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Nov 30, 2001, 08:08 AM
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#2
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Sun King
Join Date: Jun 11, 2000
Location: Louisiana, USA
Posts: 9,705
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Re: News Coverage of George\'s Death
Beatle George Harrison dies
November 30, 2001 Posted: 8:09 AM EST (1309 GMT)
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- George Harrison, the lead guitarist in the most influential pop group of all time, The Beatles, has died aged 58, his spokesman confirmed to CNN.
Harrison died in Los Angeles at 1:30 p.m. (2130 GMT) on Thursday after a battle with cancer, spokesman Geoff Baker said, but further details were not available.
His family issued a statement saying: "He left this world as he lived in it, conscious of God, fearless of death, and at peace, surrounded by family and friends. He often said, 'Everything else can wait but the search for God cannot wait, and love one another."'
"He died with one thought in mind -- love one another," friend Gavin De Becker told The Associated Press, adding that Harrison's wife, Olivia Harrison, and son Dhani, 24, were with him when he died.
His former band-mate Sir Paul McCartney told the Press Association: "I am devastated and very very sad. We knew he'd been ill for a long time.
"He was a lovely guy and a very brave man and had a wonderful sense of humour. He is really just my baby brother."
Harrison was known as the quiet one of the Fab Four, which conquered the world with 27 number one hits in the United States and Britain.. His credits with The Beatles include the songs, "Taxman," "Here Comes the Sun" and "Something," the latter described by Frank Sinatra as the greatest love song of all time.
The youngest member of the world's most famous pop group will always be remembered for his devotion to Oriental mysticism. It was he who persuaded the other Beatles to fly to India and sit at the feet of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
After The Beatles broke up in 1970 Harrison produced a few solo albums, and was the first of the four to top the UK singles charts as a solo artist with "My Sweet Lord." Later he helped form the group The Travelling Wilburys.
With Harrison's death, there now remain two surviving Beatles, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. John Lennon was shot to death by a deranged fan in 1980.
In 1998, when former smoker Harrison disclosed that he had been treated for throat cancer, he said: "It reminds you that anything can happen."
The following year, he survived an attack by an intruder at his mansion in Henley on Thames, Oxfordshire.
He was stabbed several times and suffered a punctured lung. In July 2001, he released a statement asking fans not to worry about reports that he was still battling cancer.
It wasn't immediately known if there would be a public funeral for Harrison. A private ceremony had already taken place, De Becker said.
Lennon's widow Yoko Ono paid tribute to Harrison, who she said brought magic to the lives of those who knew him.
"George has given so much to us in his lifetime and continues to do so even after his passing, with his music, his wit and his wisdom," she told The Press Association.
"His life was magical and we all felt we had shared a little bit of it by knowing him.
"Thank-you George, it was grand knowing you."
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Nov 30, 2001, 08:09 AM
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#3
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Sun King
Join Date: Jun 11, 2000
Location: Louisiana, USA
Posts: 9,705
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Re: News Coverage of George\'s Death
Flags lowered as Liverpool mourns
November 30, 2001 Posted: 9:39 AM EST (1439 GMT)
LIVERPOOL, England -- Flags are flying at half mast in Liverpool, birthplace of The Beatles, as the city mourns the death of former Fab Four guitarist George Harrison.
Lord Mayor Gerry Scott said Harrison would be much missed by the people of the city, and a memorial service was planned to mark his "exceptional and gifted life."
"George Harrison was one of the great Liverpudlians. He was a warm, peace-loving man who much more than just a talented musician," Scott told Reuters.
Liverpool has always been fiercely proud of its famous sons and news of Harrison's death, although not entirely unexpected, had sent a wave of sadness through the city, a council spokeswoman said.
Flags had been lowered to half-mast and a book of condolence had been opened at the council offices. People began queuing up to sign it as soon as the news broke, she said.
"Everyone who knew of George Harrison knew he was a true Scouser who never forgot his roots. He was a great ambassador of for the city," council leader Mike Storey told Reuters.
Harrison, the youngest member of the Beatles, was awarded the freedom of the city in 1984.
Fans also gathered outside Harrison's Oxfordshire home on Friday to pay their respects.
Bouquets of flowers were being left outside the gates of his £10 million ($15 million) estate, Friar Park, Henley-on-Thames.
One family friend told the Press Association: "I just wanted to pay my respects. We've got lots of nasty people in the world who seem to live forever.
"It seems to be the good ones who pass away before their time. George said in one of his songs 'all things must pass' -- he understood the cycle of things."
A crowd of students from nearby Henley College gathered alongside members of the media outside the 120-room gothic mansion, which is set in 34 acres of gardens and was home to the superstar since 1971.
Pupil Dan Western, 16, from Reading, Berkshire, said: "He was a great rock and roll star. He led a very good life, it's just a shame he's gone now."
His friend Roy Davidson, 16, who lives locally, said: "I grew up with his songs. Whenever we went on holidays, the Beatles always came on, Sergeant Pepper and all that."
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Nov 30, 2001, 08:10 AM
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#4
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Sun King
Join Date: Jun 11, 2000
Location: Louisiana, USA
Posts: 9,705
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Re: News Coverage of George\'s Death
George Harrison Dies
Former Beatle Had Long Struggle With Cancer
abcnews.go.com
Nov. 30 — George Harrison, known to a generation as "the Quiet Beatle," has died. He was 58.
"He left this world as he lived in it, conscious of God, fearless of death, and at peace, surrounded by family and friends. He often said, 'Everything else can wait but the search for God cannot wait, and love one another,'" his family said in a statement.
Harrison died at 1:30 p.m. Thursday at a friend's Los Angeles home following a battle with cancer, family friend Gavin de Becker said in statement released to The Associated Press.
"I am devastated and very very sad," former bandmate Paul McCartney told the BBC in London. "I remember all the beautiful times we had together and I'd like to remember him like that, because I know he would like to be remembered like that."
Funeral arrangements are not yet known, but De Becker said a private ceremony had already taken place.
Harrison had been fighting cancer for years. He was first diagnosed with lung cancer in 1997 and was treated in Switzerland earlier this year for a brain tumor.
He underwent experimental radiosurgery at New York's Staten Island University Hospital earlier this month and later moved to UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles for more conventional treatment, but it failed to stop the cancer.
"George has given so much to us in his lifetime and he continues to do so even after his passing with his music, his wit and his wisdom," Yoko Ono, widow of former bandmate John Lennon, said in a statement. "His life was magical and we felt we had shared a little bit of it by knowing him. Thank you George. It was grand knowing you."
A Mop Top With a Dry Sense of Humor
Harrison was widely known as the "Quiet Beatle." Lennon and McCartney wrote and sang lead on most of the songs. Ringo Starr clowned his way through the movies.
Harrison, the youngest member of the group, was content to play lead guitar. The Mop Top with a dry sense of humor, he stepped to the fore in the Beatles' later years, writing such classics as "Something" and "Here Comes the Sun."
While he was the most media-shy of the Fab Four, in many ways, he was the most influential. At a time before Westerners were flocking to yoga classes, Harrison became one of the first proponents of Eastern culture, studying meditation and Indian music.
On the Beatles classic "Norwegian Wood," Harrison introduced the Indian sitar to Western ears. Later, Harrison brought awareness to the Third World through The Concert for Bangladesh — the first large-scale pop music fund-raiser — featuring such giants as Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton. It was the forerunner for such events as "Live Aid."
Liverpool Roots
Like the other Beatles, Harrison started out as a working-class lad in Liverpool, England. He was born on Feb. 25, 1943, the youngest of three sons.
His parents ran dance classes for several years, but it was not until Harrison was 14 that he showed any interest in music. When the skiffle group craze hit Britain in the 1950s he learned a few chords on a second-hand guitar he bought from a classmate.
Soon afterward he teamed up with Lennon and McCartney and the group played at Liverpool's Casbah club, run by the mother of Pete Best, then the group's drummer.
As The Silver Beatles, the group played gigs in Hamburg, Germany, until it was discovered that the 17-year-old Harrison was too young to have a work permit and they had to return home.
In 1962, the Beatles signed a recording contract and unceremoniously dumped Best, replacing him with Starr. Within a year, the Fab Four had girls screaming on both sides of the Atlantic, and a new word entered the public lexicon: Beatlemania.
As Harrison later quipped: "I guess if you've got to be in a rock group it might as well be the Beatles."
Unparalleled Dominance
No other rock group has ever dominated the charts as the Beatles did. On April 4, 1964, the Fab Four had the top five positions on the U.S. Hot 100 and placed another seven elsewhere on the chart. In descending order were "Can't Buy Me Love," "Twist And Shout," "She Loves You," "I Want To Hold Your Hand," and "Please Please Me."
The Beatles' record of 20 No. 1 singles in America still stands.
Even while he was known as the most famous lead guitarist in the world, Harrison needed more time to develop his voice. When the Beatles stopped touring in 1966, Harrison devoted more time to songwriting. On Abbey Road, the group's final album, his song "Something" became his first A-side single.
After the Beatles broke up in 1970, he was the first member of the band to score a major recording success, with the album All Things Must Pass, which included the controversial hit single "My Sweet Lord."
Unfortunately, Harrison was later successfully sued by the publisher of the 1962 Chiffons hit "He's So Fine," which bore a striking resemblance to "My Sweet Lord."
The two songs use the same notes and chord progression. Harrison maintained he hadn't been conscious of the similarities in the songs. Many pop music aficionados rushed to his defense, claiming that many songs in rock bear such similarities.
In 1976, a judge ruled Harrison's acts weren't intentional. Nevertheless, under copyright infringement law, he was found guilty and ordered to pay $587,000.
'No John, No Beatles'
Harrison's career suffered a slump in the mid-1970s. Many critics dismissed his work as preachy and sanctimonious.
