George Harrison was born on February 25, 1943. His parents, Harry and Louise, had four children in all, of which he was the youngest. He had two older brothers, Harold, Jr. and Peter, and Louise, a sister.
Harry drove a bus in Liverpool, and though he earned little, he made sure his family had plenty to eat.
George started school at Dovedale Primary, the same school as John Lennon. He went on the Liverpool Institute in 1954, where he was put in the form below Paul McCartney.
George did not do well in school. Though he was perceptive, with a great memory, he hated school and was indifferent to the work and lessons in school.
He admired older boys, called Teddy Boys, who dressed in bright colored shirts and tapered trousers called "drainpipes." He wore an elaborate Teddy Boy hairstyle, with his hair piled high on top of his head.
He also heard Lonnie Donegan, the banjoist and guitarist who ushered in the skiffle craze that hit Britain. He began to draw pictures of guitars on every piece of paper he could find. Then he asked Louise for three pounds to buy a guitar from a boy at school. She gave him the money, and George had his first guitar. He and his brother Peter even started a skiffle group called the Rebels, which played one gig before disbanding.
George met Paul McCartney on the bus into Liverpool one morning before school. They became friends because of their love of guitars. George's mother helped him buy a new guitar for thirty pounds. He payed her back by taking a job with a butcher.
Paul introduced George to the John Lennon's Quarry Men late in 1957. George played "Raunchy" for John, who was impressed, but he was never asked to join the band. George tenaciously followed them around with his guitar, showing them new chords he had mastered. If another guitarist didn't show up for a gig, George was allowed to sit in. Eventually he wormed his way in.
When the group that was now known as the Beatles went to Hamburg, Germany, to play in a club there, George was only seventeen. He lied about his age, saying he was eighteen, so he could stay in Germany and keeping playing with the band. However, he age was eventually discovered, and he was deported. The Beatles made do without him briefly before Paul and Pete Best, the drummer, were deported for supposedly trying to burn down the club where they were working. The rest of the band followed.
The Beatles returned to Hamburg after George's birthday. When they came back to Liverpool, they were soon discovered by Brian Epstein, who agreed to manage them.
After the Beatles released their number one single, "Please Please Me," John and Paul began to turn out song after song. George himself had never really considered songwriting. Stimulated by their efforts, he began to write his own songs. His songs first started to show up on the Beatles' second album, With the Beatles. The Lennon-McCartney output was so great, however, that George was only allowed about one song per album.
In 1964, during the filming of A Hard Day's Night, George met Patti Boyd, an actress and model who had a small part early in the movie. Since Patti later married Eric Clapton, she has had come of the best rock and roll songs of all time written about her.
By 1966, George was unhappy. He hated touring, and it seemed the other Beatles slighted him. Even he had proven himself an invaluable member of the band, he still felt like a kid tagging along with adults. The screaming fans began to irritate him. For one who valued his privacy like George, Beatlemania was a constant annoyance.
During the filming of Help! George began to be interested in the sitar, an Indian stringed instrument. He heard a record by Ravi Shankar, an Indian musician. Intrigued, George bought a sitar and began to teach himself to play. When something was needed for "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)," George brought out the sitar, figured out the tune, and suddenly, the song sounded right. Finally, he felt like he was making a contribution.
In 1966, George met Ravi Shankar at a dinner party. Before long, he was studying under Shankar. He even travelled with Patti to India for two months of private sitar instruction. He was also interested in Indian culture and religion. Searching for enlightenment and peace, he started taking LSD and reading books about yoga and meditation. His songs, such as "Within You, Without You" and "The Inner Light" reflected his newfound interest.
In August of 1967, Patti Harrison told George that Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, an Indian holy man, would be giving a lecture in London. She made him convince the other Beatles to attend, which they did. The Maharishi invited them on a ten day conference of spiritual regeneration. They accepted the invitation, though Brian Epstein did not go with them. Instead, he died of a drug overdose.
In February of 1968, the Beatles flew to India to take up their religious studies under the Maharishi. Ringo left after only ten days, and Paul had had enough after nine weeks. George and John followed them after eleven weeks.
It was after this, during the recording of the White Album, that George suddenly began to produce more and better songs. He had four songs on the double album, including "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," the mournful rocker with Eric Clapton as guest guitarist.
For Abbey Road, George produced his best songs yet: "Here Comes the Sun" and "Something."
After the Beatles broke up, George produced a triple album called All Things Must Pass. It is considered by many to be his best work.
George also became involved with some causes. He organized a concert in 1971 as a benefit to Bangladesh that included Bob Dylan, Ringo, Ravi Shankar, and Eric Clapton.
After the Beatles, George was part of the Traveling Wilburys, a group with surprisingly little publicity considering the members: George, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan, and Tom Petty.
There was also a love triangle that developed between George, Patti, and Eric Clapton. Patti started flirting with Eric and eventually fell in love. She left George for him, though she ended up leaving Eric seven years later.
Besides releasing several hit albums, George also did some work in his other hobby, movies. He started a movie company, Handmade Films, and has executive produced several. He even contributed songs and music to the soundtracks. My personal favorite movie he executive produced was Time Bandits.
George got happily remarried to Olivia Trinidad Arias. They had one son, Dhani Harrison.
George Harrison died of cancer in 2001. He will be missed.
Here is a list of George's albums: