He wrote "Taxman" when he was 23 "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" "All Things Must Pass" and "I Me Mine" aged 25 and "Here Comes the Sun" aged 26. He organised The Concert for Bangladesh which raised close to US$250,000 in 1971. He helped Monty Python by raising £2 million to finish their film Life of Brian after EMI pulled out in 1979. Harrison is listed at number 11 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" He was a genius. A great human being. And a Beatle!
Never forget my late wife Donna and what she said one day. We were in the car waiting for a red light to change. On the radio was “ My Guitar Gently Weeps”. Donna turned to me and said, “ I love George”. Never forget how sweetly and sincerely she said those words. One of the many reasons why I loved her. Because she understood the gift and power of music. Miss you honey
And I love how he mentions losing out on the first strat to the guy from Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, and how he "was soooo disappointed...it scarred me for life!" LOL!
That's because it's not 'legendary' to him. It may be to us who worship bands and music from afar and invent mythical status for everything in our heads for entertainment - but to the actual people who did all this stuff it was just what went on around them then, that was just their everyday life. It's other people and business and hype that shove these things on imaginary pedestals and dress them all up and create a culture around it all etc.
George Harrison is one of the most well known but overlooked guitarists in Rock and Roll. His incredible slide tone was heart and soul inspired, simply sublime.
Well, you couldn't say he was "forgotten" but with Lennon/McCartney right next to him it can seem like a moth circling a spotlight sometimes. I'd say "music fans" and "Beatles fans" don't hold him in high enough regard, but "musician fans" do.
I've never been able to duplicate that wonderful, fluid tone that George had on his slide rig, but Ry Cooder's higher action and wider strings is a great clue.
I think the song 'Something' could have rivaled any other song on Abbey Road, even Sinatra I believe called it the best love song. It is a very cathartic song.
I got to interview George before a concert In NYC once for 5 minutes. He did all the talking and asked me to tell everyone to please give to the Bangladesh effort. I was so nervous I couldn't speak back and he started giggling asking me if I was OK. I managed a "Yeah" before another reporter took over. Wasn't my sharpest moment but he was my hero.
Not that I am an expert in any way but the picture I get from watching various interviews and discussions is that even Liverpudlians think he has a peculiar way of speaking.
@@ChildinTime67 all these comments are what I always thought of George. A passive gentle, very humble genius. It's hard to imagine that when he and his wife were attacked in their sleep he kicked ass! George's sound asleep stabbed by a knife wielding intruder and fights him off! George Harrison is a bad ass!
All of us love the Gretsch thru Vox sound. Funny, they were contractually obligated to use vox amps on stage but after the Duo Jet he could have afforded a different guitar but he got a Country Gentleman and then a Tennessean. If he didn't like Gretsch that is a funny way to show it. I guess by 66 he had the Casino and the SG so....
The deepest thinking of the four Beatles. How I wish he was still alive. I remember choking at the news of his passing. I had been listening to him my entire life and felt I knew him personally.
GEORGE HARRISON WAS ONE OF A KIND. HE IS THE REASON MILLIONS OF PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD WANTED TO LEARN GUITAR. HIS TONES WERE CRYSTALLINE AND HE EMBELLISHED EVERY SONG WITH HIS PLAYING JUST AS RINGO EMBELLISHED EVERY SONG WITH HIS DRUMMING. HE SINGLE- HANDEDLY INVENTED THE BENEFIT CONCERT AND WAS BY FAR THE MOST GENEROUS BEATLE WITH THE LARGEST HEART.MAGNIFICENT SENSE OF HUMOR.THERE WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER LIKE HIM AND HE IS UNIVERSALLY LOVED AND MISSED. GOD BLESS HIS SOUL IN HEAVEN.❤️🙏
@DiamondHead AmIEvil Way to miss the point sparky, it's well balanced because no one is showing off, doesn't matter who WROTE the songs each musician is there to SERVE the song not there own musical prowess GET IT? It seems you're the stupid and pretentious one here. You utter tool.
I don't think anyone believes George was an underrated guitar player. He did licks in the early Beatle days that nobody else was doing. It's impossible to say who the greatest guitar player is or was but one thing for sure - nobody would kick George out of their band were he in it. Guitar players wanted to play with George, not the other way around.
+Johnny Botts His early playing was very stiff and almost awkward. ..then in 1967 his playing just took off... he got really good really fast. 1967 was also when he first dropped acid...........coincidence?
inkey2 - No, acid had nothing to do with his playing. Early in their career, George was too busy trying to please John & Paul with his playing since both them were so damn good. By Sgt. Pepper, i don't think he cared one way or the other if they liked his playing or not. George was not getting his songs on Beatle albums, he had an incredible backlog by 1967. It was just a matter of time before George was going to split anyway....