In 1978, he embarked on a new venture, forming HandMade Films, which went on to produce Monty Python's Life of Brian and Time Bandits.
"George, always called the quiet Beatle, he never stopped talking when I was with him," said Michael Palin of Monty Python's Flying Circus. "He had an enormous number of friends who were terribly loyal to him, and will be very saddened."
In the wake of the fatal shooting of John Lennon in 1980, Harrison recorded the tribute "All Those Years Ago," a No. 1 hit, bolstered with musical contributions from McCartney and Starr, making it a near-Beatles reunion.
Still, his subsequent albums, Somewhere in England and Gone Troppo, were largely ignored by record buyers, and he went on a five-year recording hiatus.
He resurrected his recording career with the 1987 album Cloud Nine, which produced the hits "Got My Mind Set on You" and "When We Was Fab," a parody of the Beatles.
Harrison hit the charts again in 1988 as part of the Traveling Wilburys, a group that featured Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne.
Harrison grew tired of answering questions about the Beatles, especially after Lennon's death. "As far as I'm concerned, there won't be a Beatles reunion so long as John Lennon remains dead," he announced in 1989.
Still, the three surviving members of the Fab Four teamed up in 1996 to create a retrospective, The Beatles Anthology, which included three volumes of previously unavailable recordings.
The three reunited again in June 1998 for a tribute to Linda McCartney, Paul's wife, who died of breast cancer.
In 2000, the Beatles had a No. 1 hit again, with the release of a greatest-hits album called, simply, 1.
Battling Cancer, Intruders … And the Past
The media-shy Harrison had always been reluctant to share his private life with the public. In 1966, Harrison married British model Patti Boyd, whom he met on the set of the Beatles film A Hard Day's Night.
Boyd fell in love with his longtime friend, guitarist Eric Clapton, in 1970. She finally left her husband for Clapton in 1974, but the two musicians managed to remain friends. Harrison even attended the couple's wedding.
Four years later, Harrison married Mexican-born Olivia Arias, who gave birth to his only child, son Dhani.
In later years his reputation as a recluse grew and he spent much of his free time puttering in his garden at his huge mansion — reported to have more than 100 rooms — outside London.
After Lennon's death, Harrison spent a fortune improving security at his mansion near Henley-on-Thames, about 25 miles west of London. He also sometimes traveled under an alias.
Despite those precautions, an intruder broke into the home on Dec. 30, 1999, and stabbed Harrison. Olivia saved her husband by striking the attacker over the head with a fireplace poker and table lamp. The attacker was found to be insane and confined to a mental hospital.
Harrison recovered from the stabbing, but he soon was engaged in a new battle with cancer. He had first been diagnosed with lung cancer in 1997. In May 2000, he had a cancer-like sore removed from his lungs at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. He blamed the condition on smoking. His publicist said at the time that Harrison had recovered, but earlier this year , Harrison checked into a Swiss clinic for treatment of a brain tumor. He later sought treatment at hospitals in New York and Los Angeles.
Despite his frail health, Harrison recorded a single with pianist Jools Holland, former keyboardist for the band Squeeze. Harrison co-wrote the song, "A Horse to Water," with son Dhani for Holland's album, Small World, Big Friends.
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Nov 30, 2001, 08:11 AM
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#5
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Sun King
Join Date: Jun 11, 2000
Location: Louisiana, USA
Posts: 9,705
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Re: News Coverage of George\'s Death
George Harrison dies at age 58
Fab Four guitarist had cancer
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES, Nov. 30 — George Harrison, the Beatles’ quiet lead guitarist and spiritual explorer who added both rock ’n’ roll flash and a touch of the mystic to the band’s timeless magic, has died, a longtime family friend said late Thursday. He was 58.
HARRISON DIED at 1:30 p.m. Thursday at a friend’s Los Angeles home following a battle with cancer, longtime friend Gavin De Becker said late Thursday.
“He died with one thought in mind — love one another,” De Becker said. De Becker said Harrison’s wife, Olivia Harrison, and son Dhani, 24, were with him when he died.
In 1998, when Harrison disclosed that he had been treated for throat cancer, he said: “It reminds you that anything can happen.” The following year, he survived an attack by an intruder who stabbed him several times. In July 2001, he released a statement asking fans not to worry about reports that he was still battling cancer.
The exact nature of Harrison’s recent cancer had not been disclosed. De Becker called it “a very private thing.”
With Harrison’s death, there remain two surviving Beatles, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. John Lennon was shot to death by a deranged fan in 1980.
“I am devastated and very, very sad,” McCartney told The Press Association, a British news agency, early Friday. “He was a lovely guy and a very brave man and had a wonderful sense of humor. He is really just my baby brother.”
“George has given so much to us in his lifetime and continues to do so even after his passing, with his music, his wit and his wisdom,” Lennon’s widow, Yoko Ono said Friday.
It wasn’t immediately known if there would be a public funeral for Harrison. A private ceremony had already taken place, De Becker said.
Harrison’s family has released a statement saying, “He left this world as he lived in it, conscious of God, fearless of death, and at peace, surrounded by family and friends. He often said, ‘Everything else can wait, but the search for God cannot wait, and love one another.”’
The Beatles were four distinct personalities joined as a singular force in the rebellious 1960s, influencing everything from hairstyles to music. Whether dropping acid, proclaiming “All You Need is Love” or sending up the squares in the film “A Hard Day’s Night,” the Beatles inspired millions.
Harrison’s guitar work, modeled on Chuck Berry and Carl Perkins among others, was essential.
He often blended with the band’s joyous sound, but also rocked out wildly on “Long Tall Sally” and turned slow and dreamy on “Something.” His jangly 12-string Rickenbacker, featured in “A Hard Day’s Night,” was a major influence on the American band the Byrds.
Although his songwriting was overshadowed by the great Lennon-McCartney team, Harrison did contribute such classics as “Here Comes the Sun” and “Something,” which Frank Sinatra covered. Harrison also taught the young Lennon how to play the guitar.
He was known as the “quiet” Beatle and his public image was summed up in the first song he wrote for them, “Don’t Bother Me,” which appeared on the group’s second album.
But Harrison also had a wry sense of humor that helped shape the Beatles’ irreverent charm, memorably fitting in alongside Lennon’s cutting wit and Starr’s cartoonish appeal.
At their first recording session under George Martin, the producer reportedly asked the young musicians to tell him if they didn’t like anything. Harrison’s response: “Well, first of all, I don’t like your tie.” Asked by a reporter what he called the Beatles’ famous moptop hairstyle, he quipped, “Arthur.”
He was even funny about his own mortality. As reports of his failing health proliferated, Harrison recorded a new song — “Horse to the Water” — and credited it to “RIP Ltd. 2001.”
He always preferred being a musician to being a star, and he soon soured on Beatlemania — the screaming girls, the hair-tearing mobs, the wild chases from limos to gigs and back to limos. Like Lennon, his memories of the Beatles were often tempered by what he felt was lost in all the madness.
“There was never anything, in any of the Beatle experiences really, that good: even the best thrill soon got tiring,” Harrison wrote in his 1979 book, “I, Me, Mine.” “There was never any doubt. The Beatles were doomed. Your own space, man, it’s so important. That’s why we were doomed, because we didn’t have any. We were like monkeys in a zoo.”
Still, in a 1992 interview with The Daily Telegraph, Harrison confided: “We had the time of our lives: We laughed for years.”
After the Beatles broke up in 1970, Harrison had sporadic success. He organized the concert for Bangladesh in New York City, produced films that included Monty Python’s “Life of Brian,” and teamed with old friends, including Bob Dylan and Roy Orbison, as “The Traveling Wilburys.”
George Harrison was born Feb. 25, 1943, in Liverpool, one of four children of Harold and Louise Harrison. His father, a former ship’s steward, became a bus conductor soon after his marriage.
Harrison was 13 when he bought his first guitar and befriended Paul McCartney at their school. McCartney introduced him to Lennon, who had founded a band called the Quarry Men — Harrison was allowed to play if one of the regulars didn’t show up.
“When I joined, he didn’t really know how to play the guitar; he had a little guitar with three strings on it that looked like a banjo,” Harrison recalled of Lennon during testimony in a 1998 court case against the owner of a bootleg Beatles recording.
“I put the six strings on and showed him all the chords — it was actually me who got him playing the guitar. He didn’t object to that, being taught by someone who was the baby of the group. John and I had a very good relationship from very early on.”
Harrison evolved as both musician and songwriter. He became interested in the sitar while making the 1965 film “Help!” and introduced it to a generation of Western listeners on “Norwegian Wood,” a song by Lennon from the “Rubber Soul” album. He also began contributing more of his own material.
Among his compositions were “I Need You” for the soundtrack of “Help”; “If I Needed Someone” on “Rubber Soul”; “Taxman” and “Love You Do” on “Revolver”; “Within You, Without You” on “Sgt. Pepper”; and “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” on the White Album.
In 1966, he married model Patti Boyd, who had a bit part in “A Hard Day’s Night.” (They divorced in 1977, and she married Harrison’s friend, guitarist Eric Clapton, who wrote the anguished song “Layla” about her. Harrison attended the wedding.)
More than any of the Beatles, Harrison craved a little quiet. He found it in India. Late in 1966, after the Beatles had ceased touring, George and Patti went to India, where Harrison studied the sitar with Ravi Shankar. He maintained a lifelong affiliation with that part of the world.
In 1967, Harrison introduced the other Beatles to the teaching of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, and all four took up transcendental meditation. Harrison was the only one who remained a follower - the others dropped out, with Lennon mocking the Maharishi in the song “Sexy Sadie.”
By the late ’60s, Harrison was clearly worn out from being a Beatle and openly bickered with McCartney, arguing with him on camera during the filming of “Let It Be.”
