As I’m sure most people reading this blog are aware, yesterday* would’ve been George Harrison’s 73rd birthday!
I’m not going to write much, today (I’ve written plenty before) – but here are a few words, nonetheless.
George’s musicality was, hands down, among the greatest in rock: the subtle yet great suggestions he made to various Beatles songs (see the bridge of ‘We Can Work It Out’, for example), often transforming them; his guitar skills, perhaps the greatest example of the ‘keep it simple’ rule – so understated, yet often among the highlights of whatever song happened to be gifted with them, so expressive and practically ethereal; and, of course, his songwriting – musically, beautiful, strong & emotive, and lyrically, poetic and criminally underrated. He seemed like such a incredible person, too – selfless, kind, intelligent, funny. I feel like our world needs more people like him, today. It’s frustrating that he remains, by far, the most underrated Beatle, that the public are generally unaware of his amazing contributions to the band and music in general – but as I wrote in a previous post, those that know of his greatness are aware that this is such wonderful knowledge to have!
But now, I’m going to let his music speak. So happy birthday, George! Hope you had a great day, wherever you may be…
(Please excuse the lack of Beatles – annoyingly, they’ve been taken off YouTube, and seemingly off Vimeo and other sites, too…)
*You probably also know that there’s a bit of confusion surrounding George’s actual birthdate – a few sources have claimed that he was, in fact, born in the late hours of the 24th, but a bit of Googling seems to suggest that the true date is the 25th.
All You Need Is The Beatles 
Lots of great songs you’ve included in here! Been playing Baltimore Oriole and Vatican Blues this very morning. His While My Guitar Gently Weeps is a favourite Beatles track, second only to Hey Bulldog.
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Thank you! ‘Baltimore Oriole’ and ‘Vatican Blues’ are indeed great songs, too! ‘While My Guitar…’ (also ‘Hey Bulldog’!) is easily among my favourite Beatles songs, as well. 🙂
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He surely is missed, though I would say nowadays Ringo is the most underrated – most think about his silly Beatles songs and limited voice, but forget what a good, on-spot, fitful drummer he was.
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You’re probably right – outside of the Beatles ‘fandom’, Ringo is relegated to ‘Yellow Submarine’ and the punchlines of bad jokes. (But luckily we all know of how great a drummer he was/is!) 🙂
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I’m not sure why, but for some reason ever since I was about eleven, when I watched a George Harrison documentary, he has always resonated with me. I’m not sure if it’s because I can relate to his being overlooked, his beliefs about the world, his sense of humor, the fact that he is a fellow guitar player, or even because I have twin cousins that could both be his dopplegangers. Probably all of the above. Regardless, happy (belated) birthday, George!
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