You can see the full story here. (Thanks to Susan Shaps.)

Update (12/15/04)

Update (11/29/04)

Update (6/2/04)

Update (5/19/04)

(Thanks to Patti Murawski)

Update (5/15/04) The UK Sun reports the row is still ongoing over the tribute to George in his hometown.

Update (3/9/04)

Update (2/23/04)

Update (2/3/04)

Steve,

Regarding the article on the tribute to George Harrison by the group America, it should be noted that there is a mistake in the article. In the article, they say "I Need You" is from RUBBER SOUL. In fact, it was from HELP. More importantly, America borrowed the melody NOT from "I Need You", but from "Something". Yeah, America pinched the melody of "Something". It was always so obvious in the 1970s whenever that song was played on the radio. Also, they seem to have borrowed the "My Sweet Lord" intro as well for another song. We should recall as well that George Martin was their producer.

There is now a recording of GEORGE singing OM on the Jukebox at www.georgeharrison.com!!!

Update (1/28/04)

Update (1/26/04)

Update (1/20/04)

Update (1/17/04)

Update (1/15/04)

Update (1/14/04)

Update (1/10/04)

Update (1/8/04)

Update (1/7/04)

Update (1/3/04)

Update (12/17/03)

Update (12/14/03)

Update (12/8/03)

Steve:

Last weekend a group of fans organized their own tribute to George in The Beatles Shop in Liverpool. I've uploaded an article and some photographs from this tribute to my web site. Here is a direct url: http://www.stuck-inside-a-cloud.net/RememberingGeorge2003.html.

Cheers,
Diane
Webmaster - http://www.stuck-inside-a-cloud.net

Update (12/5/03)

Update (12/4/03)

Hey Steve
 
I'd like to take the moment to thank all of your website readers 
who tuned into CJAM Radio's "Everything You've Always Wanted 
To Know About Music* (*but were afraid to ask) - George Harrison 
Tribute Special".  Hoped hearing George's music was able to 
provide some memories and comforting emotions during this 
sad time of the year for us Beatles fans.
 
Here is the tracklisting from the show (first two tracks are the "Mandatory Beatles&Bob"):
 
1 I Me Mine - Beatles -Let It Be Naked
2 Takes A Lot To Laugh - Dylan w/George & Leon at Concert For BanglaDesh

3 My Sweet Lord - ATMP
4 Art Of Dying- ATMP solo demo
5 Isnt It A Pity v1 - ATMP
6 Hear Me Lord - ATMP solo demo
7 Run Of The Mill - ATMP

8 Awaiting On You All- ATMP 
9 Tell Me What Has Happened To You?- ATMP solo demo
10 What Is Life?- ATMP 
11 Nowhere To Go- ATMP solo demo
12 Bangla Desh - Concert For BanglaDesh
13 Deep Blue - B-side of BanglaDesh single
14 Give Me Love - Living In The Material World
15 Be Here Now - LITMW
16 Try Some Buy Some- LITMW
17 Living In The Material World - LITMW
18 Dark Horse - home demo
19 Simply Shady - Dark Horse
20 Ding Dong - DH
21 Far East Man - DH
22 In My Life - live 74
23 You - original ATMP band demo
24 This Guitar Can't Keep From Crying-Extra Texture
25 The Answer's At The End- ET
26 Crackerbox Palace - 33 1/3
27 This Song - 33 1/3
28 Blow Away - GeorgeHarrison
29 Your Love Is Forever - GH
30 All Those Years Ago - Somewhere In England
31 Mystical On! e - Gone Troppo
32 Abandonded Love - Unreleased 1980s Dylan cover 
33 Got My Mind Set On You - Cloud 9
34 Devils Radio - C9
35 When We Was Fab - C9
36 Cheer Down - Best Of Dark Horse
37 Something - Live In Japan 
38 Horse To Water - Jools Holland & Big Band cd guest star
39 Stuck Inside A Cloud - Brainwashed
40 Pisces Fish -BW
41 Last Saturday Night - BW
42 Any Road- BW
43 Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea - BW
44 Handle With Care - Traveling Wilburies V1
45 Headed For The Light - TWv1
46 End Of The Line - TWv1
47 Cloud Nine - C9
48 I Live For You - ATMP 2000 reissue
49 Circles - Gone Troppo/Beatle Esher demo

You can download the entire program in hourly segements 
at www.cjam.ca in the left hand column, under "archives". 
 There are instructions on how to download them.  I went 
over my time limit fielding many requests, calls and
 emails of suggestions, many from your website.  Instead 
of the show running 1AM - 4AM EST, it went until about 
4:45AM EST.   Any further comments can be mailed to me 
at awa@cjam.ca .

 

In other fallen Beatle tribute news, I'll be running a 1AM - 4AM(?)
 John Lennon tribute on Dec8 (the morning of, not that night... so 
"Sunday night/Monday morning" for all those nighthawks out there).
  The show will be same general format as the George Harrison tribute, 

with unreleased demos, live tracks, alternate cuts, etc, all covering 
Lennon's solo career.  It's 91.5FM on the Detroit/Windsor dial, and 
the show can be heard online at www.cjam.ca , under "Listen Live".  
Email any requests/comments/suggestions to awa@cjam.ca .  
Commercial free!

Cheers, thanks and all the best.

Tim

2nd Annual George Harrison Remembrance (in Los Angeles):

Where: In front of the Capitol Records building, at John Lennon's star.
When: Saturday, Nov. 29 12pm - 2pm

I'd just like to inform AbbeyRd Beatles News Briefs readers that this Sunday night (or, technically, Monday morning) there will be a 3 hour George Harrison tribute on CJAM Radio. It's a station broadcast out of Windsor, Ontario, in the Detroit Mich USA listening area. It's 91.5FM on the Detroit dial. You can listen in online at http://www.cjam.ca, though you'll need WINAMP.

The George tribute, on my show "Everything You've Always Wanted To Know About Music* (*but were afraid to ask)" will be all solo George, no commercials, for 3 hours. Covering 1970 - 2001, everyone of his albums will be represented, plus some rarities (unreleased tracks, demos, live recordings, etc). The show is on from 1AM - 4AM (EST). Should be fitting, as usually George tributes consist of nothing but his Beatles tracks, and his solo career is often over-looked (especially as a result of the massive shadow cast by All Things Must Pass).

Hope some Beatle fans will tune in. You can email any requests or suggestions to awa@cjam.ca. There will be a Lennon tribute the following week, featuring 3 hours of solo John 1970 - 1980.

Cheers, Tim

With the recent release of the Concert for George CD/DVD, I thought it was about time I finally finished my review of one of the "competing" George tribute albums: Gentle Guitar Dreams, released around the same time as the Songs from the Material World CD. Never heard of it? I'm not surprised, as it was by sheer luck (I'll explain later) that I even discovered its existence. It's a Harrison tribute, all right, but it's of Japanese origin, with twelve Japanese groups tackling George cuts.

Now, as I'm sure you all know, tribute albums aren't exactly the most exciting things most of the time. There's a certain kind of mentality that these discs occasionally fall prey to-which can manifest itself as "ironic" straight readings of tunes, radical rearrangements, etc.-and rarely do they equal or better their source material. That said, I found the idea of a Japanese tribute to George Harrison to be intriguing-heck, it could be anything from an utter train wreck to a fascinating discovery-so I waited until I could grab it for cheap and snapped it up.

A track-by-track rundown (my Kanji is absolutely wretched, so in a few cases I'm not actually sure who the performers are/I probably got the names horribly wrong. Needless to say, I can't read the liner notes either. You've been warned!)

1) Hoff Dylan - I Got My Mind Set On You: The disc gets itself off to a seriously bizarre start with this take on "I Got My Mind Set On You." Hoff Dylan keeps the arrangement mostly the same, but has fun throwing in an odd, super-flanged guitar. The vocal take on the tune is hardly serious, but still fun; I think the "Dylan" part of Hoff Dylan comes in during a few parts of the chorus, where a completely bizarre and very wheezy Dylan imitation seems to be the order of the day. The song devolves into an interesting semi-swing take at the end, terminating in a sea of beeps and boops. Not something I'd like to listen to all that often, but hardly awful. Your standard "slightly-ironized tribute album" take on the track, which was never a melodic masterpiece to begin with.

