George Harrison Brief Biography | Beatles | Solo | Discography

George Harrison

George Harrison

George Harrison was born in Liverpool on February 25th, 1943, and was known, whenever individual Beatle generalisations came up, as the mystical one.

Being the youngest Beatle, and having a more laid back personality than John Lennon and Paul McCartney, George's songwriting talents were often overlooked within the group. However, his early grasp of the sitar certainly helped to push The Beatles forward in terms of musical experimentation, as witnessed with his sitar playing on 'Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)'. As a lead guitarist, Harrison's playing was rarely indulgent, but it gave The Beatles sound that certain, distinctive sparkle.

As The Beatles music continued to progress into what was, consistently, the greatest popular music to ever come out of Britain, George Harrison's songwriting talents became more respected. His songs on Beatles albums were few, but most critics acknowledge that 'Something', 'Here Comes The Sun', and 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps' were classics - and some view those songs as on a par with anything Lennon and McCartney wrote.

George Harrison's 1970 album 'All Things Must Pass' was up there with any solo album John and Paul produced, and his 'My Sweet Lord' was a UK and US number one single in 1971.

On November 29th, 2001, George Harrison's long battle with cancer finally defeated him, but he no doubt left this world with a serenity typical of him.

- Paul Rance/booksmusicfilmstv.com.

More George Harrison Stuff available from booksmusicfilmstv.com - in association with Amazon
(Amazon.co.uk text links - non italics; Amazon.com text links - italics)

I, Me, Mine: New Introduction by Olivia Harrison (Paperback) ~ George Harrison

Wonderful Tonight: George Harrison, Eric Clapton, and Me (Paperback) ~ Pattie Boyd

Concert For Bangladesh DVD [2005]

Concert For George DVD [2003]
A Concert for George DVD

Concert for George Review

A moving and joyous celebration of George and his music, performed at Britain's Albert Hall, almost exactly a year after George's passing, and it's not mawkish at all (it hardly could be with the Monty Python team involved - including auxiliary member Tom Hanks).

The covers of George's songs are superb, and the most memorable moments include Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney and Eric Clapton performing 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps' - all three featured on the original Beatles recording, of course. A composition by George's mentor Ravi Shankar, entitled 'Arpan', is performed by an Indian classical orchestra - expertly conducted by Ravi's daughter, Anoushka. Spellbinding. Most moving of all is Joe Brown's lilting rendition of the old classic, 'I'll See You In My Dreams'. A fitting way to end the tribute. Impeccably conceived by Eric Clapton and Jeff Lynne, George would have given this show the thumbs up, I'm sure.

- Paul Rance/booksmusicfilmstv.com.

This 2 DVD set includes the full 2 hour & 40 minute concert and the 1 hour 40 minute documentary filmed in high definition by David Leland ("Band Of Brothers") featuring concert footage and interviews with the artists about George's life and music. Documentary produced by Ray Cooper, Olivia Harrison and Jon Kamen.

George Harrison CDs available from booksmusicfilmstv.com - in association with Amazon
(Amazon.co.uk text links - non italics; Amazon.com text links - italics)

Studio Albums
Wonderwall Music (1968) US #49
Electronic Sound (1969) US #191
All Things Must Pass (1970) UK #4, US #1; 6x Platinum
Living In The Material World (1973) UK #2, US #1; Gold
Dark Horse (1974) US #4; Gold
Extra Texture (Read All About It) (1975) UK #16, US #8; Gold
Thirty Three & 1/3 (1976) UK #35, US #11; Gold
George Harrison (1979) UK #39, US #14; Gold
Somewhere In England (1981) UK #13, US #11
Gone Troppo (1982) US #101
Cloud Nine (1987) UK #10, US #8; Platinum
Brainwashed (2002) UK #29, US #18; Gold

Live Albums
The Concert For Bangla Desh (1971) UK #1, US #2; Gold
Live In Japan (1992) US #126

Compilation Albums
The Best Of George Harrison (1976) US #31; Gold
Best Of Dark Horse 1976-1989 (1989) US #132

The Traveling Wilburys
Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 (1988) UK #16, US #3; 3x Platinum
Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3 (1990) UK #14, US #11; Platinum

Re-issue Series
All Things Must Pass (2001) UK #68
The Dark Horse Years 1976-1992 (2004) UK #179
The Concert For Bangladesh (2005) UK #177
Living In The Material World (2006) UK #152
Traveling Wilburys Collection (2007) UK #1, US #9

The Beatles (songs George wrote and/or was lead vocal on)
1964 Roll Over Beethoven #68 US (US only)
1964 Do You Want To Know A Secret #2 US (US only)
1964 I'm Happy Just To Dance With You #95 US (US only)
1968 The Inner Light #96 US
1969 Old Brown Shoe (flip side of The Ballad Of John And Yoko)
1969 Something #4 UK, #1 US; 2x Platinum
1970 For You Blue #1 US (US only, flip side of The Long And Winding Road)

Solo
1970 My Sweet Lord #1 UK (5 weeks), #1 US (4 weeks); Gold
1970 Isn't It A Pity (US only; released as double A-side to My Sweet Lord)
1971 What Is Life #10 US (US only; released as UK B-side to My Sweet Lord)
1971 Bangla-Desh/Deep Blue #10 UK, #23 US
1973 Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth) #8 UK, #1 US
1974 Ding Dong, Ding Dong #38 UK, #36 US
1975 Dark Horse #15 US
1975 You #38 UK, #20 US
1975 This Guitar (Can't Keep From Crying)
1976 This Song #25 US
1977 Crackerbox Palace #19 US (US only)
1977 True Love (UK only)
1977 It's What You Value (UK only)
1979 Blow Away #51 UK, #16 US
1979 Love Comes To Everyone
1979 Faster (UK only)
1981 All Those Years Ago #13 UK, #2 US
1981 Teardrops #101 US
1982 Wake Up My Love #53 US
1982 I Really Love You (US only)
1985 I Don't Want To Do It (US only)
1987 Got My Mind Set On You #2 UK, #1 US, #1 US Adult Contemporary, #4 US Mainstream Rock
1987 Devil's Radio (promo only) #4 US Mainstream Rock
1987 When We Was Fab #25 UK, #23 US, #10 US Adult Contemporary, #2 US Mainstream Rock
1988 Cloud Nine (promo only) #9 US Mainstream Rock
1988 This Is Love #55 UK, #20 US Adult Contemporary, #17 US Mainstream Rock
1989 Cheer Down #7 US Mainstream Rock
1989 Poor Little Girl (promo only) #21 US Mainstream Rock
2002 My Sweet Lord (re-issue) #1 UK, #94 US, #2 US Singles Sales
2002 Stuck Inside A Cloud (promo only) #27 US Adult Contemporary
2003 Any Road #37 UK

The Traveling Wilburys
1988 Handle With Care #21 UK, #45 US, #30 US Adult Contemporary, #2 US Mainstream Rock, #71 US Digital Songs (2007), #21 US Singles Recurrents (2007)
1989 End Of The Line #52 UK, #63 US, #28 US Adult Contemporary, #2 US Mainstream Rock, #19 US Singles Recurrents (2007), #67 US Digital Songs (2007)
1989 Last Night (promo only) #5 US Mainstream Rock
1989 Heading For The Light (promo only) #7 US Mainstream Rock
1990 Nobody's Child #44 UK
1990 She's My Baby #79 UK, #2 US Mainstream Rock
1990 Wilbury Twist
1991 Inside Out (promo only) #16 US Mainstream Rock