Solo career: 1968.E2.80.931987 George Harrison

1 solo career: 1968–1987

1.1 solo work: 1968–1969
1.2 things must pass: 1970
1.3 concert bangladesh: 1971
1.4 living in material world george harrison: 1973–1979
1.5 somewhere in england cloud nine: 1980–1987

solo career: 1968–1987
early solo work: 1968–1969

before beatles break-up, harrison had recorded , released 2 solo albums: wonderwall music , electronic sound, both of contain instrumental compositions. wonderwall music, soundtrack 1968 film wonderwall, blends indian , western instrumentation, while electronic sound experimental album prominently features moog synthesizer. released in november 1968, wonderwall music first solo album beatle , first lp released apple records. indian musicians aashish khan , shivkumar sharma performed on album, contains experimental sound collage dream scene , recorded several months before lennon s revolution 9 .

in december 1969, harrison participated in brief tour of europe american group delaney & bonnie , friends. during tour included clapton, bobby whitlock, drummer jim gordon , band leaders delaney , bonnie bramlett, harrison began write sweet lord , became first single solo artist. delaney bramlett inspired harrison learn slide guitar, influencing later music.

all things must pass: 1970

for many years, harrison restricted in songwriting contributions beatles albums, released things must pass, triple album 2 discs of songs , third of recordings of harrison jamming friends. album regarded many best work, , topped charts on both sides of atlantic. lp produced number-one hit single sweet lord , top-ten single life . album co-produced phil spector using wall of sound approach, , musicians included starr, clapton, gary wright, preston, klaus voormann, whole of delaney , bonnie s friends band , apple group badfinger. on release, things must pass received critical acclaim; ben gerson of rolling stone described being of classic spectorian proportions, wagnerian, brucknerian, music of mountain tops , vast horizons . author , musicologist ian inglis considers lyrics of album s title track recognition of impermanence of human existence ... simple , poignant conclusion harrison s former band. in 1971 bright tunes sued harrison copyright infringement on sweet lord owing similarity 1963 chiffons hit s fine . when case heard in united states district court in 1976, denied deliberately plagiarising song, lost case judge ruled had done subconsciously.

in 2000, apple records released thirtieth anniversary edition of album , harrison actively participated in promotion. in interview, reflected on work: s continuation beatles, really. me sort of getting out of beatles , going own way ... happy occasion. commented on production: well, in days reverb kind of used bit more now. in fact, don t use reverb @ all. can t stand it ... know, s hard go thirty years later , expect how want now.

the concert bangladesh: 1971

harrison responded request ravi shankar organising charity event, concert bangladesh, took place on 1 august 1971. event drew on 40,000 people 2 shows in new york s madison square garden. goal of event raise money aid starving refugees during bangladesh liberation war. shankar opened show, featured popular musicians such dylan, clapton, leon russell, badfinger, preston , starr.

a triple album, concert bangladesh, released apple corps year, followed concert film in 1972. tax troubles , questionable expenses later tied many of proceeds, harrison commented: concert attract attention situation ... money raised secondary, , although had money problems ... still got plenty ... though drop in ocean. main thing was, spread word , helped war ended. event has been described innovative precursor large-scale charity rock shows followed, including live aid.

living in material world george harrison: 1973–1979

harrison never again release album matched critical , commercial achievements of things must pass; however, next solo album, 1973 s living in material world, held number 1 spot on billboard album chart 5 weeks, , album s single, give me love (give me peace on earth) , reached number 1 in us. in uk, lp achieved number two, spending 12 weeks on charts single peaking @ number 8. album lavishly produced , packaged, , dominant message harrison s hindu beliefs. in greene s opinion contained many of strongest compositions of career . stephen holden, writing in rolling stone, felt album vastly appealing , profoundly seductive , , stood alone article of faith, miraculous in radiance . other reviewers less enthusiastic, describing release awkward, sanctimonious , overly sentimental, reaction left harrison despondent.

in november 1974, harrison became first ex-beatle tour north america when began 45-date dark horse tour. performances harrison included ensemble of musicians such preston, tom scott, willie weeks, andy newmark , jim horn. tour included traditional , contemporary indian music performed ravi shankar, family , friends . despite numerous positive reviews, consensus reaction tour negative, complaints content, structure, , length – show s duration of 2 , half hours seen excessive. fans found shankar s significant presence bizarre disappointment, having expected see harrison perform, , many affronted inglis described harrison s sermonizing . further, reworked lyrics several beatles songs, , of substitutions seen gratuitously offensive . laryngitis-affected vocals disappointed fans , critics, began calling tour dark hoarse . harrison bothered caustic backlash did not tour again until 1990s. author robert rodriguez commented: while dark horse tour might considered noble failure, there number of fans tuned-in being attempted. went away ecstatic, conscious had witnessed uplifting never repeated. simon leng called tour groundbreaking , revolutionary in presentation of indian music .