As the Beatles grew apart, Harrison collaborated with Clapton on the song “Badge,” performed with Lennon’s Plastic Ono Band and produced his most acclaimed solo work, the triple album “All Things Must Pass.” The sheer volume of material on that 1970 release confirmed the feelings of Harrison fans that he was being stifled in the Beatles.
But one of those songs, the hit “My Sweet Lord,” later drew Harrison into a lawsuit: The copyright owner of “He’s So Fine,” written by Lonnie Mack and recorded by The Chiffons, won a claim that Harrison had stolen the music.
Another Harrison project also led to legal problems. Moved by the starvation caused by the war between Bangladesh and Pakistan, Harrison in 1971 staged two benefit concerts at Madison Square Garden and recruited such performers as Starr, Shankar, Clapton and Dylan.
Anticipating such later superstar benefits as Live Aid and Farm Aid, the Bangladesh concerts were also a cautionary tale about counterculture bookkeeping. Although millions were raised and the three-record concert release won a Grammy for album of the year, allegations emerged over mishandling of funds and the money long stayed in escrow.
Despite the occasional hit single, including the Lennon tribute song “All Those Years Ago,” Harrison’s solo career did not live up to initial expectations. Reviewing a greatest hits compilation, Village Voice critic Robert Christgau likened him to a “borderline hitter they can pitch around after the sluggers (Lennon and McCartney) are traded away.”
Harrison’s family life was steadier. He married Olivia Arias in 1978, a month after Dhani was born.
The next year, Harrison founded Handmade Films to produce Monty Python’s “Life of Brian.” He sold the company for $8.5 million in 1994.
“George wasn’t head in the clouds all the time. When it came to business and all that he was feet very much on the ground,” Michael Palin, formerly of Monty Python’s Flying Circus, told BBC radio.
Fame continued to haunt him. In 1999, he was stabbed several times by a man who broke into his home west of London. The man, who thought the Beatles were witches and believed himself on a divine mission to kill Harrison, was acquitted by reason of insanity.
But fame also continued to enrich Harrison. The following year, he saw a compilation of Beatles No. 1 singles, “1,” sell millions of copies and re-establish the band’s status around the world.
“The thing that pleases me the most about it is that young people like it,” he said in an interview with The Associated Press. “It’s given kids from 6 to 16 an alternate view of music to what’s been available for the past 20 years.
“I think the popular music has gone truly weird,” he said. “It’s either cutesy-wutesy or it’s hard, nasty stuff. It’s good that this has life again with the youth.”
John Chambers of the Liverpool Beatles Appreciation Society said Harrison’s death was the end of an era for Beatles fans.
“Until now there has always been the hope of a reunion, perhaps with Julian Lennon standing in for his dad,” Chambers said. “It really is the end of a dream, the end of an era.”
© 2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Nov 30, 2001, 08:12 AM
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#6
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Sun King
Join Date: Jun 11, 2000
Location: Louisiana, USA
Posts: 9,705
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Re: News Coverage of George\'s Death
George Harrison, the quiet Beatle
November 30, 2001 Posted: 9:13 AM EST (1413 GMT)
By CNN's Graham Jones
LONDON, England (CNN) -- George Harrison was The Quiet One. The Shy One. The Serious One. The Sad One. Not a Lennon, not a McCartney. Not as famous a songwriter as either. Perhaps not quite a legend.
But Harrison was so much an influence on the music of the Beatles his massive contribution to the success of the world's most famous group should not be underestimated.
He was the man who (egged on by his first wife, Patti Boyd) brought Indian mysticism and the Maharishi to the Fab Four.
He was the man whose lead guitar underpinned all those early Beatles hits and whose wistful, lyrical style later forged the psychedelic sound of the late 60s.
And he did pen the odd Beatles classic -- "Something," "Here Comes the Sun," "While My Guitar Gently Weeps."
Yet despite his musical talent Harrison, The Overshadowed One, never managed the same professional or public recognition as Lennon and McCartney.
Though outwardly uncomplaining, this did seem to irk him - he never made up with John Lennon before the latter's murder in 1980 and said he wouldn't want to join a band with Paul McCartney in it.
Harrison's former record company and 1974 album were named "Dark Horse" - his preferred epithet for himself -- "the one who suddenly pulls out from behind the rest and barrels ahead to actually win the race. That's me I guess."
To many, though, he was an enigma -- John Lennon said of him: "George himself is no mystery. But the mystery of George inside is immense."
Certainly, Harrison's life contained many contradictions.
The "quiet one" who, as Monty Python's Eric Idle remarked, never stopped talking. The melancholy one who was a wisecracker.
The spiritual man who liked Formula 1 motor racing. The rock star who was never happier than spreading fertiliser on his garden. He even dedicated his autobiography "I Me Mine" (1982) "to all gardeners everywhere."
George Harrison was born on February 25, 1943, in Wavertree, Liverpool, one of three children of a bus driver and a housewife. He attended Dovedale Primary School, two years below John Lennon, and Liverpool Institute, one year below Paul McCartney.
His rebellious streak was shown when he defied school rules to grow long hair and wear jeans. This didn't go down well with his strict Roman Catholic parents. Yet mum bought him a guitar and he and his brother Peter formed a skiffle group.
A more important musical friendship was with Paul McCartney, the two of them catching the same bus to school and finding they had guitars, Chet Atkins, Duane Eddy and Lonnie Donegan in common.
McCartney introduced him to his group The Quarrymen, though because of Harrison's age (14) it was some time before he became a regular member of the group.
"I never asked to be famous, I just wanted to be successful," he would say later.
In 1960 the Quarrymen had a new name, the Beatles. The group set off to work in Hamburg. But back in Liverpool they met record store owner Brian Epstein -- the hits followed and Beatlemania was born.
He may not have been the Beatles' "leader" but polls showed Harrison the most popular of the Fab Four with U.S. audiences.
A more personal partnership came in 1965 when, making the zany film "A Hard Days Night" he met a teenage model, Patti Boyd, with one line in the film ("Prisoners?"). They married in January 1966.
This was the Beatles' best period, of course, culminating in the album "Sgt Pepper" in 1967. It was the era of psychedelia and LSD and experimentation ... and Indian mysticism.
Harrison had introduced the sitar to pop music in "Norwegian Wood." Now Patti introduced him to the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and all four Beatles and their wives jetted to India.
Harrison went on to become a devotee of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, to which he donated large sums of money.
But despite his huge influence on the Beatles, there still seemed to be a reluctance to record his songs -- though in 1968 "Something" was "allowed out" as a single and sold a million copies in the UK.
When the Fab Four split up in 1970 their hesitancy in recording Harrison songs was cited as one reason and it is no surprise that he was the first Beatle off the starting blocks to record a solo album.
He was later to say: "The biggest break in my career was getting into the Beatles in 1963. The second biggest break was getting out of them."
The new album "All Things Must Pass" was hailed as a masterpiece. But there was controversy after "My Sweet Lord" -- which swept all before it as a single in Europe and the U.S. -- was deemed by a court to have been based on the Chiffons 1962 hit "He's So Fine."
In 1971 Harrison, by now indelibly linked with the Hare Krishna movement, produced two benefit concerts at New York's Madison Square Garden for the people of Bangladesh after Ravi Shankar had told him of the poverty there.
The resulting three-record set with guest artists won a Grammy. But the $10 million raised was held up until 1981 after a tax investigation into the Beatles company, Apple. Harrison's 1974 recording "Dark Horse" was a runaway success. Its brooding nature fuelled by the collapse of his marriage to Patti Boyd, pursued by his friend Eric Clapton.
But around this time Harrison met his second wife Olivia, an assistant in the merchandising department at A&M records. They had a son, Dhani, in 1978.
After "Dark Horse" music critics never had the same regard for Harrison's solo recordings.
But better reviews did come in the late 1980s when he formed an impromptu supergroup "The Travelling Wilburys" which featured among others Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne and Roy Orbison. Their album won Harrison a second Grammy.
In this period he also acted as a record producer and funded Monty Python's film "Life of Brian," going on to found Handmade Films, which produced "The Long Good Friday," "Mona Lisa" and "Shanghai Surprise."
There was one hint of the old days when, in 1987, Harrison's "Got My Mind Set on You" reached number two in the UK and number one in America.
In 1992 Harrison campaigned for the Natural Law Party, another example of his interest in all things mystic, at the UK general election.
Harrison's later years were dogged by more unwelcome publicity, including a January 1996 court case in which he was awarded £6 million ($11.6m) from a former adviser he had accused of mishandling his finances. Worse was to follow in 1999 when Harrison was attacked and almost murdered by a psychotic in his gothic mansion in Oxfordshire, southern England. He had a lung punctured by the stabbing and it was said that only the prompt action by his wife Olivia, who hit the intruder over the head with a poker and a table lamp, saved his life.
Harrison overcame throat cancer in 1998, which he blamed on smoking. He was given the all-clear after radiation therapy. But in 2001 it was revealed Harrison was having treatment at a Swiss clinic for lung cancer.
Harrison took much comfort from his religion and believed in reincarnation: "I don't know what as. You go on being reincarnated until you reach the actual Truth. Heaven and Hell are just a state of mind."
But above all Harrison will be remembered for his music. He once said: "I think people who can live their life in music are telling the world: 'You can have my love, you can have my smiles. Forget the bad parts, you don't need them.
"'Just take the music, the goodness, because it's the very best,' and it's the part I give most willingly."
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Nov 30, 2001, 08:13 AM
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#7
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Sun King
Join Date: Jun 11, 2000
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Re: News Coverage of George\'s Death
WIRE: 11/30/2001 8:44 am ET
Paul McCartney mourns his 'baby brother' and Beatles bandmate George Harrison
The Associated Press
LONDON (AP) Paul McCartney said Friday that he was devastated by the death of George Harrison, his "baby brother" in The Beatles, and the Union Jack was lowered at city hall in Liverpool where the band was born.
