George Harrison was born at home in Liverpool England on
February 25, 1943, the 4th child to go along with 2 brothers and a sister. He was
blond at birth but his hair turned brown around 10-11 years old. He started
smoking at age 11. His mom bought him a used guitar at age 14, one that he soon
took apart and couldn’t put back together, so he hid it in a cabinet hoping
his mom wouldn’t find out. His brother managed to put the guitar back together
and showed him a few chords that someone had taught him.
The first time he
heard Elvis ‘I was riding my bicycle and heard Heartbreak Hotel coming out of
somebody’s house. It was one of them things I’ll never forget, what a sound,
what a record. It changed the course of my life.’ He began to practice hour
after hour, day after day with his moms encouragement.
At age 14 he booked
his group to play at a British Legion social club nearby, then went home to
tell his mom to which she said, ‘you don’t have a group’. George said, 'don’t
worry, I’ll get one'. He got his brother and two friends to join him, one
playing the tea-chest bass, the rest were guitars with no drummer. They played skiffle songs
under the group name The REBEL's.
George first met Paul on the bus to school and
they became friends after talking music and guitars. Although friends with
Paul, it wasn’t a perfect relationship as Paul liked to remind George that he
was 9 months older than him.
One of the things John liked about George after they
met, besides his guitar playing, was that George was a fighter and though small in stature,
he could handle himself in a fight. When John threw out his frequent barbs,
George threw some right back, which won John’s approval.
From that early
meeting, George became the lead guitarist for the world’s most famous band.
After the
Beatles breakup, George began doing the music he wanted to do. He did a number
of charity events including the Concert for Bangladesh. In the late 80s he
formed a group with Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, Jeff Lynne and Roy Orbison and called
themselves the Traveling Wilburys, creating 2 top selling albums and several hit
singles. Showing George’s sense of humor, he asked the group to name the second
album, Vol. 3, 'just to confuse the buggers'.
In 1998 George was diagnosed with
throat cancer, likely contributed to his chain smoking since he was a teenager. Although he went into remission from that cancer, in 2001 he was diagnosed with lung
cancer that metastasized to the brain. George died at age 58 on November 29,
2001 at a home in California previously owned by Paul McCartney. He had long
followed the Hindu religion and according to his wishes, his remains were cremated and the ashes were scattered according to Hindu tradition in a private ceremony in the Ganges and Yamuna rivers in India.
REMEMBER: Some of the rather unique things that George said about his career were:
In their bid to tell what they know, sometimes
people tell more than what they know.
I wanted to be successful, not famous.
I remember thinking I just want more. This isn’t it. Fame
is not the goal. Money is not the goal. To be able to know how to get peace of
mind, how to be happy is something you don’t just stumble across. You’ve got to
search for it. – George Harrison
Be talkin’ to ya.
Dan
Dan
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