The Untold Truth Of George Harrison

Most Beatles songs were written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, yet George Harrison chimed in every now and then, too. The first song he penned for the band was "Don't Bother Me," featured on sophomore LP "With the Beatles." According to Showbiz Cheat Sheet, the track has an interesting backstory — it was written during a bout of sickness.

While Harrison was on tour in 1963, he came down with a bug. Quarantining himself in his hotel room, he lay in bed with his guitar and started strumming to pass the time. He then decided that he would write a song "as an exercise to see if [he] could" — and sure enough, he accomplished his goal.

In retrospect, Harrison doesn't hold the track in the highest esteem. "I didn't think it was a particularly good song," he later recalled. Nevertheless, it was an important step in his musical journey: "But at least it showed me that all I needed to do was keep on writing and maybe eventually I would write something good."

George Harrison's interest in the sitar came at a time of great strife in South Asia. Some backstory: As reported by Pitchfork, "the Indian subcontinent had been divided into two independent nations in 1947 after decades of British colonialism," resulting in India and Pakistan. Subsequently, Pakistan was split into "two non-contiguous territories, one on each side of India": East Pakistan, which had a "slightly larger population," and West Pakistan, where "the government was based." In March 1971, East Pakistan declared independence as the nation Bangladesh. In response, West Pakistan began a vicious military genocide, killing between 300,000 and 3 million Bengalis and forcing millions of refugees to migrate to India. 

Ravi Shankar, a Bengali, was eager to help with the situation. He asked Harrison if he would be interested in planning a concert to raise funds for the refugees, and the former Beatle jumped on board. 

The Concert for Bangladesh — the first-ever benefit concert of its scale, according to Far Out Magazine – was held at Madison Square Garden on August 1. It was a star-studded affair, featuring musicians like Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr, Leon Russell, Billy Preston, Eric Clapton, Klaus Voorman, Badfinger, and, of course, Shankar and Harrison themselves. The show raised almost $250,000, all of which was donated to UNICEF. When asked afterward why he had gotten involved with the Bengali cause, Harrison simply answered. "Because I was asked by a friend if I would help."

Even before his work on "Life of Brian," George Harrison was close with the Monty Python members. In fact, as reported by Rolling Stone, he made a cameo on the 1975 Christmas special of Eric Idle's TV program "Rutland Weekend Television" long before "Life of Brian" was released. He plays himself in the episode — but with a twist. He appears sporting a pirate hat, an eyepatch, a parrot on his shoulder, and a peg leg, insisting that his name is "Pirate Bob." Throughout the show, he interrupts various sketches with the intention of showing off his marvelous acting skills — but time and again, Idle emphasizes that he just wants Harrison to be himself. 

At the end of the episode, Harrison finally appears sans the pirate garb, guitar in hand. He strums out the beginning of his hit single "My Sweet Lord" ... and then, over the song's gentle opening chords, he barks, "I like to be a pirate, a pirate's life for me!" What follows is a rousing performance of an original sea shanty written by him and Idle.

George Harrison had some pretty prominent fans — including Jack Ford, President Gerald Ford's son. As detailed by the White House Historical Association, on November 16, 1974, Jack, a forestry student at Utah State University, attended Harrison's concert in Salt Lake City and then made his way backstage to introduce himself to the musician. After a warm chat, Ford invited Harrison and his friends and colleagues to visit the White House. Thus, on December 13, 1974, Harrison, his father Harry Harrison, Ravi Shankar, keyboardist Billy Preston, saxophonist Tommy Scott, manager Denis O'Brien, and publicity agent Michael Sterling, arrived at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. 

According to Rolling Stone, the tour began with a "lunch of beef and vegetables" in the solarium, set to the sound of Harrison's album "Dark Horse." Then Jack and his sister Susan led the group around the White House, concluding with a visit to the Oval Office for an informal meeting with President Ford. Ford gave Harrison a pin for his "WIN: Whip Inflation Now" campaign. In return, Harrison gave Ford an "Om" pin representing his appreciation for Eastern spirituality.

Reflecting on the experience later, Harrison spoke kindly of Ford: "He seemed very relaxed. He was much easier to meet than I would expect. You can imagine the number of things he's got on his plate."

Almost everyone knows "Wonderwall," the Oasis single that took the world by storm in 1995. Not everyone, however, knows the story behind the hit — or George Harrison's surprising connection to it. 

According to Mic, Oasis' Liam and Noel Gallagher were major fans of the Beatles — Noel Gallagher even said, "The Beatles are, to me, the be-all and end-all" in 1995. The title of the duo's most famous song is a reference to the 1968 psychedelic film "Wonderwall," George Harrison's first post-Beatles project. As detailed in The Dissolve, "Wonderwall" was directed by Joe Massot and stars Jack MacGowran, Jane Birkin, and Iain Quarrier. The film follows a young man who discovers a hole in his wall — the titular "Wonderwall" — that allows him to spy on his neighbor, the elusive and beautiful model Penny Lane. Harrison's soundtrack for the film, "Wonderwall Music," was the beginning of his solo career. Harrison's website states that he conscientiously integrated Indian classical music influences into the album, hoping to expand Western audiences' horizons.

Not only could George Harrison tell a joke, but he was fond of pranks, as well. Perhaps his most legendary exploit occurred when he decided to pull one over on Phil Collins, drummer of Genesis.

According to The Independent, when Collins was 19, he was invited to play conga drums for Harrison's 1970 album "All Things Must Pass." However, upon the album's release, Collins realized that none of his tracks were incorporated into the final product. 

Twenty years later, Collins ran into Harrison at an event and asked him why he hadn't been featured. Harrison cast the blame onto his producer Phil Spector but offered to send Collins the master tapes of the session. When Collins received them, he was shocked to hear terrible drum playing — and Harrison's voice saying, "Get rid of the lad on the congas, he's crap!" 

Collins called Harrison to say that he hadn't realized he had played so poorly at the time. He also noted that the tape revealed that Harrison, not Spector, had rejected his drumming. Harrison apologized, and the two moved on, swiftly changing the topic. Yet later in the conversation, Harrison burst out laughing and admitted that he had fooled Collins. The tapes were fake — Harrison had hired a band to re-record the song with him, and he had deliberately played "the worst congas imaginable." The interaction ended in good spirits, with Harrison telling Collins that the real sessions had "sounded great."

George Harrison loved his family, music, Eastern spirituality, and fast cars. Unfortunately, as related by Biography, he was also fond of smoking cigarettes. In 1998, he developed throat cancer, which went into remission after treatment.

However, the cancer recurred in 2001, and during lung surgery, it was learned that the cancer had metastasized to his brain. He died in the home of a friend on November 29, with his wife Olivia and son Dhani beside him. A statement from the family, reported by Rolling Stone on December 3, read, "The profound beauty of George's passing — of his awakening from this dream — was no surprise to those of us who knew how he longed to be with God." Harrison was 58 years old. In an obituary in the San Francisco Gate, his family friend Gavin De Becker was quoted as saying, "He died with one thought in mind — love one another."