George Harrison in the Bay Area, November 1974
George Harrison was born in Liverpool, England, in 1943, and first displayed an interest in the guitar while he was in his early teens. As a member of The Quarrymen, he played skiffle and rock 'n' roll alongside John Lennon and Paul McCartney at small venues in Liverpool during the 1950s. He later performed with Lennon, McCartney, Stuart Sutcliffe, and Pete Best at clubs in Hamburg, Germany, as a member of The Beatles. After being signed to Parlophone Records, The Beatles (now comprising John, Paul, George, and Ringo Starr) became extraordinarily famous around the world as a result of the many hits that they released during the 1960s, commencing with "Love Me Do" in 1962. By the end of that singular decade, George Harrison had gained high distinction as a guitarist, a vocalist, and a songwriter, with "Something" and "Here Comes the Sun," his two songs from Abbey Road (the last album on which The Beatles worked together as a foursome), achieving particular renown.
In November, 1974, eight years after The Beatles had given their final concert, at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, and four years after they had gone through an angry dissolution, George Harrison came to the Bay Area again, appearing at the Cow Palace in Daly City on November 6 and 7, and at the Oakland Coliseum Arena on November 8, for two shows at 6 PM and 10 PM, during his first and only tour of the United States. He was joined onstage by a collection of musicians that included two of his closest friends: Ravi Shankar, the Indian musician who taught him how to play the sitar in the 1960s, and Billy Preston, the American musician who played keyboards on "Get Back," "Don't Let Me Down," "Let It Be" and other recordings by The Beatles.
George Harrison, at that time in his life, was thoroughly determined to distance himself from his younger days as one of the Fab Four. In his comments to the press, he made it abundantly clear that he was not satisfied to be acknowledged merely as an ex-Beatle. The overwhelming degree of public acceptance that had been accorded to his album, All Things Must Pass (released on Apple Records in November, 1970, and featuring twenty-three tracks spread over three LPs, had allowed him to step forward from the collective fame of The Beatles and firmly establish himself as a musical figure in his own right. "My Sweet Lord," the first single taken from the album, had also been an enormous hit, quickly climbing to #1 in both the United Kingdom and the United States.
He had further enhanced his own stature a year later, in 1971, when he organized two charitable concerts at Madison Square Garden in New York City to benefit the people of Bangladesh, who were desperately suffering from the ill effects of both a civil war and widespread floods caused by excessive rainfall. George performed at both concerts, which were held on the afternoon and evening of August 1, along with Ravi Shankar (whose request for help had inspired the concerts), Ali Akbar Khan, Ringo Starr, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Klaus Voormann, Leon Russell, Billy Preston, and many others. Performances from the two concerts were recorded and filmed, with The Concert for Bangladesh being released as an album in 1971 and a film in 1972.
In 1973, George Harrison released Living in the Material World, his first album of new songs since All Things Must Pass. A single from the album, "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)," went to #1 in the United States and #8 in the United Kingdom. Many of the songs on the album, such as "The Light That Has Lighted the World," "Living in the Material World," "The Lord Loves the One (That Loves the Lord)," "Be Here Now," and "The Day the World Gets 'Round" were serious expressions of his spiritual beliefs ("I got born into the material world/Getting worn out in the material world"), reflecting his ongoing interest in Hindu philosophy and his deep concern for the unhappy state of mankind, but their earnest tone, while undeniably well-intentioned, did not meet with unreserved approval from all listeners.
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Although George Harrison was the member of The Beatles who had most disliked going on extensive tours during the cheerful madness of Beatlemania, after their painful breakup in 1970 he was, surprisingly, the first of the former Beatles to undertake a full tour of the United States. He was known to prefer the quiet and solitude of Friar Park, his home in Henley-on-Thames, but in 1974 he released a new album, Dark Horse, and took to the road. He was also going through a major change in his private life, separating from his first wife, Pattie (who, after she and George were divorced, later married Eric Clapton), and entering into a new relationship with Olivia Arias, who would become his second wife in 1978. His decision to feature Indian music during his concerts was poorly received by some fans, but in spite of any misgivings, most people were extremely happy at having the opportunity to see one of The Beatles perform again.
They were not the usual sort of rock concerts. George Harrison took something of a gamble by choosing to combine the ancient sounds of India, to which he had dedicated himself years earlier, with the more unstudied sounds of rock 'n' roll. Many of those in attendance appeared to be primarily interested in hearing the celebrated songs that he had recorded with The Beatles and on his own. The offerings of Indian music, exquisitely performed by Ravi Shankar and an orchestra of Indian musicians after George Harrison and his band had opened the concert with several songs, were unfamiliar to most of the audience, and required a certain degree of patience on the part of a listener. In addition to the awkward mixture of musical styles, George Harrison's voice had been considerably strained during rehearsals for the tour, so he sounded unpleasantly hoarse when he was singing. He also seemed ill at ease with the necessity of being at the forefront as a performer.
The music that George Harrison performed himself was greeted with an excited response by his audiences. He started off with "Hari's on Tour (Express)," an instrumental from Dark Horse. With smooth backing from an expert band that comprised Robben Ford on guitar, Willie Weeks on bass, Billy Preston on keyboards, Andy Newmark on drums, Emil Richards on percussion, Tom Scott and Jim Horn on saxophones, and Chuck Findley on trumpet, he played only four songs from his years as a Beatle ("Something," "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," "For You Blue," and John Lennon's "In My Life"), sometimes changing the well-known lyrics as he sang. He also played "Sue Me, Sue You Blues" (a bitter song about the business difficulties that resulted from the breakup of The Beatles), "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)," "Maya Love," and "Dark Horse," as well as two songs from All Things Must Pass: "What Is Life" and "My Sweet Lord." Billy Preston also was given time to perform a few of his own hits.