+Johnny Botts by the way...today released by Rolling Stone Magazine was their list of the top 100 guitarists. George came in at number 11. Not a bad showing. Only 10 slots away from Hendrix who was rated number 1
@inkey2- Not bad. I think George was a much more comfortable player once he got away from Lennon/McCartney. He must have felt like a caged animal trying to compete with those two giants.....
+Johnny Botts John lennon was listed some place well below Harrison but what surprised me is that Paul McCartney was not listed (unless I missed something). I think Paul's solo/lead on Taxman alone should have at least put him somewhere in that top 100 even if only number 99
I don't know about underrated. In my mind George has always been right up there with the best of them. He put his own unique stamp on everything he did. Superb guitarist with a wonderful voice too.
The saddest thing is he's been gone and we don't have him around. There's just no way of imagining what he would be doing now. But we would surely be listening.
@@glenlee9537 i think the point is alot of people dont think of george as much as they would clapton and other people when thinking of awesome guitar players.
George Harrison is one of the most well known but overlooked guitarists in Rock and Roll. His incredible slide tone was heart and soul inspired, simply sublime. RIP George, your music remains a treasured gift to the world.
HE's NOT overlooked. People who know talent KNOW that George was a great guitarist. What the average person does or doesn't know is not interesting or important.
I love George Harrison’s guitar playing. I love all his solos, they were all so different and unique. Real musicians understand how good he was. If you ever hear anyone say he wasn’t any good, then they usually aren’t very good musicians, or they have some personal issues with the Beatles etc.
i don't know who is responsible, but in a lot of those early beatles records he got some pretty mind blowing sounds out of his guitar. That solo on "I dont want to spoil the party" is just such a kick ass country sound and on "Every little thing" I don't how the hell he got that. It sounds like a guitar playing in reverse and forward at the same time.
Eric never puts down fellow musicians when questioned that way, ask him directly who the best slide in his opinion were. Harrison "s slide is sweet to my ears, but it acquired, it's not that raunchy blues style, rather its.....elegant??for a word I guess, all the boys were classy, truth
@@steveburchfield5576 agree, Clapton, God,that fellow is misguided, doesn't sit well with me as well,but my friend, dont torment urself,let Jesus carry that load, so many things can hurt,let ur burden go to Him
Still,so hard to think that george is gone. Sad for me. Regarding his guitars : he could make any guitar sound as thought it was the finest guitar in the world
RB Brown That's true... I did hear a funny story about it once, where a fan met George and mentioned his unique early Beatles tone. George simply replied... "Yeah, shit wasn't it?"
He used the Gretsch Duo Jet in '62 and '63. The Country Gentleman in '64 and part of '65. By '66 he had switched to the Strat, Epiphone Casino, and Gibson 335.
"So its kind of quite historical as well," -George. Well if THAT isn't an understatement, I don't know what is! You just have to love George and The Beatles and all he stood for.
An amazing guitar player. Never was Fancy, but very very sensitive ! Came up with the best guitar parts to serve the song and had his own unique sound ! Influenced guitar playing in Rock music more than a lot of people give him credit for.
When he said theres a patch where Patty painted it with her nail varnish it all became so much more real and like it had a story. You could just imagine him remembering something from 30 years earlier when he and she were probaly in his house sitting around bored and she decided to pain her initials or whatever on his guitar. soo cool!
There's nothing "underrated" about one of the most famous and storied musicians in the history of humankind -- a veritable household name -- who amassed a tremendous fortune and countless awards. I mean "underrated" compared to whom? The "U" word has stuck to George for reasons that make no sense and certainly no basis in anything resembling objective fact by any metric.
You hate the word, but you use it anyway. It's the term that people use when they want to sound knowledgable. He's NOT underrated. People who know what's good rate him highly. Plus, his talent is OBVIOUS to anyone who pays attention.
These two matching Fender Stratocasters in Sonic Blue (John got the other one) are what we are hearing so wonderfully on "Nowhere Man." George plays the guitar solo on his Strat. My soul just comes alive when I hear those two Strats together!
You are correct. And one of the most creative and inventive ever. Just listen to the creative descending runs after each line of the verse in 'Dont Let Me Down' as just one example. Very few guitarists do that, they would simply play the chords. There are hundreds more examples of how inventive he was.