"He was a lovely guy and a very brave man and had a wonderful sense of humor," McCartney told reporters outside his London home. "He is really just my baby brother."
Harrison was 13 when he befriended McCartney at their school in Liverpool, England, in 1956. McCartney introduced Harrison to John Lennon, and their friendship was the nucleus of the band that was finally completed with the addition of drummer Ringo Starr.
At Liverpool's town hall, the flag was lowered to half-staff Friday morning in tribute. Harrison, 58, died Thursday in Los Angeles after a long battle with cancer.
Alan Williams, The Beatles' first manager, said Harrison was an essential part of the band's chemistry.
"I would say he was the major cog in The Beatles at that time. He kept them together probably because of the calming effect he had," Williams said.
Harrison commented wryly on The Beatles' acrimonious breakup in his song, "Sue Me, Sue You Blues" from his post-Beatles solo album, "Living in the Material World."
But old grudges faded with time, and McCartney and Starr joined in recording "All Those Years Ago," Harrison's 1981 tribute to the slain Lennon.
"He was a great guy, full of love for humanity but he didn't suffer fools gladly. He's a great man. He'll be sorely missed by everyone," said McCartney, 59, who at times appeared emotional as he talked with journalists.
He said he had seen Harrison a few weeks before his death.
"When I saw him last time, he was obviously very unwell but he was cracking jokes like he always was and he'll be sorely missed," he said.
Some fans and neighbors brought bouquets to the gates of Friar Park, Harrison's Victorian mansion at Henley-on-Thames, west of London.
Kym Freedman, 17, came with her 16-year-old friend, Natalie West, to leave a bouquet of yellow roses. The card said, "My guitar will gently weep forever. We love you, man."
"He was a big idol of mine," Freedman said. "It's because of his songs. 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps' is the best song I ever heard."
Within the Beatles, Harrison was known as the quiet, mystical one, the author of a few well-crafted songs such as "Something" and "Here Comes the Sun" which were overshadowed by the torrent of Lennon-McCartney tunes.
"As he said himself, `How do you compare with the genius of John and Paul?' But he did very well," said Sir Bob Geldof, a fellow rock musician, in an interview with British Broadcasting Corp. radio.
Geldof said he regarded Harrison's 'All Things Must Pass' as the best Beatles solo album.
Sir George Martin, producer of The Beatles' recordings, said Harrison struggled as a songwriter.
"He was the baby of The Beatles, and unlike Paul and John, he had a hard time developing his songwriting talent and making his music alone," Martin said.
"But he worked hard and with enormous patience, building his music meticulously, and he eventually came to write one of the greatest love songs of all time, 'Something."'
Richard Lester, who directed the Beatle films "A Hard Day's Night" and "Help!," said Harrison took easily to acting.
"He took to his parts with some relish and although we always felt that John Lennon was the flashiest and most interesting actor, George could always be relied on to hit the square in the middle and get the line right," Lester said.
Harrison organized the 1971 Concert for Bangladesh, one of the first rock and roll benefits, and was generous with advice when Geldof was putting together Live Aid, a benefit for African famine in 1985.
"During that, he would fax me and ring me. He kept telling me not to make the mistakes they made with all the lawyers in the Bangladeshi concert," Geldof said. "So I remember him with a profound sense of gratitude."
Michael Palin of Monty Python's Flying Circus said Harrison's spiritual side was balanced by a hardheaded business sense. Harrison stepped in to finance Monty Python's "Life of Brian" film in 1978, and his Handmade Films company also produced Palin's "A Private Function."
"You know, George wasn't head in the clouds all the time. When it came to business and all that he was feet very much on the ground. So there was a mixture there, and it was a rather pleasant mixture." Palin said.
Palin said Harrison was more spirited than his nickname, "the quiet Beatle," indicated.
"He never stopped talking when I was with him," Palin said. "He wasn't the silent one that sat in the corner by any means."
John Chambers of the Liverpool Beatles Appreciation Society described Harrison's death as "the end of an era" for fans of the band. He said Beatles followers had long hoped that the band might reunite, perhaps with Julian Lennon standing in for his father.
"It really is the end of a dream," Chambers said. "The only comfort we can take is the legacy of the music, which is as powerful and mysterious today as it ever was."
Copyright 2001 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Nov 30, 2001, 08:17 AM
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#8
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Sun King
Join Date: Jun 11, 2000
Location: Louisiana, USA
Posts: 9,705
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Re: News Coverage of George\'s Death
Readers reflect on George Harrison
Letters from MSNBC.com community offer thanks, praise
MSNBC
Nov. 30 — Reflecting on the life of the Beatles’ lead guitarist, MSNBC.com readers offer remembrances of their own childhoods, as well as words of praise and thanks for George Harrison’s gifts. Hundreds have written in to say “George, you will be missed.” Read a sample below, and send us your own thoughts.
“The guitars of the world gently weep. ... We thank God for lending us George.”
— Alex, location unknown
“Of all the Beatles, he was my favorite. He had a style all his own, and what drew me to him was the calm aura that circled him when he performed. Even though he was on stage with three other people, it seemed like he was there by himself. Being in the limelight was not his style, a trait I truly admired in George. He will be missed, and my deepest condolences to his family.”
— Diane, New York
“When I first saw Harrison on TV in the 60’s, I started dancing around the room, saying, ‘Oh my goodness, I’m in love.’ My father came in and said, ‘Get that trash off!’ I never stopped listening to his music. I’m very sad over his death and he will be missed dearly.”
— Starr, Ohio
“I pray that his message of love and understanding reaches our populace. He was truly inspiring.”
— Rino, Canada
“I remember picking up my first guitar back in 1966 and thinking, ‘If I could only play like George, then that would truly be something to be proud of.’ I still feel the same way. ... And later, when Bangladesh first showed up, I was stunned that a celebrity of his stature from England could even give a damn about suffering in a place I had only heard about through the papers. He was a very sensitive sort of guy that made it okay to be sensitive for a whole pile of us guys that thought the male gender started with John Wayne and ended with Archie Bunker.”
— Richard, California
“He wasn’t the most talented of the Beatles, but he was my favorite. I can understand the quiet and the reserved side of him, because I have the same feelings from time to time.”
— David, Connecticut
“George was about love and caring for others. Just listen to his songs!”
—Fred, Georgia
“I remember hearing them sing for the first time. I had just gotten home from school, and my sister and I just sat there listening and saying that these guys will really go far in this business. Boy, were we right! I remember there was this gum packet with cards with the faces of the Beatles on them. I kept opening packs of them until I had one of George — he was the one that I fell in love with.”
—Sharon, South Carolina
“‘Guitar’ George was the only Beatle who was capable of bringing the other three Beatles together. With his passing we will definitely never ever see a band so great again. God bless his soul.”
— Vasu, India
“I am 42 and grew up with the Beatles. I am truly sad and will miss George. I will continue to be one of his fans and listen to his music for the rest of my life.”
— Keith, Michigan
“When I was a teenager, the Beatles were my WORLD. I lived and breathed the group, and as I got older, I realized that they were the most talented and devoted musicians I had ever — or would ever hear. I still play their records (CDs now) and am a devoted fan to this day and will be to my grave. I was saddened by John’s murder, but even sadder that George is now gone. He leaves a legacy of music and spiritual inspiration behind that NO ONE will ever match, much less top.”
—Maxy, Louisiana
“I’ll miss him, but he will live forever in his songs.”
— Peter, The Netherlands
“I remember when the Beatles first came on the Ed Sullivan show: It was like George was the rock, the pivoting point which the rest of the band formed around. His guitar playing was the basis of all the good sounds that came from the Beatles. It is really a sad time, to see something so good for us gone.”
— Vicki, Iowa
“Thank you for all you have given us. Rest in peace.”
— R.K., New York
“George Harrison gave me peace in my mind with his beautiful music. It soothed my soul and helped me get through rough times I was having in my life. The way he spoke, ‘Give me Love, give me peace earth,’ I knew just how he felt. He will always be missed and live on in his music in the hearts of his fans forever!!”
— Danielle, Pennsylvania
“The world has lost a peace-man, a great musician, a great leader. ... But we will be grateful for his giving us much love and wisdom. Rest in peace, George.”
— Gonzalo, Chile
“I was only 16 and in London on vacation in 1971 when I heard of the Concert for Bangladesh. The concert and reason for the concert had a profound effect on my life. It made me feel that there was hope for the world.”
— Jan, Maryland
“In the early 70’s, KPFT, the Pacifica Radio station in Houston, was bombed off the air by a leader of the Ku Klux Klan. When KPFT returned to the air several months later, an announcer said, ‘This is KPFT, 90.1 FM.’ There was a moment of silence, and then those wonderful opening guitar notes as they played ‘Here Comes The Sun’ by George Harrison. It was such an appropriate song for the occasion and I still get chills every time I hear it. It always takes me back to that moment.”
—Mark, Texas
“The music was playing, when I heard you had died.
Your love gave us all a lot of pride.
Your smiles, your jokes and all your fun.
Reminds us that you will always be that No. 1.
Far away theres a better place
as your music plays on
we haven’t forgotten your face.”
— Ollie, Australia
God bless George Harrison!!! May he rest in peace, and we will never forget this wonderful man. Bless his loving heart and soul ....”
— Teresa, St. Louis
“George was the most profound Beatle. He might not have written as many songs as Paul and John, but what he did write made you think, made you cry, made you love.”
— Charlie, New York
“George Harrison is a working class hero.”
