George Harrison This article is about songwriter and musician George Harrison. For the early twentieth century singer, see Clinton Ford. For Nintendo's Senior VP of Marketing and Corporate Communication, see George Harrison (Executive). George Harrison Born 24 February 1943 Liverpool, England Died 29 November 2001 Los Angeles, California, U.S. George Harrison, MBE (24 February 1943 - 29 November 2001) was a popular British guitarist, singer, songwriter, record producer, and film producer, best known as a member of The Beatles. Harrison was the lead guitarist of The Beatles. During the band’s extremely successful career, John Lennon and Paul McCartney were its main songwriters. However, Harrison usually wrote and sang lead on one or two songs per album, including the popular "If I Needed Someone", "Taxman", "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", "Here Comes the Sun", and "Something".
While still a Beatle, Harrison became attracted to Indian music and Hinduism, sparking unprecedented interest in Eastern beliefs and music in the Western Hemisphere. Both would subsequently play a prominent role in Harrison’s life and music.
Harrison also had an uneven but sometimes very successful solo career after the break-up of The Beatles, scoring major hits with "My Sweet Lord" (1970), "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)" (1973), "All Those Years Ago" (1981), and "Got My Mind Set on You" (1987). He also organized the first large-scale charity concert, The Concert For Bangladesh, which took place on August 1, 1971. Harrison was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist in 2004.
Harrison was also a film producer and founded Handmade Films in 1979. The company's films include Monty Python’s The Life of Brian, Time Bandits, Withnail and I, and Mona Lisa. Harrison also has a cameo role in The Beatles parody film The Rutles.
Shanghai Surprise (1986)