2) The Moonriders - I Need You: Now this is interesting! Very slow, with few of the standard elements of the original arrangement present. The backing vocalists have a bit of trouble with a few of the lyrics ("realize"), but otherwise a very strong track.

3) Suzuki Shigeru - When We Was Fab: Beh. A mediocre take on one of my favorite songs from Cloud Nine. The instrumentation is almost identical to the Cloud 9 version (down to the drum fills and descending guitar lines!), and the production is strangely muddy. The vocal seems to be from a scratch take, with entire lyrical lines missing (especially near the beginning, where the opening line is transformed into "Back then long time ago when grass"). Not horrible, pretty careless, and only the fact that "Fab" is a pretty damn good song saves it.

4) Kenji Sawada - Something: A particular breed of obsessive 60's music fans might recognize Mr. Sawada's name, as he was in the Tigers, the Japanese equivalent of the Monkees (their biggest claim to fame across the pond was their song "Smile For Me," written by Barry Gibb and never released by the Bee Gees). His cover of Something is unsurprisingly rote-I mean, heck, it's a cover of Something!-but is still enjoyable, with a few Harrison-esque extra embellishments thrown in every once in a while.

5) Grapevine with a female singer - The Light That Has Lighted the World: Our first real unusual song entry on this disc, "The Light That Has Lighted the World" isn't one of George's better-known songs, but I've always enjoyed it. Thankfully, Grapevine's cover (I can't quite decipher the name of the singer they're using here) is very enjoyable, with the song recast as a semi-acoustic rocker. The untranslatable female vocalist does a great job. Grapevine themselves usually tend more towards a slightly angst-rock-y direction, so I was surprised by their turn here. A standout track.

6) Timeslip Rendezvous - If I Needed Someone: Timeslip Rendezvous come very highly recommended from a few friends of mine. Their cover of "If I Needed Someone" is, barring a reconstructed intro, fairly faithful to the original, and is very well performed.

7) The Collectors - What Is Life: Ahh, yes! The Collectors are one of my favorite Japanese bands (I actually found this disc while searching for them on CDJapan, as that site puts V/A comps in the main band results), and while they don't rearrange What Is Life at all, their cover is appropriately cacophonous and spirited. Katoh (the singer) normally has a bit of trouble with certain English phrases, but is doing his darndest to be at his best diction-wise here, leading to a few odd overenunciations of several phrases. Still, for a straight-ahead cover, this is quite a treat. And if you like this, be sure to check out some of the band's recent albums!

8) Box - Taxman: Strangely enough, this is probably my favorite track on Gentle Guitar Dreams. Okay, okay, it seems like it's just a straight ahead cover of the song, but there's a distinct difference between a band copying an arrangements (see When We Was Fab) and having fun with an arrangement. Box mimics the original right down to the mix (drums hard right, etc.), but improvises little embellishments-an extra guitar line, some extra piano vamping-that make everything sound strangely fresh; I particularly enjoy the way they work a little bit of "Blue Jay Way" into the backing vocals and end the song with a reference to Think For Yourself/Savoy Truffle. Also, the imitation of the original guitar solo is frightening in its accuracy (the tone is unbelievably close). Yes, it's a cover of Taxman. Yes, it's an obvious choice. And yes, it isn't really rearranged. But it works, and well.

9) Hiroyuki - I Me Mine: Allegedly, this is one of the vocalists from the Pizzicato 5. Whatever the case, I find it fascinating that the arrangement of I Me Mine here is very similar to the one on "Songs from the Material World"-stripped down acoustic-and it works here just as well.

10) Hiroshi Takano - Far East Man: Far East Man, in its original Dark Horse incarnation, has never been one of my favorite Harrisongs, which might be why I appreciate this take on it so very, very much. I don't know anything about Takano, but I love what he's done here. Far East Man boasts a slightly trippy rhythmic arrangement (I'm sure this particular genre has a name.it just escapes me at present), with absolutely gorgeous work from all involved. This sort of semi new-agey style might not appeal to everyone, but I love it. And, needless to say, a great song choice for a Japanese tribute! 11) [unknown] - Here Comes the Sun: I guess it was inevitable; I think every Harrison tribute needs to have this song and While My Guitar.otherwise it'd be a Macca tribute without Yesterday (and yes, I know those exist). Unfortunately, this just isn't that good, melding a crappy dance arrangement to the song, along with some very dated-sounding (intentional?) synths. This arrangement might've worked on another song-it's fairly interesting-but a dance arrangement just feels *wrong* at some basic level on "Here Comes the Sun." Your mileage may vary, but not one of my favorites.

12) Hi Limits and Kurosawa - Ding Dong Ding Dong: A fairly rote take on the song, with some tremendously out-of-tune backing vocals (appropriate for a singalong, I guess). Seasonal, but not much more.

13) Unknown - While My Guitar Gently Weeps: Now *this* is odd. Here we get a nice, Final Fantasy-esque string/acoustic guitar arrangement of While My Guitar Gently Weeps (which fits the song very well; it's a bit overwrought, but still quite tasty), connected to a fairly emotional electric guitar/string quartet fadeout. I like it, but it's an odd way to end the album.

My verdict? Gentle Guitar Dreams is an entertaining listen, and as it's a Warners Japan CD, it's actually distributed in the US (Amazon.com stocks it, 'tho you might be able to get it cheaper from CDJapan/Amazon.co.jp/Hmv.co.jp). I certainly like it better than the Songs from the Material World disc (I haven't heard Concert for George yet, though). That said, it's a super-expensive import, and is *not* worth the dollar-tastic import price. If you can find it cheap somewhere, spring for it; it's a far more entertaining and eclectic collection than one would expect from such a random outing.

Random note: Early tracklistings for this comp included a few extra tracks, including covers of My Sweet Lord (inevitable) and Wah Wah (interesting!). It's a pity indeed that those didn't make the final order.

Update (11/9/03)

Update (10/26/03)

Some excerpts from an interview Humo had with Brian Setzer of the Stray Cats: Q. George Harrison reportedly always called you Eddie.

A. (laughs) Yes, because of Eddie Cochran. He saw my Gretsch guitar, my blonde quiff en said with a British accent: 'Hello Eddie, how are you?' I've only met George four or five times.

Q. How did you call him?

A. Sir George (laughs). A wonderful guy, deep down he was probably more rockabilly than me. In any case he knew more about Carl Perkins than me - my favourite guitarist. George had a wonderful sense of humour, dry as a bone. What do you want, an Englishman. Without any doubt he was the most underestimated Beatle. Don't forget that in every Beatlesong there was a great guitar solo, and George thought of the riffs. (Sings the riff to Day Tripper) De-dudududedèèè-dudèè...

Q. And don't forget : the opening chord to A Hard Day's Night.
A. (Shouts enthousiasticly) 'Klèng! I still remember that as a child I tried to dig out what chord that was. (Wings his arm) Klèng! Klèng! And it never sounded like George. Klèng!

Q. Did you ever play with him?

A. One night, at a party in the house of Dave Stewart. George played Paperback Writer and I sang along. That's it. But at least I can say to my children that I ever played with George Harrison. (laughs). .....

Q. Last question: you played with lots of legends, is there anyone missing from that list?

A. (immediately) McCartney. I want to make with him a kickass rockabilly record: me on guitar, he on vocals and bass. I think it would be good, I think I can kick it up a nudge. A few years ago he made a solid rocking record, Run Devil Run, with David Gilmour of Pink Floyd on guitar. When I was listening to it, I thought: 'Go away, Dave, let me do it.' I would ask him, but you can't call him just like that after evening dinner. Years ago he invited me for a Buddy Holly party at his house. I couldn't go because I was playing with the Stray Cats that evening. I haven't heard from him since then. But you can always keep dreaming, you know: it's nice to have a dream.