— Noe, the Philippines
“When I was about eight years old, my sister and three neighbor girls (and I) used to rotate being the Beatles. We would fight over who was going to be George. Don’t get me wrong — the other three were totally hot in our eyes — but there was something so sincere about him that he was the one everyone wanted to portray. I am 45 now and still remember being entranced like everyone else over the Beatles. My deepest sympathy to your family, George Harrison, and to all of your fans. Godspeed!”
— Jeanine, Iowa
“It was in his stillness that George spoke most clearly. He had a wonderful essence about him. His music was truly devotional and prolific. I remember my first pair of Beatles boots as a youth and our neighborhood air guitar band — I always felt I was George in the band. The quiet one who made all the difference. The foundation and heart of the band. I will miss him as I miss John. He is at peace now, and I thank him for his art and influence in my life. Thank you George, you are home now.”
— Michael, Michigan
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Nov 30, 2001, 08:22 AM
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#9
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Sun King
Join Date: Jun 11, 2000
Location: Louisiana, USA
Posts: 9,705
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Re: News Coverage of George\'s Death
George Harrison Dead At 58 http://www.cbsnews.com
<UL TYPE=SQUARE>'Quiet' Beatle Had Long Struggle With Cancer
Solo Career Produced Masterpieces Including 'All Things Must Pass'
His Legacy: Great Music And A Love For Spirituality, Meaning In Life[/list]
LOS ANGELES, Nov. 30, 2001
(CBS) George Harrison, the Beatles' quiet lead guitarist and spiritual explorer who added both rock 'n' roll flash and a touch of the mystic to the band's timeless magic, has died, according to a longtime family friend. He was 58.
Harrison died Thursday afternoon at the Los Angeles home of a friend following a lengthy battle with cancer, longtime Harrison friend Gavin De Becker said.
"He died with one thought in mind - love one another," De Becker said.
"I am devastated and very, very sad," former Beatle Paul McCartney told The Press Association, a British news agency, early Friday. "He was a lovely guy and a very brave man and had a wonderful sense of humor. He is really just my baby brother."
With Harrison when he died were his wife Olivia Harrison, and son Dhani, 24. The Harrisons met 27 years ago and were married about 23 years.
"He left this world as he lived in it, conscious of God, fearless of death, and at peace, surrounded by family and friends. He often said, 'Everything else can wait but the search for God cannot wait, and love one another,' Harrison's family said in a statement.
The exact nature of the cancer wasn't disclosed.
"This is a very private thing. They are very private," De Becker said of the family.
He would only say Harrison died "at the home of a dear friend."
It wasn't immediately known if there would be a public funeral for Harrison. A private ceremony had already taken place, De Becker said Thursday night.
Harrison fought cancer for years and only a few weeks ago was in New York City for treatment at a hospital known for its oncology program.
His death now leaves just two surviving members of the Beatles, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr.
Back in the days when they were four moptop lads - John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr - Harrison was known as "The Quiet Beatle."
"George Harrison has given so much to us in his lifetime, and he continues to do so, even after his passing, with his music, his wit, and his wisdom. Thank you, George," said Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, in a statement issued early today.
Alan Williams, The Beatles' first manager, describes Harrison as the major cog in The Beatles. "He kept them together probably because of the calming effect he had," said Williams, after hearing the sad news.
Harrison's songs sometimes took a back seat to those written by Lennon and McCartney - an irritant to Harrison, especially later in his career - but he was always a force to be reckoned with, both as a guitarist and a songwriter.
Harrison was born Feb. 25, 1943, making him the youngest Beatle and the only one whose childhood was not marred by divorce or death. He showed his rebellious nature early, defying his school's dress code by wearing jeans and growing his hair long. In 1956, when the hip, folk-inspired "skiffle" craze hit, Harrison and his brother formed a band, but their young age forced them to sneak out of the house to play.
Harrison and Paul McCartney rode the same bus to school, and soon found they had music and guitars in common. In 1956, McCartney introduced the 14-year-old Harrison to The Quarrymen.
Not old enough to join, Harrison hung around, idolizing John Lennon and emulating everything he could. Harrison stood in the back of the room at all their shows with his guitar. A few times he filled in for the regular guitarist. Gradually, Harrison became a member of the band.
During a Beatles' gig in Hamburg, Harrison received a deportation notice because he was only 17. A curfew existed for anyone under 18. The police were informed and George was homeward bound. He has said the Beatles never really set out to become the greatest rock band in history.
Yet the man who introduced the other Beatles to Eastern mysticism and brought the sitar into rock and roll always managed to make a musical statement, either with his own compositions or with his guitar work. He was the distinctive lead guitarist on the band's classic tunes and added his vocals to John's and Paul's.
Critics say many of his own songs ranked among the best pop tunes ever. "Taxman," "Something," "Here Comes The Sun" and ""While My Guitar Gently Weeps" were some of his best-known contributions to the Beatles legacy.
He met teenage model Patty Boyd while filming "A Hard Day's Night" and they married on Jan. 21, 1966.
When the Beatles broke up in 1970, Harrison began a solo career, producing what many consider his masterpiece, "All Things Must Pass."
Harrison organized the 1971 benefit Concert for Bangladesh at Madison Square Garden with such friends as Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton to raise money to help millions of starving people in a part of the world Harrison had come to love.
Clapton was also in love with Boyd and eventually she split from Harrison to be with his friend.
Harrison produced seven gold albums and became a movie producer in the late '70s. His autobiography, "I, Me, Mine," was published in 1980. Olivia Arrias became his second wife in 1978 and their son Dhani is Harrison's only child.
In the late 1980s he formed the Traveling Wilburys with Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty and Bob Dylan. In 1997, Harrison was diagnosed with throat cancer and treated successfully. In Dec. 1999, Harrison and his wife were woken when a man wielding a knife stabbed Harrison in the chest at his home.
Fans sometimes spotted him drinking in his local pub or puttering around on the grounds of his mansion.
George Harrison's legacy will be both his music, with the Beatles and on his own, and the way he lived his life, especially his pursuit of spirituality and meaning in life. That was a quest that took him from Liverpool to London to America and the rest of the world. Friends say he spent his last days preparing himself spiritually for his own death, reflecting on something he learned all those years ago: all things must pass.
© MMI, CBS Worldwide Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press and Reuters Limited contributed to this report.
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Nov 30, 2001, 08:24 AM
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#10
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Sun King
Join Date: Jun 11, 2000
Location: Louisiana, USA
Posts: 9,705
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Re: News Coverage of George\'s Death
Remembering George Harrison
Death Of Beatles' Legend Brings Outpouring Of Sorrow
(AP) Paul McCartney said Friday that he was devastated by the death of George Harrison, his "baby brother" in The Beatles, and the Union Jack was lowered at city hall in Liverpool where the band was born.
"He was a lovely guy and a very brave man and had a wonderful sense of humor," McCartney told reporters outside his London home. "He is really just my baby brother."
Harrison was 13 when he befriended McCartney at their school in Liverpool, England, in 1956. McCartney introduced Harrison to John Lennon, and their friendship was the nucleus of the band that was finally completed with the addition of drummer Ringo Starr.
In New York, fans gathered before dawn to pay their respects to Harrison at Strawberry Fields, a section of Manhattan's Central Park dedicated to the memory of fellow band member John Lennon.
"I just decided to buy a bottle of wine and some roses at the corner and head over here," said John Soler, 38, a restaurateur from Manhattan. The first fan to arrive, Soler said he brought his laptop so he could play Beatles music.
Strawberry Fields, which takes its name from the hit Beatles single, was dedicated to Lennon after his 1980 shooting death at the hands of a deranged fan. On any given day, a lighted candle or vase of flowers can be seen there on a mosaic with the word "IMAGINE."
In Liverpool, the flag at city hall was lowered to half-staff Friday morning in tribute. Harrison, 58, died Thursday in Los Angeles after a long battle with cancer.
Alan Williams, The Beatles' first manager, said Harrison was an essential part of the band's chemistry.
"I would say he was the major cog in The Beatles at that time. He kept them together probably because of the calming effect he had," Williams said.
Harrison commented wryly on The Beatles' acrimonious breakup in his song, "Sue Me, Sue You Blues" from his post-Beatles solo album, "Living in the Material World."
But old grudges faded with time, and McCartney and Starr joined in recording "All Those Years Ago," Harrison's 1981 tribute to the slain Lennon.
"He was a great guy, full of love for humanity but he didn't suffer fools gladly. He's a great man. He'll be sorely missed by everyone," said McCartney, 59, who at times appeared emotional as he talked with journalists.
He said he had seen Harrison a few weeks before his death.
"When I saw him last time, he was obviously very unwell but he was cracking jokes like he always was and he'll be sorely missed," he said.
Some fans and neighbors brought bouquets to the gates of Friar Park, Harrison's Victorian mansion at Henley-on-Thames, west of London.
Kym Freedman, 17, came with her 16-year-old friend, Natalie West, to leave a bouquet of yellow roses. The card said, "My guitar will gently weep forever. We love you, man."
"He was a big idol of mine," Freedman said. "It's because of his songs. 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps' is the best song I ever heard."
Within the Beatles, Harrison was known as the quiet, mystical one, the author of a few well-crafted songs such as "Something" and "Here Comes the Sun" which were overshadowed by the torrent of Lennon-McCartney tunes.
"As he said himself, `How do you compare with the genius of John and Paul?' But he did very well," said Sir Bob Geldof, a fellow rock musician, in an interview with British Broadcasting Corp. radio.
Geldof said he regarded Harrison's 'All Things Must Pass' as the best Beatles solo album.
Sir George Martin, producer of The Beatles' recordings, said Harrison struggled as a songwriter.
"He was the baby of The Beatles, and unlike Paul and John, he had a hard time developing his songwriting talent and making his music alone," Martin said.
