George Harrison (The Beatles)

Name: George Harrison
Born/Died: 25th February, 1943 (Liverpool, England) - 29th November 2001

Profile: He was an English rock guitarist, singer-songwriter and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist in "The Beatles". Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle". Following the band's breakup, he had a successful career as a solo artist and later as part of the supergroup "Traveling Wilburys", and also as a film and record producer. He was a close friend of Eric Clapton.

History: When Harrison was 14 years old, he bought a Dutch Egmond flat top acoustic guitar and learned the instrument seriously. While at the Liverpool Institute, he formed a group called "The Rebels". At this school he met bassist Paul McCartney, who played in a band called "The Quarrymen" and joined McCartney's band soon after.

Harrison became part of "The Beatles" when McCartney told John Lennon about his friend George Harrison, who could play 'Raunchy' on his guitar. Although Lennon considered him too young to join the band, Harrison hung out with them and filled in as needed. By the time he was 16, Lennon and the others had accepted him as one of the band.

Harrison left school at 16 and worked as an apprentice electrician at local department store for a while. When "The Beatles" were offered work in Hamburg in 1960, the musical apprenticeship that Harrison received playing long hours at the Kaiserkeller with the rest of the group, including guitar lessons from Tony Sheridan, laid the foundations of "The Beatles" sound.

When Brian Epstein became "The Beatles" manager in December 1961, he changed their image from that of leather-jacketed rock-and-rollers to a more polished look and secured them a recording contract with EMI. The first single, "Love Me Do", saw Harrison playing a Gibson J-160E, "The Beatles" had become famous and Beatlemania had arrived.

The popularity of "The Beatles" led to a successful tour of America. Harrison, whose role within the group was that of the careful musician who checked that the instruments were tuned, was developing into a musical director as he led the others into folk-rock, via his interest in "The Byrds and Bob Dylan" and into Indian music with his exploration of the sitar.

Harrison's guitar work with the Beatles was varied, flexible and innovative; although not fast or flashy, his guitar playing was solid and typified the more subdued lead guitar style of the early 60's. Harrison explored several guitar instruments, the twelve-string, the sitar and the slide guitar, and developed his playing from tight eight-bar and twelve-bar solos in such songs as "A Hard Day's Night" and "Can't Buy Me Love", to lyrical slide guitar playing.

Influences: Chet Atkins and Carl Perkins

Axology: Futurama/Grazioso guitars, Gretsch guitars, Gibson J-160E, Fender Stratocaster and Telecaster guitars and Vox amplifier

Signature song(s): My Sweet Lord and While My Guitar Gently Weeps

Link(s):

http://www.georgeharrison.com (Official website)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GdeU0ww4zY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGKPHFrHVVY&feature=related