Update (10/25/03)

Update (10/21/03)

Update (10/14/03)

The picture that Stan Yinger found on the ATMP website has been there all along.

In the early days of the site, if you left the opening page on your screen long enough, the George figure eventually sprouted wings, the background would dissolve, the winged George would fly upwards, and the picture Stan sent would appear.

The picture is one that is from the "Songs By George Harrison" collection, which would make the artist Keith West.

Update (10/13/03)

Hi Steve,

Was looking around at the past news and could not find this little jewel that I discovered by accident. If you go to the home page of : http://www.allthingsmustpass.com/ and leave it alone for a few minutes you will get this picture which I've attached 2 copies (I had to use a digital camera as the picture is protected) below after all the objects on the home page fall aside. It totally surprised me and I felt like sharing it with the other viewers of your excellent site. Hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

Update (9/30/03)

Hi Steve,

Didn't have to go into work until late today, so just as I was getting ready to leave the house, right after the 9:00 a.m. update on the today show, I heard, "Concert for George" and grabbed a tape and slammed it into the VCR.

I can't be sure that the interview was live because sometimes they are taped and the only way you can tell is by looking at what Katie Couric is wearing after the break, but as I had to leave for work, I didn't have time to check that out.

Anyway, Olivia was on of course, because the Concert for George film opens in select cities on Friday (Oct. 3). I really don't like Couric as an interviewer because she mostly does all the talking and tries to dazzle her guest with how much she knows about them; I mean does this woman ever shut up and let her guests talk? When she did allow Olivia to talk, Olivia spoke about how bittersweet a night it was, how they felt George was so close to them that night last year, but yet were all so acutely aware of his absence. Katie also asked how she felt coming up on the 2nd anniversary of George's passing...what kind of question is that to ask someone who nursed her husband to his dying day...but Olivia handled it well.

She also had a chance to explain a bit about Material World Foundation, what kind of work they do, etc.

Olivia looked great in a red and white leaf patterned tunic jacket, black trousers and black spike heeled boots, though she looked tired. I imagine she must be doing a lot of PR for the film.

Update (8/26/03) Rolling Stone.com has a neat story about the 40th anniversary of George Harrison's stage debut in Illinois. The story reports that George's sister, Louise, is organizing a benefit concert Sept. 28 featuring members of American English and the Four Vests to raise money for financially strapped Benton, Illinois, where George performed. (Thanks to Trini Schultz.)

Update (8/8/03)

Update II (8/5/03)

Hi Steve,

Just want to let you know that GH.com has some new additions in the Media section! 6 artwork images including one that George drew himself that I have never seen! Also 3 official images one from the Cloud Nine period. There are 4 new songs in the jukebox. They are from: Ravi Shankar, Otis Redding, The Shadows and Ray Charles. 2 new desktop wallpapers are available too! Enjoy them!

Peace,
Laura

Update (8/3/03)

Update (7/26/03)

Steve, I was on Ringo Starr's web site and noticed he has a still from the 1965 lip-synch promo video The Beatles did for TICKET TO RIDE and some of the 45 releases from that period. This screen comes up when you click on THE BEATLES ANTHOLOGY. This photo is important because it reveals something that is usually not known about George Harrison. These promos show George Harrison playing a Gibson ES 345 electric guitar. Harrison played a 345 on the DAY TRIPPER single that gave it that distinctive sound. This is something usually missed by the so-called experts. The usual take on Harrison and the Beatles is that they played poor-quality, low-end guitars. The impression is that Harrison did not know anything about guitars and played real crappy ones at that. The "experts" assume that Harrison just played the same old "cheap" guitar throughhout the decade. But this not the case.

George Harrison played the greatest guitars ever produced. Harrison's first major guitar was the black Gretsch Duo Jet. ( Bo Diddley, Eddie Cochran, Cliff Gallup with Gene Vincent's Blue Caps, and Chet Atkins became famous in the 1950s for their Gretsch guitar sound.)

Harrison then retired the Duo Jet and switched to a Gretsch Country Gentleman and Tennessean. These were the guitars everyone saw him play on TV and in concerts.

In 1964, the head of the Rickenbacker company personally presented Harrison with a then brand new Rickenbacker 12 string electric, the 360 model which Harrison played in A Hard Day's Night. This guitar was revolutionary and was very influential on the 1960s guitar sound. Jim McGuinn and David Crosby of The Byrds decided to go into rock and roll after they heard George Harrison playing that famous Ricky 360/12. They had earlier been folkies but thanks to George Harrison decided to go rock and roll. McGuinn even bought a Rickenbacker 360 12 string himself and duplicated the Harrison sound for The Byrds sound. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

In 1965, Harrison began using the Gibson ES 345 on Beatles records. The most famous recording is DAY TRIPPER. Not many people know that he played a 345.

During this same period, Harrison bought a 1961 Sonic Blue Fender Stratocaster that he used on NOWHERE MAN and other songs. Harrison also used the sitar on the first pop record, NORWEGIAN WOOD, influenced by watching Indian musicians on the set of the movie HELP! Needless to say, the sitar became identified with 1960s psychedelia and was immediately copied by The Rolling Stones for PAINT IT BLACK. Harrison's sitar sound was one of the most influential of the 1960s.

But Harrison did not stop there. He kept experimenting and trying different guitar sounds. In early 1966, he began playing an Epiphone Casino and a Gibson SG Standard. Harrison played the Fender Strat, "Rocky", painted in psychedelic colors, in the MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR MOVIE in 1967. Fender regards Rocky as one of the Top Ten most famous Strats.

In 1968, Harrison added a red Gibson Les Paul which Eric Clapton had given him, which he played on the REVOLUTION promo video. He also used it on SOMETHING. On the HEY JUDE TV broadcast, he played a Fender VI Bass.

The Fender company subsequently presented Harrison with a specially made rosewood Fender Telecaster which he used on GET BACK for that distinctive rhythm sound.

George Harrison played the greatest electric guitars of his era. He was constantly innovating and expanding his musical vocabulary. Usually the "experts" tend to dismiss Harrison as a guitarist, but he was one of the most influential and innovative guitarists of the 1960s.

Update (7/25/03)

Update (7/19/03)

Hi Steve,

I went into the georgeharrison.com page last night and found they are offering new design t-shirts. These include a dark horse baseball t-shirt sizes M - XL and a dark horse grey sizes S - XL. I've also included the photos from the page of the two styles.

Thanks,
Stan Yinger

Update (7/18/03)

Hi Steve:

In Ronnie Spector's autobiography "Be My Baby" (Harmony Books, 1990) Ronnie says that she, George and Phil worked on "Try Some Buy Some", but that John Lennon dropped in at the session at Abbey Road. When John arrived she said Phil, to whom she was married at the time, tensed up.

They ordered tandoori chicken from an Indian take away, smoked some joints, and Phil started to write "Tandoori Chicken". So, John was there for the B-side recording; Ronnie doesn't actually say it in the narration about that session, but in the photo section under a photo of the picture sleeve of the 7" inch vinyl single it says, "John Lennon showed up to help us do the B-side, but the record was a big flop anyway."

The way Ronnie remembers it...George on "Try Some Buy Some", and George and John on "Tandoori Chicken"... Perhaps Bowie knows something we don't about Paul and Ringo participating, but so far there doesn't seem to be any evidence that they were.

BTW, Ronnie also said she didn't understand what "Try Some Buy Some" was about, was totally mystified by it, and thought the song was terrible. When George asked her what she thought of it she says she said "Wow, you sure took a different approach with that one."

Update (7/17/03)

Here's a quote from Bowie about 'Try Some Buy Some' from the Rolling Stone website:

"At that time," Bowie says, "it was the only single by a solo artist that actually had all four Beatles on it. The Beatles had kind of disbanded, but they all loved Ronnie, and it was George Harrison producing it, so they all crept in and different times to put parts on it. We were pretty true to the original arrangement, but the overall atmosphere is somewhat different. It's a dense piece."

Is it true all the Beatles are on it?! I've never heard that.

