling windows with her boisterous singing voice, and was extremely supportive of all her children. She was more than happy to allow George to practice his guitar at home, listening intently and encouraging him when he lost confidence.
At the same time, George’s friend Paul had joined a skiffle group called the Quarrymen, started by local maverick John Lennon. They had everything but a lead guitar player, so Paul offered up his friend George. At first, Lennon deemed Harrison too young, being only fifteen, but Paul was insistent and organized another meeting. On the top deck of a Liverpool bus, George won his spot in the band by performing “Raunchy” by Bill Justis on his guitar. George became a full-fledged member of the band that would eventually become the Beatles. He remained a Beatle throughout their world-domination and success until they split in 1969. But even as early as 1966, George’s attention had shifted to eastern philosophy and religion, which was often reflected in the few songs of his own he would be allowed on Beatle albums. As tensions and frustrations in the group arose, Harrison had created a backlog of hundreds of songs, many of which would end up on his first solo album, All Things Must Pass.
All Things Must Pass was released in 1970 and immediately became a chart-topper in both England and America - the first Beatle solo album to do so. Not only was the album number one, but his hit single “My Sweet Lord” had also claimed the top spot on both US and UK charts. All Things Must Pass received widespread praise and remains one of the most highly regarded albums in history.
In 1971, Harrison made history once more by organizing the first-ever benefit concert, The Concert for Bangladesh, starting a trend that would eventually be mimicked by events like LIve-Aid. After hearing from close friend Ravi Shankar about the horrors occurring in Bangladesh during the Bangladesh Liberation War, George immediately took action to raise money for the starving refugees. Two shows were held on August 1, 1971, at Madison Square Garden with a star-studded lineup - Ravi Shankar, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Leon Russell, Badfinger, Billy Preston, Ringo Starr, and, of course, George Harrison. They released both an album and film of the concert, topping the charts and winning a Grammy for Album of the Year.
Harrison’s success continued with his 1973 album, Living in the Material World, holding the number one spot on Billboard charts for five weeks. The album continued to relay his spiritual beliefs and message of peace. In 1974, Harrison released his album Dark Horse and embarked on a tour of North America. Dark Horse received the worst reviews of Harrison’s career, and the tour was plagued by both mixed reviews and an unfortunate case of laryngitis?). And yet, none of it was truly bad - the album itself was a rock-opera of the struggles and loss occurring in Harrison’s life, mainly the end of his marriage to Pattie Boyd.
Over the course of the next five years, Harrison would release three more albums: Extra Texture (Read All About It), Thirty-Three and ⅓, and George Harrison. George Harrison was released in 1979, the same year he began his second marriage to Olivia Harrison, and welcomed the birth of his son, Dhani. 1979 also marked the beginning of his subtle retreat from the music industry. At this point, Harrison had been a rock star not once, but twice, with his Beatle and solo careers and was ready to embrace domesticity and spirituality full time.
Over the next nine years, Harrison released only three more albums - Somewhere in England, Gone Troppo, and the platinum Cloud Nine. In 1988, Harrison formed the Traveling Wilburys with Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan, and Tom Petty. Together, they released Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1. After Orbison’s death, the Wilburys continued as a four-piece, releasing Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3 in 1990 - skipping Vol. 2 to jokingly “confuse the buggers.” From 1994-1996, Harrison collaborated with his former bandmates, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr for the Beatles Anthology series, releasing three albums and two new songs.
Five years later, Harrison passed away at the age of 58 from lung cancer. In his short life, however, he experienced so much. From being the underdog baby of the Beatles to becoming a rockstar in his own right, his career was extraordinary. George, however, was so much more than his music. His message of positivity and love transcends the years, and although he may have physically left this realm, his message is still with us. There is no other person I look up to more than George Harrison, and if I can one day be an ounce of what he was, I will be satisfied. From his sarcastic wit to his unending love to his spirituality, he was truly one of a kind and will be forever missed.
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