George Harrison, MBE (25 February
1943 – 29 November 2001), was an English musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter
who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles.
Although John Lennon and Paul
McCartney were the band's primary songwriters, most of their
albums included at least one Harrison composition, including "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", "Here Comes the Sun" and "Something",
which became the Beatles' second-most-covered song.
Harrison's earliest musical influences included Big Bill
Broonzy, George Formby and Django
Reinhardt; Chet Atkins, Chuck Berry andRy Cooder were
significant later influences. By 1965 he had begun to lead the Beatles into folk rock through
his interest in the Byrdsand Bob Dylan,
and towards Indian classical music through his
use of the sitar on
"Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)".
He developed an interest in the Hare Krishna movement and
became an admirer of Indian
culture and mysticism,
introducing them to the other members of the Beatles and their Western audience
by incorporating Indian instrumentation in their music. After the band's break-up in 1970, Harrison
released the triple album All Things Must Pass, from which two hit
singles originated. He also organized the 1971 Concert for Bangladesh with Ravi Shankar,
a precursor for later benefit
concerts such as Live Aid.
Harrison was a music and film producer as well as a musician; he founded Dark Horse Records in 1974 and co-founded HandMade
Films in 1978.
Harrison released several best-selling singles and
albums as a solo performer, and in 1988 co-founded the platinum-sellingsupergroup the Traveling Wilburys. A prolific recording
artist, he was featured as a guest guitarist on tracks by Badfinger, Ronnie Wood and Billy Preston,
and collaborated on songs and music with Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton and Tom Petty,
among others. Rolling Stone magazine ranked him number
11 in their list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".
Harrison's first marriage, to Pattie Boyd,
ended in divorce in 1977. The following year he married Olivia
Trinidad Arias, with whom he had one son, Dhani.
Harrison died in 2001, aged 58, from lung cancer. He was cremated and his ashes
were scattered in the Gangesand Yamuna rivers in India, in a private ceremony according
to Hindu tradition. He left almost £100 million in
his will.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Harrison/