George Harrison Biography

George Harrison was born on Feb 25, 1943 in Liverpool, England. His father was Harold Harrison, a bus driver. His mother was Louise who was a ballroom dance teacher. He was inspired to play guitar by British skiffle king Lonnie Donegan’s recording of ‘Rock Island Line’. His parents supported him in his quest to become a musician. He learnt from the records of Eddie Cochran, Buddy Holly, Chet Atkins, Duane Eddy and Carl Perkins.

In 1957 he joined the ‘Quarry Men’, the Liverpool group founded by John Lennon. Paul McCartney was also a part of this group. In 1962 the group had become the ‘Beatles’ and Ringo Starr was a member. Harrison played the part of lead guitarist. He sang back-up vocals. He played lead in ‘Roll Over Beethoven’, ‘If I Needed Someone’, and ‘I’m Happy Just to Dance With You’. By 1963 the Beatles were numero uno in England with America set to follow. In 1963 he wrote his first song ‘Don’t Bother Me’. From 1963 to 1970 the Beatles recorded 21 of his songs.

He incorporated Indian music into the Beatle’s western pop. Pandit Ravi Shankar introduced George to the sitar, an Indian musical instrument. He used it in many of the Beatle's songs. In 1969 he had a meeting with Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder of ISKON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness ). Through ISKON he learnt meditation. His guitarist talent was frequently buried beneath Lennon and McCartney’s rhythm section in recordings. In 1969 he became the first Beatle to release a solo album. In 1969 he released ‘Wonderwall Music’ which was heavily derived from Indian music.

The Beatles disbanded in 1970. George continued his solo career, which he had started in 1968. In November 1970 he released ‘All Things Must Pass’ which was produced by Phil Spector and include the number one hit single ‘My Sweet Lord’. In 1971 he staged ‘The Concert for Bangladesh’ at New York’s Madison square. That particular album won the 1972 album of the year Grammy. In 1973 he released ‘Living in the Material World. In 1974 he released ‘Dark Horse’. From 1975 to 1979 he released four singles that made it to the top 40. In 1981, following the murder of John Lennon he released ‘Somewhere in England’ with the memorial song ‘All Those Years Ago’. In 1982 he released ‘Gone Troppo’ which flopped miserably. In 1987 he released the album ‘Cloud Nine’ and the single ‘Got my Mind Set on You’ reached the number one on the charts. In 1988 George along with Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne made up the "Traveling Wilburys’. The group released two immensely successful albums ‘Vol.1’ and Volume 3. In 1997 he was diagnosed with cancer and underwent throat surgery. In 1999 a mentally ill fan seriously injured him at home. In 2000 he set out to expand his classic ‘All Things Must Pass’ album.

Personal Life

He married model Pattie Boyd on 21 January 1966. Paul McCartney was the best man at the wedding. They separated after a few years, she had an affair with Eric Clapton in the late 60's. He and Pattie were divorced in 1977. Pattie afterwards married guitarist Eric Clapton. In 1978 he married Olivia Arias. In August 1978 their child Dhani was born.

In 2001 it was disclosed that George was afflicted by an incurable form of brain cancer. He died of cancer on November 29, 2001 in Los Angeles.