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25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001

George Harrison

From the Album 'All Things Must Pass'

George Harrison was born February 25, 1943, making him the youngest Beatle. The only Beatle who's childhood was not marred by divorce or death, he had two brothers, Harold Jr. and Peter, and a sister, Louise. His father, Harold, was a bus driver, and his mother a housewife, who all the kids in the neighborhood knew and liked.

George attended Dovedale Primary school, two forms behind John Lennon, and then Liverpool Institute, one form below Paul McCartney. He showed his independant nature at an early age, defying his school's age-old dress code by wearing jeans and growing long hair. His strict parents did not condone his disrespectful attitude and George soon learned to tone down his rebellion. When the skiffle craze hit Liverpool, George and his brother Peter formed a Skiffle band, but because they were so young, they had to sneak out of the house to play their first engagement.

George and Paul took the same bus to school, and soon found they had music and guitars in common. They spent many hours together at each other's homes practicing guitar. In 1956, Paul introduced the skinny and pimple-faced George to the Quarrymen. George was only 14 at the time. Not old enough to join the group, George hung around with the boys, and came to idolize John, doing everything he could to emulate him.

George stood in the back of the room at all their shows with his guitar. A few times he filled in for the regular guitarist who didn't show up, and the boys were also welcomed in George's house by his mother to practice and for an occasional "jam buttie", encouragement which infuriated John's Aunt Mimi. Gradually, George became a member of the group, which by then had come to be called Johnny and the Moondogs.

From the very start of the Beatles' popularity, George was as major a vocalist as John and Paul. As the songwriting of Lennon and McCartney became world-known, George started to concentrate more on writing songs as well, although many of the early songs written while with the Beatles went unrecorded. The first Beatles song written by George was Don't Bother Me.

From the Album 'With The Beatles'

George became a very serious musician who worked dilgently to perfect his playing. His concentration to his playing was apparent while on stage,especially compared to the wild antics of John and Paul. George almost missed the Beatles' biggest appearance in America, the Ed Sullivan Show, on February 9, 1964, because of a sore throat.

He achieved international fame as lead guitarist, and is listed number 21 in Rolling Stone Magazine's list of "The 100 Best Guitarists of All Time" Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", George embraced Indian mysticism, and helped broaden the horizons of the other Beatles as well as their Western audience. Following the band's breakup, he had a successful career as a solo artist and later as part of the Traveling Wilburys, and also as a film and record producer.

Although the majority of The Beatles' songs were written by Lennon and McCartney, George generally wrote one song per side from the Help! album onwards. His later compositions with The Beatles include "Here Comes the Sun", "Something" and "While My Guitar Gently Weeps". After the band's breakup, George continued writing, releasing the acclaimed and successful triple album, All Things Must Pass, in 1970, from which came the number one single "My Sweet Lord".

From the Beatles 'White Album'

In addition to his solo work, Harrison co-wrote two hits for Ringo Starr, another ex-Beatle, as well as songs for the Traveling Wilburys — the supergroup he formed in 1988 with Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne and Roy Orbison.

George embraced Indian culture and Hinduism in the 1960s, and helped expand Western awareness of sitar music and of the Hare Krishna movement. With Ravi Shankar he organised a major charity concert with the 1971 Concert for Bangladesh, and is the only Beatle to have published an autobiography.

Besides being a musician, he was also a record producer and co-founder of the production company Handmade Films. In his work as a film producer, he collaborated with people as diverse as Madonna and the members of Monty Python.

This is the 1981 Trailer for 'Time Bandits' a Handmade Films production by George's company.

His interests included gardening and motor racing. He was married twice, to the model Pattie Boyd in 1966, and to the record company secretary Olivia Trinidad Arias in 1978, with whom he had one son, Dhani Harrison. He was a close friend of Eric Clapton.

George Harrison died of cancer in 2001