In 1974, George Harrison was adamantly unwilling to be the person that he sometimes peevishly referred to as "Beatle George," but it was understandably hard for his many fans not to think of him in that way. It seemed that whether George Harrison liked it or not, he still was (and probably always would be) a Beatle in the eyes of the public. He may not have been entirely comfortable with his formidable history, frequently regarding it as burdensome, but it followed him everywhere, diffusing itself throughout his life and his music, and was much too valuable to be fully denied or completely avoided. His concerts in North America that year did not signify an actual return to the headlong glory of Beatlemania, but for anyone who loved the songs and the spirit of George Harrison, either in The Beatles or out of The Beatles, they were a thrilling experience.
During the decades that followed, until a fatal illness caused George Harrison to depart from the worldly realm in 2001, at the untimely age of fifty-eight, he continued to write songs and release recordings (his final album, Brainwashed, was completed by his son, Dhani, with help from Jeff Lynne, and released in 2002), but he only toured as a performer on one further occasion, when he ventured out on a brief tour of Japan in December, 1991, with musical support from Eric Clapton and his band. It appeared that, having experienced both the best and the worst of fame as a Beatle in the 1960s, he preferred to spend the rest of his days living quietly, tending to the extensive gardens at Friar Park and making frequent trips to India, where he nourished his long-standing connection to the spiritual heritage that had inspired him to take up yoga, Transcendental Meditation, and Krishna Consciousness. He clearly was happiest, and most at peace, when he could keep to himself, far removed from public view.
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To say that I was excited at the prospect of seeing George Harrison at the Oakland Coliseum Arena in November, 1974, does not even begin to describe what I was feeling. My friends and I attended many performances in those days, and I enjoyed all of them, but none of them could compare with the momentous thrill of seeing George Harrison. My own life had started in an English town that was near Liverpool, and I had been a full-fledged fan of The Beatles from the beginning. When I was thirteen, I had attended their last performance on August 29, 1966, at Candlestick Park. During my teen years in the late 1960s, The Beatles and their music had provided the foundation of my outlook. In 1974, The Beatles were no longer together, but George Harrison had succeeded in becoming a major star on his own terms.
When it was announced that George Harrison would be going out on tour in the United States, I was quite surprised by the news. His lack of interest in appearing before the public was hardly a secret. For some reason, however, he now had changed his mind in regard to performing in front of an audience. I was aware, before I went to the concerts, that George Harrison would be playing mostly his own music, which was fine with me. It had been ten years since the first days of Beatlemania, and many things had changed during those years. The Beatles themselves had gone through a nasty breakup. As much as I still loved The Beatles, and as much as I still loved the songs that George Harrison had recorded with The Beatles, I understood that 1974 was a different time. Besides, I also loved the music that he had been recording since the end of The Beatles. I figured that whatever sort of music George Harrison wanted to perform would be worthwhile.
I had been keenly interested in Indian music since 1967, and I had seen Ravi Shankar perform once before, in 1968, so for me it was not a hardship to listen to the contemplative sound of his sitar, but I suspect that many others in the audience at the Oakland Coliseum Arena regarded it as little more than a nuisance. They probably wanted to hear only rock 'n' roll. The Indian music was beautiful and compelling, but it did tend to slow down the overall flow of the concert. Nevertheless, I was grateful for the opportunity to hear Ravi Shankar and the other Indian musicians, and I greatly enjoyed the wonderful music that they offered.
When I caught sight of George Harrison, at the beginning of the first show, it was hard to believe that it was actually him on the stage. It seemed that he was trying to blend in with the other musicians, but there was no mistaking him. His shaggy hair and familiar mustache quickly gave him away. As I watched him during those first moments, I could not help thinking of everything that The Beatles had meant to me during the 1960s. I knew that George Harrison was only human, but to me, and to many people of my generation, he and the other Beatles had served as figures of guidance and inspiration. (Which, now that I think of it, must have been wearisome and unwelcome for George and the others.)
I do not remember there being much difference between the two shows that I saw in Oakland. The concerts in the Bay Area were early in the tour, so the musicians probably did not want to take any chances with what they were doing. George Harrison's voice was noticeably ragged much of the time, and his awkwardness at being the main person in the spotlight could not be missed, so there was a certain degree of unevenness to both performances. George appeared to be happiest when he could step back and play his guitar as part of the band. Also, the songs from his new album, Dark Horse, did not seem as strong as the songs from All Things Must Pass and Living in the Material World.
Near the end of the second show, when George Harrison was performing "My Sweet Lord," many people left their seats and crowded together in front of the stage. It actually was a bit of a frenzy, with fans getting carried away by the whole experience. I got up, too, and joined them, carefully squeezing myself through the throng and moving as close to the stage as I could without being too pushy. I finally got near enough to get a close look at George, who appeared to be thoroughly caught up in the frenzy himself. He was singing "Krishna, Krishna, Krishna," over and over. As I gazed up at him, I stood completely still, thinking to myself, "That's George Harrison up there!" I briefly felt as if I was in a trance. That particular moment is what I remember most clearly from the entire evening.