Update (7/16/03)

Just a slight correction to Carl Savich's note on Ronnie Spector's "Try Some, Buy Some". George didn't re-record the track for LIVING IN THE MATERIAL WORLD. All he did was record his own vocal onto the Ronnie Spector recording. Instrumentally, George's version and the former Mrs. Spector's are one and the same take.

Update (7/15/03)

George Harrison wrote and co-produced the TRY SOME BUY SOME single by Ronnie Spector, which came out in the summer of 1971. The single was released as a picture sleeve as Apple single 1832. Harrison also co-produced and co-wrote the B-side, TANDOORI CHICKEN with Phil Spector. So Harrison did more than just compose the Ronnie Spector version, he co-produced it as well. Laura Jones wrote that David Bowie was recording the song as a tribute to Ronnie Spector's version, but we have to remember that George Harrison was also an integral part of the 1971 Ronnie Spector version, producing and writing the tune, and releasing it on the Beatles own label, Apple. Ronnie Spector had not released many solo singles. Harrison decided to take a chance with the single. So Harrison is an integral part of the 1971 Ronnie Spector version. By the way, Phil Spector co-produced the version later recorded by Harrison on the LIVING IN THE MATERIAL WORLD LP.

Update (7/12/03)

Just a note about the Bowie cover of Try Some Buy Some. Though it may well be a tribute to George, Bowie has long been known as a fan of that song in particular, specifially Ronnie Spector's version of it.

Update (7/9/03)

Hey, Steve --

This morning (Tuesday), Bowienet (http://wwww.davidbowie.com) just released the track listing for the upcoming Bowie album "Reality" (due out around Sept 15th). One of the tracks (#9 as it happens) which is a cover of "Try Some, Buy Some". I don't know if this is officially Bowie's tribute to the Fab One but I thought it was kind of cool that he's doing it. Most people know Bowie was a good friend of John's (what with the whole "Fame" and "Across the Universe" thing on "Young Americans) and he's still a friend of Yoko's but I don't think I've ever heard him mention George in interviews or Bowienet chats. The other Beatles connection on the album is that it's being co-produced by long time Bowie friend/collaborator, Tony Visconti who produced some things for Apple, was married to both Mary Hopkins and May Pang and (as he's said in his live show) did uncredited work with Paul on the "Band on the Run" album. Will let you know if there is any more info on the track.

Update (6/14/03)

Update (4/8/03) The American Ballet Theater will perform "Within You, Without You: A Tribute to George Harrison" in July in Orange County, Calif., reports the Orange County Register (third paragraph from bottom). (Thanks to Karen Dyson.)

Update (4/2/03)

Update (4/1/03) Proceeds from the sales of the charity single "My Sweet Lord" has finally been received by Macmillan Cancer Relief, reports IC Liverpool. (Thanks to Trini Schultz.)

Update (3/24/03) Olivia Harrison and her former brother-in-law have worked out a tentative agreement in their lawsuit over items allegedly taken by the relative that were owned by the Harrisons, reports the Associated Press. (However, Other reports don't indicate an agreement, but say the parties will notify the judge if one is reached.)

Update (3/8/03) Olivia Harrison says what she misses most about George is his warmth and humor, even while looking death head on, reports IC Liverpool. "The world is a much sadder place for suffering the loss of such a beautiful man," she said, on the occasion of his 60th birthday. "George gave his life to God a long time ago. He wasn't trying to hang on to anything, he had come to terms with it. He said to me 'You know, you can't just start thinking about God at the end of your life, it's not something you just stumble upon, you have to work hard for consciousness and self-realisation'." (Thanks to Trini Schultz.)

Update (3/1/03)

Update (1/31/03)

Update (1/5/03)

Update (12/21/02)

Update (12/12/02)

Gentle Guitar Dreams is listed at CDNOW.com (search for "Gentle Guitar Dreams" for $36.49. I haven't had great luck getting import CDs through CD Now recently, including the new Boy George CD which is out in the UK. It seems like it should be easily available as an import.

Update (12/10/02)

Update (12/7/02) Tom Petty and Ron Sexmith have both paid tribute to George in recent concerts. (Thanks to Karen Dyson.)

Update (12/5/02)

Update (12/1/02)

Did anyone else notice the fuzzy math in the story about George's will? If his estate was worth approximately 99 million pounds, wouldn't that translate to about 175 or 200 million dollars U.S. and not 1.5 billion ? Do these alleged "news" sources ever check their facts and figures? I am NOT the Egghead -Mike Lane

Comment: Yes, good reporters do check the math in their stories. Notice we said good.

Update (11/30/02)

Update II (11/29/02)

Update (11/29/02)

Update (11/26/02)

Update (11/18/02)

TVG: There's a great bit when you sing George Harrison's "Something" on a ukulele that he gave you for Christmas five years ago. Do you ever regret not having written a song with him?

Paul: We were both thinking we'd get around to it. It would have been nice. But I'm not one of regrets. It was good just to have time with George. Heather and I were just remembering when he and his wife Olivia took us from L.A/ to Las Vegas to see the Cirque du Soleil show. And he obviously must have been ill, because it wasn't that long ago. But he seemed great. We all thought he was healthy. And it was just after that that he got a bad diagnosis. He was just going in for some tests [shakes his head]. So we went to see Cirque du Soleil that night. And it was very happy. We had some lovely moments, that being one of the top ones. And when he got ill, we had some lovely moments, too. So I just take what I can get.

Just FYI, this is on the NPR site, so it's probably not necessary to add another link to it, but it's a very moving personal reflection on George's passing: http://discover.npr.org/features/feature.jhtml?wfId=1135445

Also the CBC site on George remains up, it includes multimedia links (still functioning!): http://cbc.ca/news/obit/harrison_george/ Peace, Valerie

Update (11/16/02)

Update (11/8/02) In an Oct. 18 update on this page, we gave you a link to a short audio clip by George at a George Formby convention. Webmaster Dennis Taylor has put up the full clip of George's short performance. (Thanks also to Dennis Bacon.)

Update (11/4/02) From Trini Schultz:

Olivia & Dhani attend the 'British Independent Film Awards' at the Pacha Club, Victoria, in London - Oct. 30, 2002. Incredible how much Dhani looks like his dad...and Olivia looks happy and proud!

http://www.rexfeatures.com/cgi-bin/rppshimg0?i=395390M

http://www.rexfeatures.com/cgi-bin/rppshimg0?i=395388J

http://www.rexfeatures.com/cgi-bin/rppshimg0?i=395388C

http://www.rexfeatures.com/cgi-bin/rppshimg0?i=395388B

http://www.rexfeatures.com/cgi-bin/rppshimg0?i=395388A

Update (10/31/02) DVD Review.com reports a new George Harrison DVD is due out Jan. 28. It'll contain interviews and a CD. (Thanks to Karen Dyson.)

Update (10/26/02)

Update (10/22/02)

Update (10/18/02) George Harrison's love of George Formby music is well-known. At this link, you'll find a clip of George at a George Formby convention. It's very short, but very sweet.

Update (9/10/02) For those of you in New York City, the American Ballet Theater will feature "A Tribute to George Harrison" Oct. 18-20, 22, and 26-27. For more information, see http://www.abt.org/city/works/harrison.html. (Thanks to Amber H.)

Update (9/3/02) The Criterion Collection website has a tribute to George's contributions to film, along with a list of the HandMade Films they sell on DVD. (Thanks to Adam Powell.)

Dhani on the BBC. (Thanks to Alli for the pic.)

Hi Steve,

On the "Anoushka Shankar" programme on BBC 2 tonight, there were several glimpses of Olivia and Dhani. The footage is very recent - taken at The Festival Hall in London. about a couple of weeks ago.