"But he worked hard and with enormous patience, building his music meticulously, and he eventually came to write one of the greatest love songs of all time, 'Something."'
Richard Lester, who directed the Beatle films "A Hard Day's Night" and "Help!," said Harrison took easily to acting.
"He took to his parts with some relish and although we always felt that John Lennon was the flashiest and most interesting actor, George could always be relied on to hit the square in the middle and get the line right," Lester said.
Harrison organized the 1971 Concert for Bangladesh, one of the first rock and roll benefits, and was generous with advice when Geldof was putting together Live Aid, a benefit for African famine in 1985.
"During that, he would fax me and ring me. He kept telling me not to make the mistakes they made with all the lawyers in the Bangladeshi concert," Geldof said. "So I remember him with a profound sense of gratitude."
Michael Palin of Monty Python's Flying Circus said Harrison's spiritual side was balanced by a hardheaded business sense. Harrison stepped in to finance Monty Python's "Life of Brian" film in 1978, and his Handmade Films company also produced Palin's "A Private Function."
"You know, George wasn't head in the clouds all the time. When it came to business and all that he was feet very much on the ground. So there was a mixture there, and it was a rather pleasant mixture." Palin said.
Palin said Harrison was more spirited than his nickname, "the quiet Beatle," indicated.
"He never stopped talking when I was with him," Palin said. "He wasn't the silent one that sat in the corner by any means."
John Chambers of the Liverpool Beatles Appreciation Society described Harrison's death as "the end of an era" for fans of the band. He said Beatles followers had long hoped that the band might reunite, perhaps with Julian Lennon standing in for his father.
"It really is the end of a dream," Chambers said. "The only comfort we can take is the legacy of the music, which is as powerful and mysterious today as it ever was."
© MMI The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Nov 30, 2001, 08:26 AM
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#11
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Sun King
Join Date: Jun 11, 2000
Location: Louisiana, USA
Posts: 9,705
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Re: News Coverage of George\'s Death
Harrison Made Memorable Music
Beatles' Lead Guitarist Made Notable Impact On Group's Sound
LOS ANGELES, Nov. 30, 2001
Reuters) He was called the "Quiet Beatle," but "Frustrated Beatle" may have been a better tag for George Harrison, who found himself overshadowed in the Fab Four by two of the most important songwriters in history.
Still, the guitarist managed to create a memorable body of work with the Beatles, and he notably turned his bandmates onto Eastern mysticism.
Harrison, who died in Los Angeles Thursday after a long battle with cancer, wrote and sang such Beatles nuggets as "Something," "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," "Here Comes The Sun" and "Taxman."
After the Beatles broke up, he embarked on a patchy solo career that started strongly with the 1971 triple album "All Things Must Pass," and its hit singles "My Sweet Lord" and "What Is Life." Subsequent efforts failed to live up to that promise, displaying little inventiveness.
In the late 1980s, his career picked up again courtesy of the Traveling Wilburys, a "supergroup" that also included Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne and the late Roy Orbison.
Harrison re-released "All Things Must Pass" last year with an updated version of "My Sweet Lord." At the time of his death, he had been working on new tunes for an album with a little help from his son, Dhani.
As a boy, Harrison was influenced by such guitarists as Jimmie Rodgers, Carl Perkins, Scotty Moore and Eddie Cochran. But he was not an enthusiastic student.
"God knows how I ever made anything of myself," he told Billboard magazine in 1996. "I used to sit there and practice as a kid, but I couldn't sit there forever; I wasn't that keen."
As a Beatle, he watched while John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote hit after hit. Harrison -- and to a lesser extent drummer Ringo Starr -- had to fight to have his compositions accepted on the group's albums. Yet, he was a major influence on the overall Beatles sound, often wielding his trademark 12-string Rickenbacker guitar to come up with memorable riffs for such songs as "A Hard Day's Night" and "Ticket to Ride."
Through his friendships with Indian musician Ravi Shankar and controversial guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Harrison developed an interest in Eastern culture. He learned to play the sitar, a 21-string guitar-like instrument, using it on such songs as "Norwegian Wood" and "Rain."
Harrison had to wait until 1969 before he got his first A-side single -- "Something," from the "Abbey Road" album. The ballad, which he wrote for his first wife, Pattie Boyd, was his best-known Beatles song, reaching No. 3 in the United States and No. 5 in Britain. He had written it on a piano the year before while on a break during the sessions for "The Beatles" double album. It was held over and released as a single at the insistence of Beatles' business adviser Allen Klein.
Until then, his songs had been used mostly as album filler, such as "I Need You" and "You Like Me Too Much" on the "Help!" album (1965); and "Think for Yourself" and "If I Needed Someone" on "Rubber Soul" (1965).
"Taxman" from 1966's "Revolver" was a novelty ditty in which he wryly savaged Britain's onerous tax system. The following year, he landed "Within You Without You" on "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band." With its tambouras (four-stringed Indian drone instruments), the song had no relationship to anything else on the album.
Harrison's friend Eric Clapton played lead guitar on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" from the 1968 double set "The Beatles," which included three other Harrison tracks -- "Piggies," "Long, Long, Long" and "Savoy Truffle."
Harrison should have had the most to gain after the Beatles split in 1970. Free from the shadow of Lennon and McCartney, he could follow his own muse.
He told Reuters last year that he relished the freedom with which he made "All Things Must Pass" in 1971 with such artists as Clapton, Bobby Keys, Dave Mason and Jim Gordon.
"It was really a feeling of great relief just to be able to record all these songs that I'd been writing and I didn't have an outlet for," he said.
The album sold well. But he got embroiled in a nasty plagiarism suit alleging that "My Sweet Lord" had copied The Chiffons' "He's So Fine." The legalities dragged on for 20 years and Harrison was ultimately cleared, even ending up with the copyright to "He's So Fine."
Subsequent releases such as "Dark Horse" (1974) and "33-1/3" (1976) were a particular letdown. The 1980 murder of Lennon inspired Harrison to write "All Those Years Ago," which peaked at No. 2 on the U.S. singles charts. In 1987, his version of "Got My Mind Set On You" spent one week at No. 1.
By Dean Goodman © MMI Reuters Limited. All Rights Reserved.
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Nov 30, 2001, 08:30 AM
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#12
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Sun King
Join Date: Jun 11, 2000
Location: Louisiana, USA
Posts: 9,705
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Re: News Coverage of George\'s Death
George Harrison Dead at 58
http://foxnews.com
Friday, November 30, 2001
Guitars throughout the world are gently weeping at the news that George Harrison, the "quiet Beatle," has died of cancer at 58.
Harrison died at 1:30 p.m. Thursday at a friend's Los Angeles home, longtime friend Gavin De Becker told The Associated Press late Thursday. Harrison's wife, Olivia Harrison, and son Dhani, 24, were with him.
"He left this world as he lived in it, conscious of God, fearless of death, and at peace, surrounded by family and friends," the Harrison family said in a statement. "He often said, 'Everything else can wait but the search for God cannot wait, and love one another.'"
Harrison, who played lead guitar for the Fab Four, was born in Liverpool, England, on Feb. 25, 1943, making him the youngest Beatle.
Along with Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and the late John Lennon, who died in 1980, Harrison launched a cultural revolution in the early 60s. The pop group heralded the "British Invasion" of American pop culture. The Beatles lasted only eight years, but their effect on rock and pop music was everlasting.
"I am devastated and very, very sad," McCartney told The Press Association, a British news agency, early Friday. "He was a lovely guy and a very brave man and had a wonderful sense of humor. He is really just my baby brother."
And in a statement from his Canadian home, Ring Starr said he'll miss Harrison "for his sense of love, his sense of music and his sense of laughter." He called Harrison "a best friend."
Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono said Friday, "George has given so much to us in his lifetime and continues to do so even after his passing, with his music, his wit and his wisdom."
In 1998, Harrison disclosed that he had been treated for throat cancer. "It reminds you that anything can happen," he said at the time. The following year, Harrison survived an attack by an intruder who stabbed him several times. In July 2001, he released a statement asking fans not to worry about reports that he was still battling cancer.
Deeply interested in Indian music and Eastern religions, Harrison studied transcendental meditation with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and learned to play the sitar from Ravi Shankar. He introduced Indian music into pop culture with the Beatles songs "Norwegian Wood" and "Within You Without You."
The Beatles were four distinct personalities joined as a singular force, influencing everything from hair styles to music. Whether dropping acid, proclaiming "All You Need Is Love" or sending up the squares in the film A Hard Day's Night, the Beatles inspired millions.
Harrison's guitar work, modeled on Chuck Berry and Carl Perkins among others, was essential.
He often blended with the band's joyous sound, but also rocked out wildly on "Long Tall Sally" and turned slow and dreamy on "Something." His jangly 12-string Rickenbacker, featured in A Hard Day's Night, was a major influence on the American band the Byrds.
Although his songwriting was overshadowed by the great Lennon-McCartney team, Harrison did contribute such classics as "Here Comes the Sun" and "Something," which Frank Sinatra covered. Harrison also taught the young Lennon how to play the guitar.
"As he said himself, how do you compare with the genius of John and Paul? But he did, very well," rock star and activist Bob Geldof told BBC radio. "Maybe because of the necessary competition between the other two, his standard of songwriting was incomparably better than most other contemporaries anyway."
Among his other compositions were "I Need You" for the soundtrack of Help; "If I Needed Someone" on Rubber Soul; "Taxman" and "Love You To" on Revolver; and "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" on the White Album.
He was known as the "quiet" Beatle and his public image was summed up in the first song he wrote for them, "Don't Bother Me," which appeared on the group's second album.
But Harrison also had a wry sense of humor that helped shape the Beatles' irreverent charm, memorably fitting in alongside Lennon's cutting wit and Starr's cartoonish appeal.
