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George Harrison

George Harrison

He and his fellow Beatles were awarded the MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1965 Queen's Birthday Honours List.

He and the Beatles were awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 7080 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.

He played 26 instruments: guitar, sitar, 4-string guitar, bass guitar, arp bass, violin, tamboura, dobro, swordmandel, tabla, organ, piano, moog synthesizer, harmonica, autoharp, glockenspiel, vibraphone, xylophone, claves, African drum, conga drum, tympani, ukulele, mandolin, marimba, and Jal-Tarang.

He was the youngest member of the Beatles.

He was the youngest of four children (Louise, Harold Jr. and Peter were his older siblings), and came from the most "normal" home of any of the Beatles. Father Harry drove a Liverpool city bus, while mother Louise gave dance lessons at their home. The Harrisons were common-sense people, but allowed their children to pursue their dreams, and encouraged George to take up music. Mrs. Harrison invited The Beatles over to practice early in their career, and sometimes came to see them perform. The family remained close, even after daughter Louise married and moved to America, and George became famous; Louise frequently made herself available for media interviews about her younger brother, and hosted his early American visits. He provided for their parents to retire comfortably, while his home at Friar Park was a family affair indeed, tended by he and his older brothers. His mother died of cancer in 1970, and he wrote "Deep Blue" in reaction to her death. His father died (also of cancer) in 1978, having adopted some of his son's spiritual beliefs; George and wife Olivia later related that they'd awoken that same night, to a strange blue light in the room, and a vision of Harry smiling at them.



In 1968, Eric Clapton played guitar on George's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" on The Beatles's White Album. Also, George was at Eric's home in England and wrote "Here Comes the Sun" while skipping a board meeting for the band's company, Apple Corps.

In 1978, The Rolling Stones album "Some Girls" was withdrawn from stores after several stars whose photos appeared on the original cover (including Lucille Ball, Raquel Welch, Farrah Fawcett, Lee Majors and Red Buttons) threatened to sue. The album was re-released with a "censored" cover; Harrison's photo appears on both versions. He joked publicly that he'd sue the Stones "if they removed his photo."

In the early 1970s Eric Clapton fell madly in love with Pattie Boyd (at the time married to Harrison) and wrote "Layla" about her; when she refused to leave George for him, Clapton became so distraught and depressed he turned to heroin and developed a severe addiction. By 1974, feeling abandoned by George's obsession with Indian culture, Pattie left George for Eric and the Harrisons' divorce was finalized in 1977. Two years later, Pattie and Eric were married (they divorced in 1988). Through it all, George, Eric and Pattie remained the best of friends - George attended the Claptons' wedding reception and commented, "I'd rather she was with him than some dope". (Clapton and Harrison called each other "husbands-in-law.").

In the early 60s when "The Beatles" were a backup group to Tony Sheridan, George co wrote with John Lennon, an instrumental, "Cry For A Shadow", the title, a reference to a disbanded British group.

Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Beatles January 20, 1988.

Is portrayed by Chris Cound in The Linda McCartney Story (2000) (TV).

Is portrayed by Chris O'Neill in Backbeat (1994).

Liked jelly babies (a softer version of jelly beans).

Musician, one of The Beatles.

On 30 December 1999, an intruder broke into his Oxfordshire mansion, stabbing him multiple times in the chest. Harrison and his wife fought the intruder and detained him for the police.

Originally submitted his album "Somwhere In England" in 1980 with a psychedelic cover and four rather downbeat songs. Warner Brothers rejected the album, and ordered a new cover and four new, more upbeat songs. It was around this time that John Lennon died, and Harrison decided to re-arrange his song "All Those Years Ago" as a tribute to Lennon and sing it himself (he originally thought it should be a Ringo Starr tune). Starr had recorded percussion, which was used in the final track. At the same time, Paul McCartney asked if he could come over to George's house so George could do some guitar work on Paul's song "Wanderlust." It was the first time McCartney and Harrison had been together since the break up of The Beatles in 1970. Harrison asked Paul, wife Linda McCartney and Denny Laine to record backing vocals for his song, "All Those Years Ago." After recording the song, McCartney decided that Harrison didn't need to record the guitar part and he'd use a horn ensemble instead. After three other songs were recorded, and a new photo shot at an art gallery in London, the

Overcame both hepatitis in the mid-1970s (which caused a delay in the release of his album "Thirty-Three and 1/3"), and a cocaine addiction in the early 1980s.

Portrayed by Sam Bell in Nowhere Boy (2009).

Re-release of "My Sweet Lord" reaches #1 in the UK, replacing Aaliyah's "More Than A Woman". It is the first time there have been two consecutive posthumous #1 hits in the UK. [January 2002]

Son, Dhani Harrison (born 1 August 1978) was a student at Brown University.

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