Of the Beatles, George Harrison was the singer/songwriter I connected with the most. His music spoke of much deeper concerns than the commercial love song, but of searching for truth and, like Rumi, the longing for love with the Divine.
I also admired him as a man who launched 2 huge benefit concerts for Bangladesh, a country in the midst of a refugee crisis from political unrest and massive flooding. George paved the way for all other money raising concerts that followed - Live Aid, Band Aid, Farm Aid, to name a few...
He was motivated simply by the urgent plea of his friend and mentor, Ravi Shankar. And by reaching out to friends who immediately answered the call and happened to be giants in the music industry, George Harrison helped raise $250,000 for Unicef from the concert, as well as over $15 million dollars from the album and film sales. It was the realization of George and Ravi's dream to bring the plight of Bangladesh to the world's attention.
Imagine an all-star lineup starting with Ravi Shankar, 2 Beatles (George and Ringo), Eric Clapton, Billy Preston, Leon Russell, and Bob Dylan performing fantastically in 2 sold out shows at Madison Square Garden. That was the performance that convinced Bob Dylan to go back out on tour a few years later.
All of them coming together on a single stage for a cause for their friend, George...
While John Lennon and Paul McCartney were busy bickering in the media, the "quiet one" pulled off something the Beatles, let alone any musician or musical group, have never done before.
George Harrison's friends, his wife, Olivia, son, Dhani, and bandmates united for a tribute concert on the one-year anniversary of his death. He passed away November 29, 2001.
I also admired him as a man who launched 2 huge benefit concerts for Bangladesh, a country in the midst of a refugee crisis from political unrest and massive flooding. George paved the way for all other money raising concerts that followed - Live Aid, Band Aid, Farm Aid, to name a few...
He was motivated simply by the urgent plea of his friend and mentor, Ravi Shankar. And by reaching out to friends who immediately answered the call and happened to be giants in the music industry, George Harrison helped raise $250,000 for Unicef from the concert, as well as over $15 million dollars from the album and film sales. It was the realization of George and Ravi's dream to bring the plight of Bangladesh to the world's attention.
Imagine an all-star lineup starting with Ravi Shankar, 2 Beatles (George and Ringo), Eric Clapton, Billy Preston, Leon Russell, and Bob Dylan performing fantastically in 2 sold out shows at Madison Square Garden. That was the performance that convinced Bob Dylan to go back out on tour a few years later.
All of them coming together on a single stage for a cause for their friend, George...
While John Lennon and Paul McCartney were busy bickering in the media, the "quiet one" pulled off something the Beatles, let alone any musician or musical group, have never done before.
George Harrison's friends, his wife, Olivia, son, Dhani, and bandmates united for a tribute concert on the one-year anniversary of his death. He passed away November 29, 2001.
