George Harrison is my favorite Beatle but not just because of his songwriting and guitar playing. Here are 10 facts you didn’t know about George Harrison.
1. He used to shop at East Side Market.
George made frequent stops in Providence while his son Dhani was at Brown. When George was spotted by a fan while putting groceries in his cart, he put a finger to his lips and whispered “shh.” The fan nodded and the two of them walked away.
2. Without George Harrison, there would be no Live Aid.
On August 1st, 1971, George held what would be the first benefit concert in rock history to raise money after Bangladesh was devastated by floods and a cyclone. He put together a band of legends such as Bob Dylan and Ringo Starr and drew in 40,000 people. Combined with sales of DVDs, tickets, and albums, $12 million dollars was sent to Bangladesh via UNICEF.
3. His first marriage went down as one of rock and roll’s most infamous love triangles.
George married model Pattie Boyd on January 21st, 1966 after they met on the set of the Beatles first film, “A Hard Day's Night” in 1964. It was for her that he wrote, “Something.” However, his close friend, Eric Clapton, became friends with Pattie and wrote the song “Layla” for her as a declaration of love. Pattie divorced George in 1977 and married Eric in 1979. Unbelievably, George served as best man and remained friends with Clapton for the rest of his life.
4. He was a Monty Python fan who saved their career.
Monty Python was working on their next film, “Life of Brian,” where a man is mistaken for Jesus and crucified. Producers found it so blasphemous, the film couldn't get funding. Eric Idle, a member of Python, was friends with George and gave him the script to read. The next day, George said he’d give them the money. When Idle asked why, George answered, “I want to see the movie.” Turns out, he wanted to see it so much, he mortgaged his house for $40 million, which according to Idle, “is still the most amount of money anyone has ever paid for a cinema ticket.”
5. After the Beatles, he became part of another rock and roll supergroup.
In 1988, George formed the rock and roll band The Traveling Wilburys with Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Roy Orbison, and Jeff Lynne. The band wrote and recorded their debut album, “Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1” over the course of ten days. The album was released to huge critical and commercial success. Tom Petty said that George was always proud of the Wilburys' success because the band had been his dream project; just a group of friends making music for the hell of it and having a good time.
6. Sometimes, he would rather be gardening than rocking.
After the Beatles broke up in 1971, George joked that he was now a full time gardener at his manor, Friar Park. He had built a replica of Matterhorn Mountain made of 20,000 tons of stone with Beatles guitars nailed on. There was also a lake with stepping stones so a person felt like they were walking on water as a tribute to Krishna, one of the major deities of Hinduism. His garden is 33 acres and is still kept in tip top shape to this day!
7. He popularized a British slang term.
In the film “A Hard Day's Night,” George is mistaken for a teenage model and is asked to give his opinion on dress shirts for teenagers. He replies, “I wouldn't be caught dead in them, they're dead grotty…grotesque.” The word caught on in popularity and ended up in the Urban Dictionary.
8. His nickname “The Quiet Beatle” wasn't applicable.
George was known for his one liners, and one of them almost aborted the Beatles career. When the Beatles first met their future producer George Martin, Martin played back the tracks the band had recorded. When they were done listening, Martin asked, “Is there anything you don't like?” George replied, “Yeah, your tie for start.” Luckily, Martin had a sense of humor.
9. He had an advice column in the English newspapers...sort of.
The advice column, “Ask George” was released when the Beatles popularity was climbing. Fans could ask anything they wanted from what was the best way to clean their kitchen to how to ask out their crush. However, it was a ghost writer seeing as George was too busy performing and recording.
10. He believed he would never be really gone.
George converted to Hinduism in the late 1960’s, embracing a life of meditation and intellectual spirituality. His favorite piece of scripture was Chapter 2 verse 12 of the Bhagavad Gita: “There was never a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings; nor in the future shall any of us cease to be.” He came to view the human body as a suit that a person took off when they died, but the soul would not cease to exist. All that mattered to him was leaving his body in a state of peace, and his second wife Olivia said that on the day he died, light seemed to fill the room because he had left his body the way he had wanted.