At their first recording session under George Martin, the producer reportedly asked the young musicians to tell him if they didn't like anything. Harrison's response: "Well, first of all, I don't like your tie." Asked by a reporter what he called the Beatles' famous moptop hairstyle, he quipped, "Arthur."
He was even funny about his own mortality. As reports of his failing health proliferated, Harrison recorded a new song — "Horse to the Water" — and credited it to "RIP Ltd. 2001."
He always preferred being a musician to being a star, and he soon soured on Beatlemania — the screaming girls, the hair-tearing mobs, the wild chases from limos to gigs and back to limos. Like Lennon, his memories of the Beatles were often tempered by what he felt was lost in all the madness.
"There was never anything, in any of the Beatle experiences really, that good: even the best thrill soon got tiring," Harrison wrote in his 1979 book, I, Me, Mine. "There was never any doubt. The Beatles were doomed. Your own space, man, it's so important. That's why we were doomed, because we didn't have any. We were like monkeys in a zoo."
Still, in a 1992 interview with The Daily Telegraph, Harrison confided: "We had the time of our lives: We laughed for years."
After the Beatles broke up in 1970, Harrison proved himself as a composer and performer with his 1970 triple album All Things Must Pass. He organized the concert for Bangladesh in New York City, produced films that included Monty Python's Life of Brian. Later in his career, he joined with Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty to form The Traveling Wilburys.
It wasn't immediately known if there would be a public funeral for Harrison. A private ceremony had already taken place, De Becker said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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Nov 30, 2001, 08:31 AM
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#13
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Sun King
Join Date: Jun 11, 2000
Location: Louisiana, USA
Posts: 9,705
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Re: News Coverage of George\'s Death
Fans at Strawberry Fields
http://foxnews.com
NEW YORK — Dozens of fans gathered Friday morning to pay their respects to former Beatle George Harrison at Strawberry Fields, a section of Manhattan's Central Park dedicated to the memory of fellow band member John Lennon.
Harrison, 58, died Thursday of lung cancer at a friend's Los Angeles home. News of his death became public early Friday, and within hours Beatle enthusiasts headed to the park for an impromptu memorial, many of them leaving flowers, candles and notes at a makeshift shrine, while others paused to reflect before continuing to or from work.
Joe Crow Ramsey, 48, an engineer from Tuxedo Park, N.Y., placed a green apple at the memorial, recalling the trademark of Apple Records, the record label that produced several Beatles albums.
"I spent my childhood watching that apple go round and round on records," he said. "The Beatles and my old man were the two biggest things in my life: my old man because I hated him and The Beatles because I love them."
Strawberry Fields, which takes its name from the hit Beatles single, was dedicated to Lennon after his 1980 shooting death at the hands of a deranged fan outside Lennon's apartment building near Central Park. On any given day, a lighted candle or vase of flowers can be seen there on a mosaic with the word "IMAGINE."
Near the mosaic, one fan placed a drawing of Lennon with Harrison with the inscription "Goodbye George. May you and John be together forever."
Michael Vishnick, 36, visiting from London, said he rushed to Strawberry Fields when he heard Harrison had died.
"The Beatles' message of peace and love will always be with us, but it's still upsetting," Vishnick said. "It's comforting to be in this place at this time."
"I just decided to buy a bottle of wine and some roses at the corner and head over here," said John Soler, 38, a restaurateur from Manhattan. The first fan to arrive, Soler said he brought his laptop so he could play Beatles music.
With Harrison's passing, only two members of the original band — Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr — survive.
"He was a very big part of my life," said Steve Yalof, of Manhattan, who paused during a morning jog to pay his respects. "Both me and my guitar are gently weeping."
Eric Clapton played the guitar for "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," the song Harrison wrote for the group's 1968 White Album.
Joe Canning, 42, an electrician from Queens and a Beatles fan for 30 years, said Harrison's death was meaningful to his generation.
"We're all getting older, we're all getting up to that age. Nothing lasts forever, all good things come to an end," Canning said.
The Beatles were four distinct personalities joined as a singular force in the rebellious 1960s, influencing everything from hair styles to music. Whether dropping acid, proclaiming "All You Need is Love" or sending up the squares in the film A Hard Day's Night, the Beatles inspired millions.
Pete Degan, 42, of Goshen, N.Y., said he owns more than 300 albums related to the Beatles and the band members. He said he learned of Harrison's death on the Internet, which he said he monitored closely for word of the musician's health progress.
"It's a sad day for rock and roll," Degan said.
Strawberry Fields plays host to a vigil every Dec. 8 commemorating Lennon's killing across the street. During last year's vigil, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani refused to lift a 1 a.m. curfew at the park to let fans continue their commemoration. The move sparked criticism from Lennon's fans, the mayor of London and Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono.
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Nov 30, 2001, 08:35 AM
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#14
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Sun King
Join Date: Jun 11, 2000
Location: Louisiana, USA
Posts: 9,705
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Re: News Coverage of George\'s Death
His Beatles' Songs
Friday, November 30, 2001
Associated Press
A list of songs by George Harrison included on Beatles albums:
"Blue Jay Way"
"Don't Bother Me"
"For You Blue"
"Here Comes the Sun"
"I Me Mine"
"I Need You"
"I Want to Tell You"
"If I Needed Someone"
"It's All Too Much"
"Long, Long, Long"
"Love You To"
"Old Brown Shoe"
"Only a Northern Song"
"Piggies"
"Savoy Truffle"
"Something"
"Taxman"
"The Inner Light"
"Think for Yourself"
"While My Guitar Gently Weeps"
"Within You Without You"
"You Like Me Too Much"
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Nov 30, 2001, 08:37 AM
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#15
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Sun King
Join Date: Jun 11, 2000
Location: Louisiana, USA
Posts: 9,705
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Re: News Coverage of George\'s Death
George Harrison's discography:
FOXNews
Electronic Sound
Released by: Apple (1969).
All Things Must Pass
Released by: Apple (1970).
The Concert for Bangla Desh
Released by: Apple (1971). Grammy-winner.
Living in the Material World
Released by: Apple (1973).
Dark Horse
Released by: Apple (1974).
Extra Texture--Read All About It
Released by: Apple (1975).
The Best of George Harrison
Released by: Capitol (1976).
Thirty-Three & 1/3
Released by: Dark Horse (1976).
George Harrison
Released by: Dark Horse (1979).
Somewhere in England
Released by: Dark Horse (1981).
Gone Troppo
Released by: Dark Horse (1982).
Cloud Nine
Released by: Dark Horse (1987).
Best of Dark Horse 1976-1989
Released by: Warner Bros./Dark Horse (1989).
George Harrison Live in Japan
Released by: Warner Bros./Dark Horse (1992).
[This Message Has Been Edited By SleepyHead On November 30, 2001 08:39 AM]
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Nov 30, 2001, 08:48 AM
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#16
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Sun King
Join Date: Jun 11, 2000
Location: Louisiana, USA
Posts: 9,705
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Re: News Coverage of George\'s Death
November 30, 2001
GEORGE HARRISON 1943-2001
People Magazine
He was the brooding, quiet Beatle, not the pretty one (that was Paul), not the poet (that was John) and not the clown (that was Ringo). But all that was yesterday.
Now, more than 20 years after an assassin's bullet took the life of John Lennon, half of the most successful music group in recording history is gone. George Harrison, 58, died at a friend's home in Los Angeles Thursday, after a lengthy battle with cancer.
"He left this world as he lived in it: conscious of God, fearless of death, and at peace, surrounded by family and friends," the Harrison family said in a statement. "He often said, 'Everything else can wait, but the search for God cannot wait, and love one another.'"
"I am devastated and very, very sad," Paul McCartney told reporters outside his home near London on Friday, according to the Associated Press. "He was a lovely guy and a very brave man and had a wonderful sense of humor. He is really just my baby brother."
The guitarist-songwriter had been waging a battle against claims about his imminent demise since January 1998, when he was treated for throat cancer. He had first detected a lump on his neck in 1997 and had attributed his illness to years of smoking. Up until this latest fight, Harrison's closest brush with death came in 1999, when a deranged fan broke into his suburban London estate and stabbed him in the chest, puncturing his lung and nearly killing him.
But it was cancer that claimed him. Earlier this year Harrison was treated at a Swiss clinic, reportedly for a brain tumor. Prior to that, he checked into Minnesota's Mayo Clinic for surgery on a cancerous lung. In July, British tabloid Mail on Sunday quoted former Beatles producer Sir George Martin as saying Harrison "knows he is going to die soon, and he's accepting it perfectly happily." Martin subsequently denied having made the statements, and Harrison's lawyers stepped forward to dispute the article, saying their client was "active and feeling very well."
Then, in November, reports arose that Harrison was treated as an outpatient at New York's Staten Island University Hospital, where he reportedly received an innovative form of radiation treatment called "stereotactic radiosurgery," a procedure aimed at reducing tumors. These stories were followed by reports that Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and other friends and colleagues had visited Harrison at that hospital.
The son of a bus driver who had once been a seaman and a housewife from an Irish family, Harrison was born on Feb. 25, 1943. He "had a happy childhood, with lots of relatives around," he is quoted as saying in the 2000 compendium, The Beatles Anthology. Home was Liverpool, England, on the Mersey River, "which was very prominent with all the ferry boats and the big steamers coming in from America or Ireland," Harrison recalled.
Known as a rebel in school, Harrison was frequently sent home for wearing jeans or sporting hair that was too long. "I didn't really like school," he admitted. When Harrison was 13, his mother bought him his first guitar, for about $8, "a real cheapo horrible little" model, he said.
