St. Petersburg Times: George Harrison

[Times art: Desiree Perry]

GEORGE HARRISON 1943-2001

Former Beatle George Harrison dies at age 58
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.
Related Links:
Rock Hall of Fame: The Beatles
Rolling Stone: George Harrison
All Things Must Pass

For many years the ‘Quiet Beatle’ lived in the shadow of John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Yet George Harrison was the first to go solo. He also produced movies and raced cars.

THE BEATLES: The band, Paul McCartney, clockwise from top left, Ringo Starr, John Lennon and George Harrison, got its start in 1958 as the Quarrymen in Liverpool, England. While McCartney and Lennon wrote nearly all of the Beatles’ material, by 1966 Harrison was contributing a song or two per album, including hits like Taxman, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Here Comes the Sun and Something.

[Photo: © Apple Corps Ltd. 1965]

THE FANS: A sign of things to come, the world’s first boy band had its female fans screaming, fainting and grasping for contact, as this fan did at a show in Stockholm, Sweden, on Oct. 26, 1963. The Beatles eventually grew tired of screaming fans drowning out their live performances and retreated to the studio to create what was considered its greatest works.

[Photo: AP 1963]

HIS LOVES: Harrison and first wife Pattie Boyd married Jan. 21, 1966, but by 1968 the marriage was strained by his good friend Eric Clapton’s love for Boyd. She eventually married Clapton, but the three remained close. Harrison and his second wife, Olivia, married in 1978 and have a son, Dhani. The couple were injured in an attack in their London home in December 1999 by a knife-wielding man. He was found not guilty of attempted murder by reason of insanity.

[Photo: AP 1966]

INDIAN INFLUENCE: Harrison plays the sitar in Bombay, India, alongside British actor Rita Tushingham. Inspired by his interest in Hinduism, he took lessons from sitar composer Ravi Shankar and added the sitar into the pop lexicon through its complementary use on Norwegian Wood. Harrison’s infatuation with India was the first outward sign of his growing independence.

[Photo: AP 1968]

SOLO: George Harrison’s first post-Beatles album was All Things Must Pass, released in late 1970. The triple album became a No. 1 hit, spawning the No. 1 single My Sweet Lord, which bore a strong resemblance to the Chiffons’ 1962 hit He’s So Fine. A court ruled that Harrison had subconsciously borrowed from He’s So Fine and owed $1.6-million in damages.

BENEFIT CONCERT: Harrison and Bob Dylan perform in a concert at Madison Square Garden in New York that raised money for famine relief in Bangladesh. The show, inspired by a plea from Ravi Shankar, generated a film and a triple live album. Performers also included Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton and Leon Russell.

[Photo: AP 1971]

TRAVELING WILBURYS: In 1988, Harrison formed the Traveling Wilburys with Jeff Lynne, left, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and Roy Orbison (not pictured). The band released two platinum-selling albums.

[Publicity photo 1990]