George Harrison
Rock / Pop
George Harrison, MBE (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was a popular English guitarist, singer, songwriter, record producer, and film producer.
Harrison was the lead guitarist of The Beatles. During the band’s phenomenally successful career, John Lennon and Paul McCartney were its main songwriters. However, Harrison generally wrote and/or sang lead on one or two songs for each album. His compositions earned him growing admiration as a considerable talent in his own right. Although he wrote some of the Beatles' best known songs, he was overshadowed by the Lennon/McCartney duo. However, as the years went on as a member of The Beatles, Harrison grew as an artist.
While still a Beatle, Harrison became attracted to Indian music and Hinduism. Both would subsequently play a prominent role in Harrison’s life and music.
Harrison also had an uneven but sometimes very successful solo career after the break-up of The Beatles, scoring major hits with "My Sweet Lord" (1970), "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)" (1973), "All Those Years Ago" (1981), and "Got My Mind Set on You" (1987). Harrison's landmark album, All Things Must Pass, currently holds the title of the best selling album by a solo Beatle[1]. He also organized the first large-scale benefit concert, The Concert For Bangladesh, which took place on 1 August 1971. Harrison was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist in 2004.[2]
Harrison was also a film producer and founded Handmade Films in 1979. The company's films include Monty Python’s The Life of Brian (in which he had a very minor cameo), Time Bandits, Withnail and I, and Mona Lisa. Harrison also has a cameo role in The Beatles parody film The Rutles.
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