George Harrison

With the Beatles

    Being in the Beatles was a tremendous experience for all of the Beatles.  They all changed tremendously over the time period the Beatles were together. It makes perfect sense that they did; they were teenagers when they put together the band, and at or near thirty when they finished.  There is an enormous amount of growth during that period.  Apart from maybe John, George experienced probably the most change throughout the Beatle years. 
      In the beginning George was very laid back, friendly, naive towards song writing and fame, and money hungry.  ALL of this changed by the end of his time with the Beatles.  George was probably the first Beatles to become sick of what surrounded the Beatles during their touring days.  He grew tired of the same banal questions, the same screaming, insane fans, and the whole inprisonment incorporated with being a Beatle.  By the time the Beatles finished touring, he became a completely different person.
     First, he had grown sick of being famous.  He no longer enjoyed being a Beatle.  By the time of Sgt. Pepper, he virtually refused to be interviewed.  Second, George had becomed a somewhat accomplished songwriter, with great works like "If I Needed Someone", "Taxman", and "I Want to Tell You".  He no longer felt he should be limited to the two or three songs per album. This was especially true during Abbey Road when he FINALLY got his first A-side, and his songs were just as accomplished as John and Paul's yet he was overshadowed.  In the filming of Let It Be, it can be seen where George was sick of being, "Paul's backing band", and he even got into a row with Paul in one scene over this.
     A third reason George changed so much, was because he expanded his mind through drugs, like the other Beatles, and began to look at the world in a different perspective.  George has said that taking acid has opened doors for him that he never knew existed. Marijuana did the same thing but to a different extent. 
    However, drugs did not provide any answers, according to the Beatles, it merely provided the questions.  This is why George wanted to go deeper, and thanks to his wife Patti, he found Indian meditation and religion.  He first became interested in Indian music during filming for "Help!", where there were many musicians from India, and he bought a sitar and tried to learn to play.  He eventually became quite good, although the song he is most famous for playing it on, Norwegian Wood, was done at a time when George was not all that familar with the sitar.  Following Indian instruments, George was introduced to the Maharashi Mahesh Yogi, through his wife, and then he began to become enratured with Eastern religion, a path he continues today with the Dalia Lama.
In 1967, all the Beatles attended a seminar by Maharashi, and then decided to get a private lesson by him in Wales, so they went there, but were cut short of the visit because of the death of Brian Epstein.  Later the Beatles went to India on holiday to study with the Maharashi, and George just loved it, despite the fact they ended their relationship with the Maharashi.   Finding eastern religion and philosophy made George an entirely different person.  He was always fairly somber, yet now he was somber and almost preacher like, which is reflected in his songs.  He was no longer concerned about material possessions and money, and he didn't like being a Beatle since it interfered with religion.  He never forgot how to joke around, but he wasn't the same person, much in the same way the others weren't. 
    Like all of the Beatles, George's growth is reflected in his songs.  His first compostion appears on "With the Beatles" and it is called "Don't Bother Me", it is a good song, although not nearly his best, but it shows he is trying and is certainly learning quickly.  "Help!", features two more of his songs, first of which is "I Need You", one of his finest, and a later a poor lyrics song, "You Like Me Too Much".  From then on, George's songs fit in nicely with the others and are more introspective and have moments of brilliance like the Lennon/McCartney's of that time.   On Rubber Soul, his songs also reflect his pot taking and the coming of the counter culture as well, with "If I Needed Someone" and "Think For Yourself".  On Revolver, George had a moment of sheer brilliance with the catchy, "Taxman", and he had a good song with "I Want to Tell You".  He also had his first Indian song, "Love You To", to bring his songs up to three. For the next couple of years, he slacked off a bit, and wrote just a couple Indian songs, but he came back in 1968 for the White Album.  On this he has what many consider his greatest song ever with "While My Guitar Gently Weeps".  He also had a spiteful song called "Piggies", a God song that is often overlooked by most fans which is called "Long Long Long", and a catchy, trite song, "Savoy Truffle".  On Yellow Submarine George contributed more new songs than John or Paul both none are stellar, although "It's All Too Much" is quite good.  George ended his Beatles career with what most consider to be his great songs, which are "Something" and "Here Comes the Sun", both compostions are without a doubt as good as John or Paul's.
       George is often the overlooked Beatle.  He was not the main writer, best looking, most talented, or funniest.  Yet he had a piece of all of these traits which made him a vital part of the group.  He evolved during this time period tremendously, and later became the "Dark Horse" of the Beatles (which is the name of his publishing company).  He was and still is an integral component of history and can almost be praised for single-handedly showing the western world ideas of the eastern world, a pattern which is still being pursued today.

George near the end of the Beatles. Hard to believe these two pictures are of the same guy!

George being goofy in the early days with a pair of fake eye balls.

A very nice picture of George with his guitar around the "Let It Be" time periold.