Harrison became enamored with a local skiffle band (skiffle is Britian's answer to jug band music) called the Quarry Men, which featured teens John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Harrison cornered McCartney (nearly a year Harrison's senior) on the school bus, and the two bonded over a shared love of music.
"I discovered that he had a trumpet," said Harrison," and he found out that I had a guitar, so we got together." With a guitar manual in hand, they worked out the chords (Paul switched to the guitar himself when he realized that he couldn't sing and play trumpet at the same time, according to Harrison). Though Harrison was never formally inducted into the Quarry Men, he became a fixture.
The Quarry Men soon changed their name to Johnny and the Moondogs. Among the first gigs performed by John, Paul and George was at Harrison's brother Harry's wedding.
Soon, however, the group got a taste for the limelight. By 1960 the Quarry Men became the Beatles, with Ringo Starr replacing previous drummer Pete Best in 1962. Harrison, the youngest of the four, was only 17 when the group did a stint playing at rough-and-tumble clubs in Germany ("I never showered," recalled Harrison, who was eventually deported for being underage), and 21 when they appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show. By then the group was an international sensation and Britain's most popular export.
Though Lennon and McCartney were responsible for composing the best-known Beatles material, Harrison also was a prolific songwriter. The first Beatles song written by Harrison was "Don't Bother Me," released on the 1963 record With the Beatles; among the well-known titles from the Harrison canon were: "Here Comes the Sun," "While My Guitar gently Weeps," "Taxman" and "Something." Some considered Harrison the most serious and talented musician of the four.
Harrison was also a spiritual person, responsible for the Beatles's interest in Indian music and Eastern religion, which featured prominently in some of their well-known recordings and high-profile travel to India. (The song "Sexy Sadie" was a dig at the spiritual guru Maharishi Mashesh Yogi, after the Beatles became disillusioned with him.)
After the Beatles broke up in 1970, Harrison was the first to release a solo effort, that year's All Things Must Pass. In 1971 he led fellow rock legends such as Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton in two live performances at New York's Madison Square Garden to raise money for UNICEF's efforts to help Bengali refugees from the war between India and Pakistan. With "The Concert for Bangladesh" performances and live record, Harrison is credited with creating the concept of using rock concerts to raise funds and awareness for causes, later represented by efforts such as Live Aid.
Harrison also enjoyed success as a film producer, most notably with Monty Python's Life of Brian in 1979 and 1986's critically acclaimed cult film Mona Lisa, which established actor Bob Hoskins as a star. There were setbacks as well: Harrison's 1974 tour in support of his album Living in the Material World was panned by critics. And in 1986, though Mona Lisa was well received, his other producing effort, Madonna's Shanghai Surprise, was a flop with critics and audiences alike.
Harrison's career rebounded in 1988, when he recorded an album with the Traveling Wilburys, which included fellow rock superstars Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and Roy Orbison. But after a second Wilburys album in 1990, Harrison essentially retreated to meditate and garden at the 120-room mansion near London that he shared with second wife Olivia, the Mexican-born beauty he married in 1978, and son Dhani (Hindi for "rich man"), born in 1978. The family also owned homes in Hawaii and on Hamilton Island, Australia.
Harrison's first marriage to model Pattie Boyd, whom he married in 1966, ended in divorce in 1977. Though she left Harrison for his friend Eric Clapton, the three remained close.
"In the big picture," Harrison once said, "it really doesn't matter if we never made a record or we never sang a song. That isn't important. At death, you're going to need some spiritual guidance and some kind of inner knowledge that extends beyond the boundaries of the physical world . . . it's what inside that counts."
-- STEPHEN M. SILVERMAN
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Nov 30, 2001, 08:50 AM
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#17
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Sun King
Join Date: Jun 11, 2000
Location: Louisiana, USA
Posts: 9,705
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Re: News Coverage of George\'s Death
Ex-Beatle George Harrison Dies at 58
People Magazine
STEPHEN M. SILVERMAN
Former Beatle George Harrison, 58, died at 1:30 p.m. Thursday at a friend's home in Los Angeles, after a lengthy battle against cancer, longtime family friend Gavin De Becker told the Associated Press. "He died with one thought in mind, 'Love one another,'" said De Becker. His wife, Olivia, and son Dhani, 24, were at his side. "He left this world as he lived in it, conscious of God, fearless of death, and at peace, surrounded by family and friends," the Harrison family said in a statement. "He often said, 'Everything else can wait, but the search for God cannot wait, and love one another.' " With the death of Harrison, who was considered the "quiet" Beatle (he was also the youngest), there remain two surviving members of the most famous rock band in history, Paul McCartney, 59, and Ringo Starr, 61. John Lennon, was shot to death in 1980, at 40, by a deranged fan. "I am devastated and very, very sad," McCartney told reporters outside his home near London on Friday. "He was a lovely guy and a very brave man and had a wonderful sense of humor. He is really just my baby brother." Information about whether there would be a public memorial for Harrison was not available at press time. A private ceremony has already taken place, De Becker told the AP.
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Nov 30, 2001, 09:29 AM
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#18
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Sun King
Join Date: Jun 11, 2000
Location: Louisiana, USA
Posts: 9,705
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Re: News Coverage of George\'s Death
Friday November 30 11:43 AM ET
Era Ends with Death of 'Quiet Beatle' Harrison
By Paul Majendie
LONDON (Reuters) - ``Quiet Beatle'' George Harrison, a contemplative musician who brought a spiritual touch to the world's most famous pop group, has died of cancer at the age of 58.
For millions of grieving fans it was the end of an era. Tragedy had hit the Fab Four again: and now there were only two.
``He was a lovely guy and a very brave man and had a wonderful sense of humor. He is really just my baby brother,'' said fellow Beatle Paul McCartney outside his London home.
The soft-spoken guitarist Harrison died in Los Angeles, finally overpowered by the disease that consumed his final years. His wife Olivia and son Dhani were at his side when he died on Thursday.
``He died with one thought in mind -- love one another,'' said long-time family friend Gavin de Becker on Friday.
McCartney, whose wife Linda died of cancer, paid tribute to Harrison's bravery as death approached. The only other surviving Beatle, Ringo Starr, mourned a ``best friend.''
``We will miss George for his sense of love, his sense of music and his sense of laughter,'' the Beatles' drummer said.
Yoko Ono, whose husband John Lennon was gunned down outside their New York apartment in 1980, said Harrison had woven magic.
Outside the Abbey Road studio where the Beatles recorded most of their very many hits, tearful fans paid tribute to a lost icon and a lost age. They scribbled messages on the wall and laid flowers in tribute, blind to the rain around them.
``He'll be on my mind today. I'm going home. I'll light a candle, say a little prayer,'' said American Jade Funk.
``Goodbye George, God Bless,'' said fellow fan Geraldine Scott.
In New York, autumn leaves tumbled as mourners gathered at Strawberry Fields, the Central Park memorial to Lennon.
An album of their 27 number one hit singles topped music charts around the world last year, 30 years after the break-up of the group that shaped the 1960s and revolutionized music.
FLAGS LOWERED
Liverpool, the northern English birthplace of the Beatles, put official flags at half mast. A book of condolence was opened for the guitarist who wrote ``All Things Must Pass.''
``There is a hollow feeling over the whole city that will take a long time to go away. It feels like part of the city is missing,'' said Stephen Bailey, who runs the Beatles memorabilia shop in Liverpool. McCartney said he had last seen Harrison, a life-long smoker, a few weeks ago: ``He was obviously very unwell but he was cracking jokes like he always was and he'll be sorely missed. He was a beautiful man.''
Ono said Harrison had brought magic to all who knew him.
``George has given so much in his lifetime and continues to do so even after his passing, with his music, his wit and his wisdom,'' she said.
``My deep love and concern goes to Olivia and Dhani. The three of them were the closest, most loving family you can imagine.''
Harrison, whose many compositions included ``While My Guitar Gently Weeps,'' first disclosed in 1998 that he had been treated for throat cancer.
A song-writer and guitarist, Harrison married the sounds of the East with Western pop by introducing the sitar in Lennon's 1965 song ``Norwegian Wood.'' The instrument also features on the reflective Harrison classic ``Within You, Without You.''
SHUNNED THE LIMELIGHT
Harrison cheated death when stabbed by an intruder at his English country home in 1999. At the time, he said, ``It reminds you that anything can happen.''
On Friday, fans laid flowers outside the house. ``My guitar will gently weep forever. We love you man,'' read one tribute.
He always shunned the limelight. His image was perfectly summed up in the first Beatles song he wrote, ``Don't Bother Me.''
Like Lennon, he soon grew weary of Beatlemania as the group rushed from concert to concert in stretch limousines, dogged at every turn by screaming, hysterical girls.
Harrison was just 27 when the band split in 1970.
The youngest member of the world's most famous pop group will be remembered for his devotion to Oriental mysticism. It was he who persuaded fellow Beatles to fly to India and sit at the feet of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
A long-time devotee of Hare Krishna, Harrison was always in search of religious meaning in his life.
``When you have had all the experiences, met all the famous people, made some money, toured the world and got all the acclaim you still think -- is that it? Some people might be satisfied with that -- but I wasn't,'' he once said.
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Nov 30, 2001, 09:55 AM
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#19
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Moderator
Join Date: May 23, 2001
Posts: 37,612
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Re: News Coverage of George\'s Death
Thank you, SH.
The rationale for having our feelings, memories and input re: recent loss over here is that it is easier to contain this in one place. Crackerbox Palace seems very a propos for us all to meet regarding this recent tragedy.
------------------
Then we will remember things we said today. Yeah.
-- Beatles, 1964
BB1964
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Nov 30, 2001, 10:05 AM
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#20
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Sun King
Join Date: Jun 11, 2000
Location: Louisiana, USA
Posts: 9,705
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Re: News Coverage of George\'s Death
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