in december, harrison released dark horse, album earned him least favourable reviews of career. rolling stone called chronicle of performer out of element, working deadline, enfeebling overtaxed talents rush deliver new lp product , rehearse band, , assemble cross-country tour, within 3 weeks . album reached number 4 on billboard chart , single dark horse reached number 15, failed make impact in uk. music critic mikal gilmore described dark horse 1 of harrison s fascinating works – record change , loss .

harrison s final studio album emi , apple records soul music-inspired texture (read it) (1975). considered least satisfactory of 3 had recorded since things must pass. leng identified bitterness , dismay in many of album s tracks; long-time friend klaus voormann commented: wasn t it ... terrible time because think there lot of cocaine going around, , s when got out of picture ... didn t frame of mind . released 2 singles lp: , reached billboard top 20, , guitar (can t keep crying) , apple s final original single release.

thirty 3 & 1/3 (1976), harrison s first album release on own dark horse records label, produced hit singles song , crackerbox palace , both of reached top 25 in us. surreal humour of crackerbox palace reflected harrison s association monty python s eric idle, directed comical music video song. emphasis on melody , musicianship, , more subtle subject matter pious message of earlier works, thirty 3 & 1/3 earned harrison favourable critical notices in since things must pass.

in 1979, harrison released george harrison, followed second marriage , birth of son dhani. album , single blow away both made billboard top 20. album marked beginning of harrison s gradual retreat music business, , fruition of ideas introduced on things must pass. death of father in may 1978 , birth of son following august had influenced decision devote more time family career. leng described album melodic , lush ... peaceful ... work of man had lived rock , roll dream twice on , embracing domestic spiritual bliss .

somewhere in england cloud nine: 1980–1987

harrison performing here comes sun @ prince s trust concert in 1987.

the murder of john lennon on 8 december 1980 disturbed harrison , reinforced decades-long concern stalkers. tragedy deep personal loss, although unlike mccartney , starr, harrison , lennon had little contact in years before lennon killed. following murder, harrison commented: after went through had , still have great love , respect john lennon. shocked , stunned.

harrison modified lyrics of song had written starr in order make song tribute lennon. years ago , included vocal contributions paul , linda mccartney, starr s original drum part, peaked @ number 2 in charts. single included on album somewhere in england in 1981. harrison did not release new albums 5 years after 1982 s gone troppo received little notice critics or public.

during period made several guest appearances, including 1985 performance @ tribute carl perkins titled blue suede shoes: rockabilly session. in march 1986 made surprise appearance during finale of birmingham heart beat charity concert, event organised raise money birmingham children s hospital. following year, appeared @ prince s trust concert @ london s wembley arena, performing while guitar gently weeps , here comes sun . in february 1987 joined dylan, john fogerty , jesse ed davis on stage two-hour performance blues musician taj mahal. harrison recalled: bob rang me , asked if wanted come out evening , see taj mahal ... went there , had few of these mexican beers – , had few more ... bob says, hey, why don t , play, , can sing? every time got near microphone, dylan comes , starts singing rubbish in ear, trying throw me.

in november 1987 harrison released platinum album cloud nine. co-produced jeff lynne of electric light orchestra, lp included harrison s rendition of james ray s got mind set on , went number 1 in , number 2 in uk. accompanying music video received substantial airplay, , single, when fab , retrospective of beatles career, earned 2 mtv music video awards nominations in 1988. recorded @ estate in friar park, harrison s slide guitar playing featured prominently on album, included several of long-time musical collaborators, including clapton, jim keltner, , jim horn, recalled harrison s relaxed , friendly demeanour during sessions: george made feel @ home, in home ... once had me sit on toilet , play soprano sax, , miked @ end of hall distant sound. thought kidding ... time stopped me in middle of sax solo , brought me 3 p.m. tea—again thought kidding. cloud 9 reached number 8 , number ten on , uk charts respectively, , several tracks album achieved placement on billboard s mainstream rock chart – devil s radio , love , cloud 9 .

cite error: there <ref group=nb> tags on page, references not show without {{reflist|group=nb}} template (see page).