Dhani looks fantastic. His hair is longer -- more in his dad's 'Smothers Brothers' style. His mannerisms are so 'George' -- and he looked even more like his dad if that is at all possible. Olivia looks well too!

x Diane Machin

"I was actually in the air. I was coming back from Thailand. I'd just had a month off, and I got back to England, I put my key in the front door, put my bags in the hallway, put the kettle on, turned on the telly and the newsflash just came at that instant. George Harrison has just passed away, and it was like, 'F---in' hell.' Yeah, it's a shame, isn't it? But they've got to do sometime, haven't they? Cancer's such a wicked and evil f---ing disease that I'm just glad that he's not suffering anymore and I'm glad he's in Hindu heaven."

Steve- Was flipping thru channels last night and came upon the E! interview with Mike Myers by Jules Asner. He was talking about George Harrison. I missed the very beginning - he was talking about a security guy at his door right after George had died. Mike said he was upset about George's death and really didn't want to talk to the guy but he did. The security guy had a letter from George that he had written to Mike a few weeks before his death. He told Mike it was one of the last letters he wrote as he grew too weak at the end. In it he ask if there was a Mini-Me doll and if so could he have one. Mike said he has the letter framed in a very special frame. He said the Beatles meant so much to him and his family growing up as his parents were from Liverpool. He said Liverpool was just a poor working class town and not very cool until the Beatles. He said the Beatles meant everything to his family and to have George, one of his heroes write him this letter when he was so sick was a big honor. Maybe it will be repeated. I didn't put quotes around any of the above as I can't remember his exact words but I think I'm pretty close. I thought it was a pretty cool story.

Thanks,
Barb S

(Thanks also to Trini Schultz.)

Update (7/13/02) In answer to our question about Hello! Magazine, everyone who emailed us confirmed our suspicion that it's a tabloid, so the truth of the report about the sale of Friar Park is questionable. If you notice, no other publication has confirmed it. (Thanks to Evelyn Schwarz, Peter Fitzpatrick and Patricia Fabrizio.)

Update (7/11/02) Britain's Hello! Magazine is reporting that Olivia has decided to sell Friar Park. Hello! says the decision was made after the news of the release of George's attacker. A question to British readers: Is Hello! a tabloid or a reputable source? I'm guessing the former, in which case this story may not be true. (Thanks to Evelyn Schwarz and Kathryn Landis for the link.)

And if you didn't read the Eric Idle tribute to George we linked to last night, we highly recommend it. Have a box of tissues ready.

And last but quite honestly least, VH1 is looking for cast members for a TV special on fans of deceased rock stars.

Update (7/9/02) The text of Eric Idle's really sweet tribute to George at his posthumous induction into the Hollywood Bowl of Fame is up on the Web. Reading it made us misty all over again. (The text indicates Olivia was among those in attendance.) (Thanks to Karen Dyson for the link.)

Update (7/4/02) An Autograph Collector magazine tribute to George. (Thanks to Karen Dyson.)

Update (7/3/02) From Karen Dyson:

Hey, go to the following CREEM Magazine website (you remember that rag, yes?): . http://creemmagazine.com/Pages/BeatGoesOn.html . They currently have the two part Harrison interview from December 1987 and January 1988 issues up along with a new photo or two. Also have an article on McCartney from 1969......check it out!

Also, Karen sent us a note about this Los Angeles Times story about a Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame that included a tribute to George by his Monty Python mate, Eric Idle.

Also, an upcoming release titled "George Harrison: 1943-2001" appears on CD Now's site. There's no description or even label listed, though our guess is that it's an interview album, as is "Maximum George Harrison."

"Seven months after the death of George Harrison, the former Beatle's Seattle home is for sale for $25.8 million, according to the Seattle Times. The home at the Friar Park estate is a former nunnery that was built in 1889. There are 120 rooms in the property, which Harrison bought in 1970, the paper said. The monthly payment on the home with 5 percent down on a 30 year mortgage would be $157,434.47."

Well, we all know Friar Park isn't in Seattle. Second, there has been no other public indication that Friar Park is up for sale. We'll see.

Update (5/24/02)

Update (5/23/02) The New York Post reported Wednesday that Dr. Gil Lederman is now under investigation by the New York State Health Dept. for his public statements about George's final days. Under state law, reports the Post, the "revealing of personally identifiable facts, data, or information obtained in a professional capacity without the prior consent of the patient . . . is defined as misconduct." A Health Department official said doctors are bound by confidentiality regulations even if the patent dies. A Harrison lawyer had no comment on the matter. (Thanks to Ingrid McNamara.)

Update (4/13/02) New York Daily News gossip columnists Rush and Molloy reported that the ""Forces of Nature'' Rainforest Foundation benefit at Carnegie Hall. would have a lot of George Harrison songs in the first half. Elton John, James Taylor, Jeff Beck, Patti LaBelle, Smokey Robinson, Ravi Shankar and Nina Simone were to perform at the benefit, which was dedicated to George Harrison and foundation co-chairman Herman Sandler, who died on Sept. 11.

Along the same vein (and this may not be suitable) here's photos of a ceremony performed for George's departed soul at a Hindu holy shrine in India in January. http://www.scsmath.com/bulletin/memories_02_/020110nabdwip/index_ghrson.html

Steve: I just want to clarify that the Red Nation Celebration 2002 was indeed dedicated to George Harrison (Beatle), contrary to what Update II (3/4/02) says. The confusion may have arisen because the website refers to George as the executive producer of the film "Pow Wow Highway", without mentioning that he is Beatle George. You can check the following site to see George filmography: http://strawberryfields20.tripod.com/home/id21.html (there you will see that Pow Wow Highway was produced by George in 1989). Thank you, Ricardo

You're right, Ricardo. Thanks. We should have looked it up further to begin with.

Also, Karen Dyson has sent a press release indicating that the "Carl Perkins and Friends: A Rockabilly Session" program will be released on DVD April 30. Navarre Corp. has it listed on its website.

And last night, we should have included a link to saki's website, which has links to her more recent writings and her older ones.

Subject: Heading for the Light: George Harrison 1943-2001
Date: 2001/30/11

"Free" time is a relative concept but it may be our biggest available fortune, next to the capacity to love.

My measurable free time is limited by the vagaries and complexities of modern life, something which doubtless affects a few other r.m.b.'ers as well. When I can squeeze time, or steal a spare moment that doesn't quite belong to me, I parcel it out amongst my varied recreational interests...one of which happens to be the Beatles.

"Recreational"...that's a laugh. Anyone who knows me knows that it's far beyond a recreation. Some folks have accused me of purusing it like a religion.

No question, the Fabs (a name coined by George Harrison himself) have been in my mind and being almost thirty-seven now. Perhaps that seems odd. Perhaps it's rare to find a personal passion that's so long-lived.

Possibly it's even more odd to keep these four men in my heart in a place reserved for those dearest to me.

I don't do it deliberately. After all this time, it's natural, like breathing. I hear their songs in my head---seems like I always have---no matter where I go. I can conjur up their faces, their accents, their words and music wherever I happen to be, even in sleep.

Occasionally they come by for a visit in dreams---usually impeccably dressed in their Cardin suits, tonsorially groomed as they were in 1963-1964; polite, funny, irreverent, charming. We have tea and they talk about their music; sometimes I ask John about his writing. Usually that's it; that's enough for dreams.

The night before last I had a vivid dream that George was saying goodbye to me...not bodily but as a presence, with a kind of inexplicable acknowledgment between the two of us. Now why should he care, even his spiritual self? I'm just a fan given to occasional prosodic excesses, with not much else to recommend me other than a love of good compost.

Nevertheless the vision was clear in my dream. Or rather I should say that I couldn't see George himself but I saw metallic and shimmering lights, much like the aurora borealis that I flew through once over the North Pole on my first trip to England. The lights didn't look like George of course but they had his very essence embedded in their visual fabric; somehow I knew this. Still the communique was meta-visual, meta-semantic, beyond any kind of interchange that I can describe.

Like in any religion, there have always mystical things that have happened to me since the Fabs have been part of my life. I've always thought that being at the right age to hear them in their first-state glory is one such inexplicable miracle.

