George Harrison

:This article is about songwriter and musician George Harrison. For the early twentieth century singer, see Clinton Ford. For Nintendo's Senior VP of Marketing and Corporate Communication, see George Harrison (Executive).

1970s

After the Beatles split in 1970, Harrison released a number of albums that were critically and commercially successful, both as solo projects and as a member of other groups. After years of being limited in his contributions to the Beatles, he released a large number of the songs he had stockpiled in the first major solo work released after the breakup, All Things Must Pass, the first triple album in rock history. It included the number one hit single "My Sweet Lord", although Harrison was later sued for copyright infringement over the supposed similarities to the 1963 Chiffons single "He's So Fine". Harrison denied deliberately stealing the song, but he did lose the case in 1976; in the ruling, the court accepted the possibility that Harrison had "unconsciously plagiarised" the Chiffons song as the basis for his own song. Disputes over damages dragged on into the 1990s.

Related Topics:
1970 - All Things Must Pass - My Sweet Lord - Copyright infringement - 1963 - Chiffons - He's So Fine - 1976

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Harrison was probably the first modern musician to organize a major charity concert. His Concert for Bangladesh on August 1, 1971, drew over 40,000 people to two shows in New York's Madison Square Garden with the intention of aiding the starving refugees from the war in Bangladesh. Ravi Shankar opened the proceedings, which included other popular musicians such as Bob Dylan (who rarely appeared live in the early 1970s), Eric Clapton who made his first public appearance in years due to his reclusion nursing a heroin addiction after Derek and the Dominos broke up, Leon Russell, Badfinger, Billy Preston and fellow Beatle Ringo Starr. Unfortunately, however, the concert actually lost money due to expenses. Apple Corps announced that they would be releasing a newly arranged concert DVD and CD on October 25, 2005 in the USA, and October 24 in the rest of the world. The DVD and CD will each contain additional material (such as previously unreleased rehearsal footage of "If Not For You" featuring Harrison and Dylan), and all artists' sales royalties will continue to go to UNICEF.

Related Topics:
Charity - Concert for Bangladesh - August 1 - 1971 - New York's - Madison Square Garden - Bangladesh - Ravi Shankar - Bob Dylan - 1970s - Eric Clapton - Derek and the Dominos - Leon Russell - Badfinger - Billy Preston - Ringo Starr - UNICEF

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In addition to his own works, during this time Harrison wrote or produced several hits for Ringo Starr and also appeared on tracks by John Lennon.

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Harrison's next album was Living in the Material World in 1973. "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)" was a big hit, and "Sue Me Sue You Blues" was a window into the former Beatles' miserable legal travails, but overall the record was seen as too overtly religious.

Related Topics:
Living in the Material World - 1973

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In 1974 Harrison released Dark Horse and at the same time launched a major tour of the United States which was subsequently criticised for having a long opening act of Ravi Shankar & Friends, George's voice becoming hoarse and his frequent preaching to the audience. It was during this period while in LA preparing for the 1974 Tour that he also opened offices for his new Dark Horse Records on the A&M Records lot on La Brea Avenue in Los Angeles. It was in those offices that he met a beautiful young woman by the name of Olivia Trinidad Arias who was assigned to work at his label with Terry Doran from Apple and Jack Oliver who came over from London to run Dark Horse Records. The relationship progressed during the rehearsals and Olivia joined George on his 1974 tour during which their relationship blossomed into something more resulting in her permanent relocation to Friar Park in Henley, England, George's home.

Related Topics:
1974 - Dark Horse - Dark Horse Records - A&M Records

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Subsequent to the 1974 Tour he returned to his home in the UK and commuted between there and Los Angeles for the next few years while Dark Horse issued a small number of records by performers such as Splinter, Attitudes and Ravi Shankar. He also planned to issue his own records through Dark Horse after his contract with EMI expired.

Related Topics:
Splinter - Attitudes - EMI

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His final album for EMI (and Apple Records) was Extra Texture (Read All About It), featuring a textured cover. The album spawned two singles, "You" and "This Guitar (Can't Keep From Crying)", which became Apple's final single release in 1975.

Related Topics:
Extra Texture (Read All About It) - 1975

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Business and personal troubles took their toll on Harrison over the next year, and when his first Dark Horse album (Thirty Three & 1/3, his age at the time) was due, Harrison was suffering from hepatitis and couldn't complete the production. After A&M threatened to take him to court, Warner Bros. Records stepped in, buying out Harrison's Dark Horse contract with A&M, and allowing him time to regain his health.

Related Topics:
Thirty Three & 1/3 - Hepatitis - Warner Bros. Records

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Thirty Three & 1/3 was his most successful late-1970s album, and featured the hits "This Song" (a satire of the "My Sweet Lord" ruling) and "Crackerbox Palace" (a humourous and surrealistic number, looking back on his life to date; the title was the name of comedian Lord Buckley's former small home in Hollywood, California, which Harrison visited, and 'Mr. Greif' in the song had been Buckley's manager).

Related Topics:
1970s - My Sweet Lord - Lord Buckley

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After his second marriage and the birth of son Dhani, Harrison's next album was self-titled: 1979's George Harrison included the hits "Blow Away", "Love Comes To Everyone" and "Faster". "Blow Away" featured a memorable electric-slide guitar introduction, and became a much-loved single at the end of the Seventies.

Related Topics:
1979 - George Harrison - Slide guitar

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