Carolyn and I have appreciated the work of British musician George Harrison, who achieved international fame as a singer, songwriter, and lead guitarist for the Beatles. Harrison helped to widen the scope of popular music by embracing Indian culture and incorporating their instrumentation and spirituality.

George Harrison was born in Liverpool, England in 1943. He was the youngest of four children (and years later, he was the youngest of the four Beatles). His father was a bus conductor and a steward in the merchant navy. Harrison’s mother was a grocery shop assistant, and an enthusiastic music fan, who was known among her friends for her loud singing voice.

While Harrison was still in his mother’s womb, his mom used to listen to Indian music. Harrison’s biographer Joshua Greene wrote, “Every Sunday she tuned in to mystical sounds evoked by sitars and tablas, hoping that the exotic music would bring peace and calm to the baby in the womb.” This seemed to have a profound effect, as Harrison sought to incorporate this type of music into his own years later.

In 1948, at age five, Harrison attended primary school in Liverpool, and from 1954 to 1959 he attended high school there. Harrison began playing the guitar in high school, where he first met Paul McCartney, they became good friends because of their shared interest in music. Harrison extremely disliked his experience in school and dropped out at the age of 16.

Around this time, Paul McCartney invited Harrison to join his rock band the Quarrymen, which he had recently formed with his friend John Lennon. The group underwent several name and member changes before becoming The Beatles and settling on Harrison as the lead guitarist, Lennon as vocalist and rhythm guitarist, McCartney as vocalist and bass guitarist, and Ringo Star as the drummer.

The Beatles, of course, became one of the most influential and successful bands in popular music, achieving countless accolades, including 20 number-one singles, 19 number-one albums, and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They revolutionized music with innovative sound, lyrics, and cultural impact, leaving a legacy that inspires generations of music lovers. Some popular songs that Harrison contributed as one of the Beatles include While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Here Comes the Sun, and Something.

In 1965, Harrison studied the sitar, a stringed instrument from India, with musician Ravi Shankar, and he incorporated this new skill into his music with the song Norwegian Wood. Harrison’s interest in Indian culture grew, and in 1968, he and the other Beatles traveled to India to study transcendental meditation with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Although this trip to India influenced dozens of subsequent Beatles songs, Harrison was the only member of the group to adopt these spiritual practices as a part of his life.

Harrison deeply explored Hindu spirituality, particularly Krishna Consciousness, which significantly influenced his life and music. Krishna Consciousness, also known as Bhakti Yoga, is a spiritual movement and philosophy that emphasizes devotion, love, and service to Krishna, the Supreme Being, as a path to achieve spiritual growth, self-realization, and union with the divine. Harrison incorporated Eastern philosophical themes and spiritual sentiments into his songs, such as “My Sweet Lord” and “The Inner Light,” reflecting his quest for spiritual growth and self-realization.

Later in 1968, Harrison released his first solo work with the soundtrack to the British experimental film Wonderwall. Then he released several best-selling singles and albums as a solo performer. In 1970, the Beatles broke up, and Harrison released his highly successful album All Things Must Pass. In 1971, Harrison staged two concerts with Ravi Shankar at Madison Square Garden in New York City to raise money to help fight starvation in Bangladesh. The music from these two concerts was released on a triple album set that year called The Concert for Bangladesh, which was certified gold in 1972 with over five million copies sold.

In 1973, Harrison released his album Living in the Material World, which included his popular song Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth). In 1979, Harrison entered the world of film production as a founder of Handmade Films. The British production company created several notable films, such as Monty Python’s Life of Brian in 1979, The Long Good Friday in 1980, Time Bandits in 1981, and Mona Lisa in 1986.

In 1987, Harrison released his album Cloud Nine, which included his hit song Got My Mind Set on You. In the late 1980s, Harrison was a frequent collaborator, and he often appeared on the albums of other musicians and former bandmates. He recorded and performed with Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty, and others as part of the Traveling Wilburys, a platinum-selling band that he co-founded in 1988. Harrison was also featured as a guest guitarist on songs by Badfinger, Ronnie Wood, and Billy Preston, and he collaborated on songs and music with Eric Clapton.

Harrison was also an avid gardener and landscape designer. He created the beautiful gardens at his estate, Friar Park, which included a large lake, waterfalls, and a variety of plants and trees. Friar Park is a Victorian neo-Gothic mansion in Henley-on-Thames, England, that was built in 1895. The site covers about 30 acres and features caves, grottoes, underground passages, a multitude of garden gnomes, and an Alpine rock garden with a scale model of the Matterhorn, a majestic mountain in the Alps. In 1981, Harrison released a book called Friar Park: A Personal Tour showcasing his gardens and sharing his passion for gardening.

Harrison was known for his quiet and peaceful nature. Speaking about himself, he said, “I’m really quite simple. I don’t want to be in the business full-time, because I’m a gardener. I plant flowers and watch them grow. I don’t go out to clubs. I don’t party. I stay at home and watch the river flow.”

Then, in 1999, Harrison was attacked by an armed schizophrenic intruder in his home at 3:30 in the morning, who was breaking windows and screaming. “I wrestled hand to hand with the face of evil for fifteen minutes,” said Harrison. During the attack, Harrison began loudly chanting, “Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna…” and he survived with over 40 stab wounds. Harrison’s statement following the attack was, “He wasn’t a burglar, and he certainly wasn’t auditioning for the Traveling Wilburys.”

Harrison died of cancer in 2001 in Los Angeles at the age of 58. In 2023, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Harrison number 31 in their list of greatest guitarists of all time. He is a two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee— as a member of The Beatles in 1988, and posthumously for his solo career in 2004.

Some of the quotes that George Harrison is known for include:

I fell in love, not with anything or anybody in particular but with everything.

The only thing we really have to work at in this life is how to manifest love.

Heaven and hell is right now, right at this moment. You make it heaven or you make it hell by your actions.

Silence often says much more than trying to say what’s been said before.

If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.

Death is just where your suit falls off and now you’re in your other suit. You can’t see it on this level, but it’s all right. Don’t worry.

When you’ve seen beyond yourself, then you may find, peace of mind is waiting there.

Life flows on within you and without you.

by David Jay Brown