Enlightenment comes via many paths. I wouldn't dare to suggest to someone that "worship"---however one wants to define it---is relegated to established religious avenues. My own interpretation of what the Beatles mean to me might well seem like blasphemy to a more orthodox believer in established faith. So be it; use "appreciation" if that makes more sense. I know the difference between George Harrison and Buddha/Zeus/Amon-Re/Adonai, even if my prose doesn't always show it.

And it won't show today, faced as I am with saying farewell to someone I loved...someone I never met, someone (some might say) I had no right to love, given the distance between us.

But distance can be illusory when something like the Beatles' artistry binds us all together. No one is *not* family at a time like this.

Perhaps you'd say that art merely reflects religious truth, as provided through the grace of one's deity-of-choice. That's fitting. If life is part of a divine plan, then surely it's a holy act to create such art, in which the beauties of the universe may shine forth like the coming of the sun. And surely it's equally a gift to receive such harmonic beatitude---to appreciate the wonders of mankind through a mirror of human effort. If you believe in a God, then you may see God through such a simple thing as a song.

The song isn't God; neither is its composer. You know that; I don't think anyone else in this forum is confused about it either. And surely George knew it too.

I'm reminded of something John Lennon said all those years ago about religion in an interview that's often misread and misunderstood. John commented ironically on the fluidity of divine hysteria, mentioning that Beatlemania seemed more popular than Christianity, and that Christianity would eventually "vanish and shrink". Read his statement closely and you'll see a hint of John's despair that fans seemed to have lost their spiritual focus. That was crosstalk from John's *own* sense of loss at the time---his restless searching for something meaningful in the circus of his circumstance.

George survived this manic maelstrom that affected all the Beatles, thankfully, and his words suggest that he knew what it was all about.

"For the Beatles", George said in "The Beatles Anthology", "our lives were a very heightened version of that: of how to learn about love and hate, and up and down; and good and bad, and loss and gain....Whatever happened is good as long as we've learnt something. It's only bad if we didn't learn: 'Who am I? Where am I going to? Where have I come from?"

Is there any right or proper way to react when we lose someone who will never really leave us?

If I couldn't find my voice, if I couldn't thank George Harrison for the years of joy which have been mine because of his music, I'm sure he'd understand. But if I write these words, do I risk being told that I've make a fool of myself? Perhaps. But it's important to say them now.

I owe these four fellows more than I can express, let alone fathom, and I'll miss George more than I can say. The Fabs' songs have helped me through depths as well as heights. I owe them unbounded reverence. I'm here to celebrate---even to worship, if this comes closest to the truth---in whatever fashion I can manage, the marvelous musical expression of the human soul, and to thank George for all that he's given us.

---- saki@ucla.edu

Also, this from Karen Dyson:

I am emailing you on behalf of the Beatles Story Exhibition in Liverpool. I felt that many of the visitors to your site would like to know about the opening of the George Harrison tribute wall. It would be great if you could feature the announcement below. Also please feel free to pass it on to any other sites/fans.

"In light of the recent tragic death of George Harrison and in response to our visitors' requests for a way to express their personal feelings, The Beatles Story has commissioned a Tribute Wall.

At 11.30am on Monday 25th February 2002 - George's birthday - the Lord Mayor of Liverpool and a number of George's friends from the '60s will make their own personal tributes. From then on , throughout this year, visitors will be free to create tributes in the form of a poem , letter, drawing or any other art form. The tributes will be displayed on the Tribute Wall in the foyer of the exhibition. The Beatles Story is at the Albert Dock, Liverpool, UK. Tel: +44 (0)151 709 1963.

Many thanks,
Jerry Goldman
Goldman Adkins Associates Ltd
Tel: +44 (0)207 608 0004

Jim Capaldi remembers George Harrison

Jim Capaldi is spending vacations in Rio de Janeiro. He is with his wife Ana, who is Brazilian and worked as model in the '70s. The couple came to see Carnaval, which happens locally in the next week. They have an apartment in Ipanema. Yesterday, the ex-Traffic drummer gave an interview to the journalist Bernardo Araújo published in the Brazilian newspaper “O Globo”. Jim Capaldi commented about the song “Anna Julia” on which George Harrison played slide guitar. He also spoke about his long time friendship with Harrison.

“I thought that “Anna Julia” had a Beatles connection. That “ou-ou-ou” (the backing vocals of the song) reminded me of “I Should Have Know Better”. I took the recording to George, he listened and loved it. Then I suggested to him that he record a guitar solo using a slide guitar. Two weeks later, he called me to say he wanted to finish the recording soon. A short time later, George traveled to the United States, where he passed away.” Jim Capaldi remembered his last memories of George Harrison. “I played and composed with him in '95, '96, and at the beginning of '97, when the nodules in his throat appeared. George had an operation to remove them and all of us thought that it was not very serious. Later, when we talked again, he told me it was cancer. After an operaton, he had chemotherapy treatment. We enjoyed being together. George had a great sense of humour. We liked to take care of his garden.

Just like to let you know that a book in Hungarian dedicated to George was published. (See pic at right.) It is called 'George Harrison 1943-2001 - for the memory of the Beatle guitarist'. Written by Szabolcs Benedek. Probably the first book ever written about him in a once communist country :0)

Leave it to the folks at National Lampoon to find some humor in this situation. Check out George in Heaven. As usual with their humor, it's not for everyone. (You'll see John Lennon in there, too.)

(Thanks to raph.)

And for those who want the George Harrison screensavers without waiting through the full presentation, here's a direct link. (Thanks to Peter Fitzpatrick.)

Finally, you can email author Jacques Volcouve, author of the French George book we mentioned yesterday here.

Also, the touring production 'That'll Be The Day' have gotten together with broadcaster and songwriter Mike Read to record a tribute to George Harrison. (Thanks to Neil Laney and Karen Dyson.)

"George Harrison 1943-2001: A Photographic Tribute" with works by Harry Benson, William Coupon, Barry Feinstein, Astrid Kirchherr, Gered Mankowitz, Linda McCartney, Max Scheler, Mark Seliger, Jurgen Vollmer, Robert Whitaker and Bron Wolman will take place at the Govinda Gallery, 1227 34th Street, NW, Washington, DC from February 1 through March 2. Phone: (202) 625-0440. Website: http://www.govindagallery.com The exhibition is dedicated to Olivia and Dhani.

(Thanks to Karen Dyson, Frank C. Branchini and Antneejosef.)

Update (1/19/02) Plans for a permanent tribute to George in Henley-on-Thames, his home town, are being changed, reports the Henley Standard. A new plan for flower beds on Gravel Hill, located near Friar Park, have been proposed by deputy mayor David Walden. It was decided that the previous plan for a grove of trees wasn't located close enough to the town. The matter has been referred to Henley's planning and resources committee for further discussion.

A radio station in Australia recently aired a three-hour tribute to George. The show includes both released tracks and rarities. You can find a link to the whole show (for a short time) and excerpts at this link.

(Thanks to Maria Cecilia Marino.)

Hi Steve, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum publication, LINERNOTES, Winter 2002 edition, has a wonderful photograph of George on the cover. The caption is: "George Harrison 1943-2001." The photography credits are listed as:"George Harrison, MBE, by William Coupon, courtesy of CouponCo Worldwide, Inc." The picture looks fairly recent. His hands are folded as if in prayer although he is gazing ahead. Inside the magagine is a similar pose. His eyes are downcast and he really looks like he is praying. Pages 12-14 include a brief article on Harrison's career, which ends by saying that he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Beatles in 1988. There is an informative article about George Martin on pages 19-21 with questions and answers taken from his appearance at the famous Cleveland landmark on September 26, 2001. About George, he says,"George was a brilliant guitar player and was terribly interested in other instruments. When George worked away on his tracks, he was like a guy making an Indian carpet. He would be very, very careful that each stitch was brilliantly done, no matter how long it took." Two of the news articles feature information about the Lennon Tribute concert at Radio City and Macca's Concert for New York City held at Madison Square Garden. This is a special magazine that I will keep. Thanks for all the great work you are doing

Gabor from Hungary, who made the wonderful George Harrison Winamp skins, has now created an "All Things Must Pass" screensaver. You can download it from his website.

