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Author Topic: George's contribution to the Beatles  (Read 1682 times)

Keri

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George's contribution to the Beatles
« on: February 15, 2014, 10:02:44 pm »

I'd be interested to know what people thought of George's contribution to the Beatles, the more I think about the more I suspect that it was pretty important.

John and Paul were very talented songwriters and singers and probably justly get most of the attention. I read a quote of John's talking about how he and Paul had huge egos:

"I wouldn't have minded being George, the invisible man, and learning what he learned. Maybe it was hard for him sometimes, because Paul and I are such egomaniacs, but that's the game." John Lennon Remembers

The band probably wouldn't have fitted any more large egos, but it was probably important for the Beatles that the egomaniacs were predominantly songwriters, which meant the emphasis was always on the song, and one of the distinguishing features of both Ringo & George's playing is that they play to the song. George strikes me very much as a craftsman, that he is a musical problem solver that his playing is never about showing off but always about getting the job done and delivering what the song needs and no more or less.

George developed by the end of the Beatles career into an excellent song writer and his solo on Something is one of the most beautiful guitar solos I know in popular music. He went on to create a solo career that has grown on me over the years and still is.

But I suspect George provided a lot of the glue and it would have been hard for any guitarist in a band where the two strong minded writers and singers also played guitar, again I think George was probably the ideal person to be able to handle that.

George didn't blow his own trumpet, Tom Petty said he never hired a publicist, he wrote "It don't come easy" with Ringo and didn't take credit for it. So he wouldn't do interviews where he said actually i wrote this part & I contributed that . When he met John, John didn't know guitar chords and so he taught him. I suspect George had the right character to be able to do that. One of the things that really came through to me watching Scorcese's documentary on George was just what a solid character he was and what a gift of friendship he had, even George Martin who I don't think was the greatest admirer of Harrison, said this of him:

"George always had a very pragmatic streak. He never let the so-called glamour of show-business seduce him. He always saw through phoney people very quickly. He was the practical one, the one who could mend the amplifier or change the fuse. And he is one of the most generous people I know. If you were a friend of George in need, he would reach into his pocket and give you his last penny. Equally, if it were a matter of principle, he would defend you to the last. If ever I were in trouble, George Harrison is the kind of person I would like to be able to turn to. "

He has been called the invisible vocalist as his voice fits right into their harmonies, you hardly notice it but without it they're missing something.

It was great George going solo because you could finally see his qualities. His intense craftsmanship, his playing that always supports the song, the sincerity of his song writing.

There's a nice couple of videos on George's playing, with this article:

http://www.musicradar.com/tuition/guitars/how-to-play-guitar-like-george-harrison-exclusive-video-lessons-423445/

I'd love to hear other people's thoughts. As for influences I know Chet Atkins (I haven't listened to him any fans of his. I know Steve Howe was also a fan of his) and Carl Perkins were big for George and George bought a mix of rockabilly and country to the Beatles.
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Keri

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Re: George's contribution to the Beatles
« Reply #1 on: February 16, 2014, 04:09:30 pm »

Just thought I'd share this Bob Dylan quote on George from late 2001, you may have all seen it before but its worth repeating:

"He was a giant, a great, great soul, with all of the humanity, all of the wit and humor, all of the wisdom, the spirituality, the common sense of a man and compassion for people. He inspired love and had the strength of a hundred men. He was like the sun, the flowers and the moon, and we will miss him enormously. The world is a profoundly emptier place without him."

I got this from here, this page has more on Dylan and Harrison:

http://www.examiner.com/article/bob-dylan-and-george-harrison-through-the-years
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Re: George's contribution to the Beatles
« Reply #2 on: February 17, 2014, 01:18:17 am »

I think George is  just as important to the Beatles as every other member. As a whole they had something very special going on. Paul and John got all the glory I suppose, since they were more upfront and wrote the majority of the songs. But George was a great songwriter, singer, musician in is own right. It's telling that none of them individually had the same impact as the group did. The collaboration was just too important to the overall final product. Also, those were beautiful words by Dylan, and I'm sure he meant every word...but George wasn't the most faithful guy. There were lots of women. That by itself doesn't make him a bad person, but it does kind of drop him from the sainthood list.
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Keri

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Re: George's contribution to the Beatles
« Reply #3 on: February 17, 2014, 01:54:10 am »

Yeah I think that's right with the Beatles more than any other group i can think of there was an amazing chemistry between them and each of them added something that made their records special, I think it is good to focus on George partly because You're right about Paul and John getting most of the glory that's partly why i want to focus on George, but also because George didn't blow his own trumpet so he doesn't push his virtues at you, you have to look for them. Also both his singing and his playing are understated like the man himself, they hit the spot though.

Yes, I think Harrison's fascination for women was definitely a weakness (a pretty common one for rock stars), it must have been hard for Olivia & Pattie, that is alluded to in Scorcese's doco, but I think Harrison and Olivia were very close and he thought a lot of her, after all they saved one another's lives. I'm not saying George was a saint, but he very definitely had a gift of friendship a lot of people felt the way Dylan did about George. George built a lot of lasting relationships it's a bit sad that there seems to have been something of a falling out with both John and Paul, but it's touching that Paul did see him when he was dying and there was real feeling between them.

Another thing about Dylan and the Beatles was that it was George that was the fan and got John to listen to him, so the Dylan strain got injected into the Beatles through George and expressed by John, of course it was through George that the India influence came, that was much more obvious.

« Last Edit: February 17, 2014, 03:01:04 am by Keri »
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Keri

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Re: George's contribution to the Beatles
« Reply #4 on: February 22, 2014, 01:58:50 am »

I just got a couple of Chet Atkins albums. It's nice to see where some of that Harrison influence comes from, it's like a few things come into focus for me, shows me a little more where George was coming from.

Anyone else listened to Atkins? What do you think of him?
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