Saw him walking out of Air Studios once.. I couldn't move or speak. It was like my feet were rooted to the floor and I lost the ability to even move my mouth to say hello as he breezed past. I've met some famous people in my time and not had any problems with it but this was on another level. It was like a near death experience where everything slows down and in a split second it was over. Very strange indeed.
If the only thing Ry Cooder ever did was get a shout out from George Harrison, he would be considered an accomplished musician. Check out Ry Cooder. I love George.
Look up interviews during the Traveling Wilbury days. I remember him going into great detail about getting bitchy not only having to tune and care for his own guitars, but John's as well because he was so hard on them.
Shame those magic hands are now silent. They have made me laugh cry and ponder life and a better person in some ways. Tks George hope to see you on the other side. Bless.
Can you imagine how different history could have been if George had used a Strat during those early years instead of his Gretsch Country Gentleman? Hard to fathom.
In my corral I currently have Esther (ES 339), Cece (Casino Coupe), Frances (Frankencaster tele), Renata (Resonator), Clarissa (C1 Classic), Aretha (AF 75)...I could go on about all of my girls, but you get the idea...
From the 40th anniversary doc of the Strat, which I have on VHS and it's great! That being said, I could've watched three and a half HOURS of just George, let alone three and a half minutes...
Even though George Harrison really liked both of his Fender guitars. the rocky Strat and the rosewood Tele. if you look back though the Beatles career he always gravitated back to his Gretsch guitars.
Everything he played with the Beatles was exactly what was needed. Same with the other three. Their personalities, which included their musicianship but was so much more, melded and became something better, like a new single person. They brought out the best in each other. Never surpassed or even equaled by any other pop group.
A good friend of mine was his personal body guard. He told me that it was put on him to take care of George's guitars. He told me that he had George's Gretsch from the early days that the whole world has seen him play and another one of George's famous guitars in his possession when checking in on a flight. They were insistint that the guitars were put in baggage. My friend told them that it just wasn't going to happen. That he needed to have both with him at all times and they needed to go into the plane with him. He told me that they went back and forth over this for a little while when my friend told the person in charge with the airline excuse me and voices were lowered and shoulders turned and he asked, " do you know who's guitars these belong to?" It was explained and immediatley after having to tell them what he tried hard to avoid telling that not another word was said and that he was allowed to board with both guitars. It's amazing how far around the world the fab four were admired and had fans. Respect. The only reason the bickering ceased. I don't tell the story quite as well as my friend but it's the love of the Beatles by everyone was the point I tried to convey.
@@richardthelionheart01 he didn't tell what Gretsch guitar it was. Harrison had Gretsch Duo Jet, Tenesse and Country Gentleman. He played live with both.
Humbleness couldn't mask his greatness as much as he tried to erode that by being humble. George man, you were all those things and much more you were trying to understate about yourself! Inspiration
George created intros, embellishments, hooks, and solos to complete John and Paul's songs. They made a wonderful cake, but George gave them the frosting and the little plastic animals.
Funny how he hated the Vox Gretsch sound, but went back to it after the stint with the Rickenbacker. Seems like if he wanted a good Strat by then he could've gotten one from the states. Even when he got the one he shows here it seems like it was rarely seen on screen, once during the satellite program and I think on Magical Mystery Tour movie. He probably felt relief at this interview, he got to talk guitars and not Beatles.
American guitars were scarce in England and Europe til maybe 1965, John's original 1958 Rick 325 was one of only a handful in Europe at that time, it's a miracle he even found it in a store there.
I never thought of George as a "Guitar God" but it was always his songs that I liked during the Beatles run. I know Beatles fanatics that hate the sitar thing on the Sgt Pepper album but I loved it, also share his love of the Strat, I bought a 54 in the 1970's that I still own and play regularly. RIP
George was all about rock and roll. Even when he grew older, on stage he was still that young Teddy Boy from Liverpool with a guitar, bouncing, rocking, plucking his guitar. Anyone who has any idea about composing music knows that George tried and experimented with different chord progressions to make his songs his own. That's why sometimes when you listen to his composition you might think "well that's a bit odd change he did here". He wasn't great at playing long blues solos but you can't say he wasn't creative. I mean, you can, if you are ignorant.
I have searched and searched to find out George Harrison’s slide set up… “I just checked the bridge up and put on heavier gauge strings” … that’s all I needed to hear :-)
Always wanted that Tele, but had several Strats, .. Even had a rare Fender double neck 6 string / 12 string..... but no Tele... I played with The Bravados oldies group from around 1966 to around 1974.. Don Rodgers, Master of small talk !!