(Thanks to Gabor.)

Update (1/17/02) Here's a better link to the NY Daily News article we listed last night: http://www.nydailynews.com/2002-01-15/News_and_Views/Daily_Dish/a-138264.asp?last6days=1. (Thanks to Peter Frame.)

"My Sweet Lord 2000" begins playing, the background to the single cover appears, and the lotus slowly appears, starting off small, to full size. The picture is moving as if it were water, as the lotus floats. Then "George Harrison" appears across the top, and then "My Sweet Lord" appears across the bottom a few seconds later....really lovely....

The re-released "My Sweet Lord" is selling so well it should reach No. 1 next week, reports Ananova, NME.com and Reuters.

And here's a factoid: In its weekly report of the most popular Internet search topics compiled Dec. 1 , only two days after George passed away, the Lycos 50 ranked searches for "George Harrison" 19th for the week. (The Beatles were #43.) In the following week's report, he had dropped to #24. However, the Beatles had risen to #36.

A judge last Friday barred George's former brother-in-law from selling items of George's in his possesion, reports AP. Columnists Rush and Molloy, in the New York Daily News, said the man was caught in an FBI sting operation. They described the items as George's clothing, credit card receipts, guitar picks, rare Beatles singles and thousands of photos of George with friends. The man insists George gave him the materials.

(Thanks to Patti Murawski, Karen Dyson.)

From Art Cimiluca:

Steve,
I just wanted to let you know that I attended Billy Joel & Elton John "Face to Face 2000 Tour" kick-off at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C. last night, Sunday, January 13th. It was fantastic. They played for at least 3 and a half hours. They started out with 3 duets, then an Elton John solo set, followed by a Billy Joel solo set. Elton John performed three new songs, including "I Want Love" which sounds extremely Lennonesque. They finished with a few more duets, including "Here Comes the Sun" as a very nice tribute to George Harrison. Elton said he heard George play that song "all night long" may years ago. The encores were "Candle in the Wind" and "Piano Man". Elton John was pretty quiet, but Joel was very animated and funny. He did what seemed to be an irreverent, impromptu tribute to Elvis, singing "Don't Be Cruel" including the pelvis movements and mock pill popping. Anyone who doubts the ability of the aging rockers needs to check these guys out.

From Ken Michaels:

Hi Steve,
This past Saturday night (Jan. 12) Marshall Crenshaw gave two free concerts at the Mohegan Sun (gambling resort) in Uncasville, CT. At both shows he and his band paid tribute to George. He kicked off the first concert at 8pm with the 3 Harrison songs from Revolver---"Love You To" (no sitarist in the band-the lead guitarist copied the sitar lines), followed by "I Want To Tell You" and "Taxman". Marshall lead off his second concert at 10pm. with "I'm Only Sleeping", which he said he always associated with George because of his backwards guitar part, and he closed the concert with "Taxman", telling the crowd "Remember George". Very cool.
Take Care,
Ken Michaels

From Peter Degan:

Here in New York City, "NewLife", a free NewAge publication available on street corner vending machines has Harrison on its January/February cover. Its a Peter Max redo of the White Album photo of Harrison done in a Andy Warhol-type style. It has a centerfold pullout "gift" from Max with a little more color than the cover..... PEDEGAN

From Joyce Marie Oleivera:

Check out the latest issue of Goldmine for George Harrison on the cover and lots of George articles inside. Everything from a complete discography to a few sweet and exciting fan stories. Says "Paul McCartney" on the cover, too. Didn't get a chance to check out what's in it about Paul yet. I'm sorry, but I don't have it with me here, so I don't know the exact issue.
All The Best,
Joyce

Here's a pic of a George tribute guitar.

And for those who asked, we're trying to get a better link for the archive site we mentioned last night.

(Thanks to Karen Dyson, Joyce Marie Oleivera, Robert Ceisler, Ken Michaels, Dale Harley, Peter Degan.)

The Times of London reported that, before his death, George pledged $1 million to build a temple near the River Ganges. (You'll need to register to see the article.)

Sunday's Nancy comic strip was devoted to George. It's a touching strip in which a female fan play George's music and mourns his loss. Nancy asks, "How come you're crying?", then names some of his song titles and says, "I think he wants us to be happy." The answer in the final panel, "You're right, honey. That's how his music made me feel and how it always will." An image of George was also in it. Nice.

For anyone who liked the recent Time magazine cover, A&E used an alternate of that pic in an ad with the headline, "We gently weep." From bamiyan:

I'm the webmaster of Beatles On Video, a chronological guide of every unreleased recording and TV, video or movie appearance by the Fabs, from 1957 to 2002. I've posted captures of the GH special that was broadcast earlier this week on French/German TV channel Arte. Apart from interview clips ('77, '85, '87, '88, '91 and '00), it featured blink-and-you'll-miss-them shots of the Beatles in Rishikesh (some clips that I'd never seen, reportedly from Donovan's own collection), colour footage of George at EMI in Bombay (10 Jan 1968, previously available in b&w only), and extremely brief excerpts of what appears to be footage shot during both the "Ding Dong" and "This Is Love" promos. Here's the link, if you want to share it with your visitors http://www.multimania.com/beatlesonvideo/8902/020108.htm.

All the best.
The Beatles Archives
http://mapage.noos.fr/beatlesarchives/index.htm
Beatles On Video
http://mapage.noos.fr/beatlesarchives/video.htm
Webmaster
bamiyan@noos.fr

(Thanks to bamiyan, Kuwabara, Joe Caldwell and Patti Murawski.)

Musical duo Anderson and Crocker have recorded a tribute to George called "It's Alright." As Neal told us in an email, "My buddy Terry Crocker and I wrote a song in tribute to George, a great influence on our lives (just ask our wives who put up with all the guitars and late nights) .... I hope it might be passed along to family and considered as a gift." The song can be found on mp3.com. (Scroll down to the song.)

The latest issue of Discoveries has George on the cover.

The German/French TV station Arte produced a tribute to George as part of their music show "Music Planet". It was aired a few days ago and lasted for 1 hour, featuring new interviews of Tony Sheridan, Donovan and Michael Palin, as well as interventions by several german specialists and brief reactions by Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam, Simply red's singer, Lulu, Sting and Nathalie Imbruglia. Also shown : extracts of the Bangla Desh concert and of the following video clips : Something, Ding Dong Ding Dong, Crackerbox Palace, True love, This Song, Blown away, This is love, Got my mind set on you, When we was fab, Handle with care, Inside out, plus most of the EMI EPK which promoted the "All Things must pass" rerelease. Many George interviews were used, some we are very familiar with (circa "Cloud Nine" era) some older and lesser known (at least by me).

(Thanks to Neil Anderson, Jack C., Jeff Jacomowitz and Leonard Haddad.)

From Carl Savich:

Luther Vandross performed a remarkable tribute to George Harrison and Aaliyah at Dick Clark's 29th AMA awards on ABC on January 9. Vandross performed "Something" and "My Sweet Lord" while a photo of Harrison was flashed on the screen. He changed the lyrics to "Something" as a tribute to Aaliyah: "Something in the way she moved me". He vocalised Harrison's famous guitar part in an amazing and show stopping performance. Vandross performed "My Sweet Lord" as an explicit tribute to Harrison: "He said he really wanted to see you..." To me, this was the highlight of the show. These tributes were lacking with regard to John Lennon. The George Harrison/Aaliyah tribute was the highlight of an otherwise lackluster and boring show.

We'd mentioned previously that Michael Steele of the Bangles had a statement online about George. Now, Vicky and Debbi Peterson have added statements of their own on the group's website.

And the George Formby Fan Club also has a tribute to George, which, we were told in an email, we "must include this if you're going to be thorough." It's a very nice essay that explores the links between George, the Beatles and Formby.

(Thanks to Hofner and slf.)

And wrestler Bret Hart mentions the loss of George Harrison in his weekly column in the Calgary Sun.

(Thanks to Jack C., Pablo and Karen Dyson.)

And there will be a tribute to George at Wednesday's "American Music Awards" show, airing in the U.S. on ABC.

(Thanks to Karen Dyson.)

And there's a pic of George and Bob Dylan together at the Dylan site the Bringing It All Back Homepage.

(Thanks to Patti Murawski, Bill Cermak.)

The Rolling Stone story from the most recent issue is on their website.

Frank Allen of the Searchers (one of our favorite groups outside of the Fabs) has a nice little tribute to George on his website.

(Thanks to Jody Denberg, David Harper, Karen Dyson, sage.)

(Thanks to Gabor Peterdi.)

Dear Friends,

I was in Canada when I heard of the passing on of my personal friend and a friend of the world, George Harrison. George was a very spritual being and he and I had many special moments together. We traveled together in Europe, England and America and sometimes would sit in the wee hours of the morning shooting the breeze and discussing the meaning of life. George was fully aware of our transient existence as human beings and frequently talked about how important it was to be aware of our mortality because by becoming aware of we we would make sure that we paid attention to things in life that were really important. Several years ago I shared the following poem by Tagore with George in England. It talks very beautifully about how the awareness of death can set us free:

I know the day will come

When my sight of this world shall be lost.

Life will take its leave in silence

Drawing the last curtain before my eyes.

Yet stars will still shine at night.

And mornings rise as before.

And hours will still leave like sea waves.

Casting up pleasures and pains.

When I think of this end of my moments

The barrier of the moment breaks,

And I see by the light of death

Your world with its careless treasures.

Rare is its lowliest seat.

Things that I have longed for in vain,

And things that I got -- let them pass.

Let me but truly possess

The things that I ever spurned and overlooked.

-- Rabindranath Tagore, 1913

When I did my book, "Ageless Body Timeless Mind," George Harrison contributed and sang the lyrics to the audio version. This collaboration is one of the most valuable experiences of my life. Having recently spoken with George's family, I am able to say with certainty that he died fully conscious of God, fearless of death and in total peace. We wish George happy trails on his onward journey and thank God for the gift that was bestowed upon humanity in the incarnation of George Harrison.

All my love,
Deepak

The Gengras Planetarium, 950 Trout Brook Drive, West Hartford, CT 06119, is featuring a Laser Beatles Anthology: A Tribute to George Harrison through Jan. 5. For more information, http://www.sciencecenterct.org/Gengras/gengrashome.htm.

From Pablo:

Last Saturday 29, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in a gig for more than 4.000 people, solo artist Luis Alberto Spinetta played just accompanied by his acoustic guitar a version of "Don't Bother Me" dedicated to George, who left, he said, "a musical seed". Spinetta started his recording career in the late sixties very influenced by The Beatles. Later on the show he also played with some of his musicians "Good night". And Brian Wilson during a interview with scotsman.com dated December 28th (http://www.arts.scotsman.com/headlines_specific.cfm?id=4831) to promote his shows in the UK, started playing at the piano "My sweet Lord" as a tribute to George. -Pablo

Happy new year! George is on the cover of the january issue of french mag "Guitarist". As the name implies the mag is for guitar players but is sure to be of interest to any George or beatle fan. The article is the longest I have seen on George so far (30 pages!!) among all the tributes, though I have not been able to get "Rolling Stone" yet.There is also a special section of sheet music (10 pages)PLUS a feature on George's sound (the effects he used,how, which amps...).It is very complete and I can assure you that I have nothing to do with the paper(!). The cover is a picture of George circa 1988. Their web site is guitarist.fr and must be in french though I didn't check it.It might have an English version as many French sites do.

Jean Garello

I just checked the web site of the mag and it has not been updated yet.They are still covering issue 139 and George's issue is 142... so no need for the moment to visit the site. I'll tell you if it's updated later so you can get the article on line. In the meantime, those of you interested in getting a copy I think should either phone or write an email (you'll find the address on their home page).Their phone number is 01 46 03 15 51 (France). Their address is: S.A.R.L Master Press International 10 rue de la paix 92100 Boulogne Billancourt France

I purchased a mag called "Discoveries" when I was in Texas over the holidays. I have never seen it in VA. Anyway, it seems to be a mag for people who buy,sell, trade old records &cds. Nice little tribute with writer's list of favorite George songs.

(Thanks to Karen Dyson and Beetulz.)

(Thanks to Neil Laney, Karen Dyson.)

"We are all deeply saddened by the death of George Harrison. As someone who shaped our musical and cultural history, his influence cannot be overestimated. As a musician and humanitarian, he helped change our world. He was truly inspirational. We are proud to have known him."

(Thanks to Adam Powell.)

(Thanks to Neil Laney, Steve Dirkx and Raph.)

CNN has listed George's passing as the #2 entertainment story of the year and has created a full section on George on their website.

(Thanks to Kelly Kuwabara, Adam Powell.)

Here's a group of links we came across. We'd especially appreciate audio links that we haven't listed already, especially vintage interviews.

You probably already know this but the BBC "George Harrison: All Things Must Pass" has been rescheduled at the request of Olivia and Dhani. saying it was too soon.

More on this from Richard Sinclair:

The BBC programme George Harrison: All Things Must Pass, scheduled for 22.35 GMT tonight (27th December), has been postponed. I had no idea (other than the fact that my dad seemed to have difficulty finding it in the TV listings in today's paper even though it was in my copy of the Radio Times) until a message just before the programme was due to start, saying words to the effect that George's family and friends were keen to contribute to any BBC tribute programme, and so requested that it not be shown just yet. I am really pleased that the Beeb listened to the family and respected their wishes. Christmas must be an extremely difficult time for them and I doubt a tribute on national TV, no matter how undoubtedly well intentioned, would help at the moment. Richard Sinclair

And from author Keith Badman:

I've not checked your site yet but George's BBC1 tribute (last night) was not shown, as I anticipated. The programme was (mostly) off and on for weeks and an airing was not even guaranteed a week ago. Olivia and Dhani (quite rightly) felt that the show was too soon after George's death. The BBC have re-arranged the show for "sometime next year". If I get any more news, I'll be in touch. In the meantime, keep up the good work and here's to a prosperous 2002!

For those looking for interviews, there are three George-related ones on WZLX's (in Boston) web page, including one with Spike Wilbury (as he calls himself in the interview), plus another with Ringo further down the page. One of the George-related ones is with Brad Delp of Boston, who also plays in a Beatle tribute band.

We know we've mentioned the TV Guide piece, but Jeff Jacomowitz has added the links, so it's worth repeating:

You probably know this already, but George is on the cover of this week's TV Guide in the 2001 tribute of those who passed away. The great Anthony De Curtis has authored the piece. Happy Christmas and Merry New Year, Steve. Best, Jeff

Thanks for sending the links, Jeff.

And columnist Al Aronowitz has some columns for the New Year remembering his friend, George Harrison.

(Thanks to Jeff Jacomowitz, Karen Dyson, Richard Sinclair, Neil Laney.)

Also, the Jackie Lomax website has a tribute to George.

From John S. Damm:

Merry Christmas Steve and family!

George is on the cover of the new Rolling Stone(the regular version of the magazine). It is from the poster of him from the "White Album." There are remembrances from Tom Petty(really good!), Mick Jagger, Paul Simon and others. These are longer than previously published. This was the subject of a thread on the Message Board but R.S. is really making up for its lack of coverage of The Anthology in the late nineties. R.S. also reports it is releasing a hardback book about George this Spring! Happy New Year's.

Sincerely,
John S. Damm

(Thanks to Laura Theobald, John S. Damm, slf.)

The description of the new My Sweet Lord single cover sounds remarkably similar to some desktop wallpaper that could be downloaded from the 'All Things Must Pass' website. I've attached a small thumbnail of it. (See left.)

Discussing George's death, Motorhead's Lemmy tole on NME.com "He was the best musician in The Beatles and in the end he wrote the best songs. While Lennon and McCartney were off doing their personal columns, Harrison was coming out with great stuff."

Also a tribute from the Gretsch guitar site to George is here.

(Thanks to Adam Powell, Pablo, Chris Kelly.)

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