Happy Birthday George - A True Rock And Roll Legend

Even though he was the youngest of The Beatles, today (February 25th) would have been George Harrison's 67th birthday. While he was regarded as "the quiet Beatle", George had a wonderful sense of humor and contributed greatly to the best rock and roll band of all time.

It would be difficult to imagine the Beatles' canon without songs like "Here Comes The Sun", "Taxman", or "While My Guitar Gently Weeps". Here is an acoustic rendition that George recorded right around this time in 1968. It has a somewhat haunting quality that is reminiscent of Elvis' version of "Blue Moon". Be sure to listen for the extra verse.



George recorded solo music before the Beatles disbanded. However, he didn't have his first big hit until "My Sweet Lord" was released at the end of 1970.

He had a few more hits, but as the years passed his popularity (with a few exceptions) waned. Then, in 1987 he collaborated with Jeff Lynne of ELO and released the album Cloud Nine. "Got My Mind Set On You" went to #1 in the US. It was played in heavy rotation on MTV along with "When We Was Fab". A nice retrospective that captured the feel of the Fab Four days.



The following year saw Harrison team up with other rock and roll legends Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne and Roy Orbison as The Traveling Wilburys. The album was well-received by fans and critics alike.

In his later years, George was quite reclusive. This was due in large part to the heinous murder of John Lennon. As it turned out, his fear was not completely unwarranted. In December of 1999 an intruder stabbed Harrison seven times. Luckily, his wife was able to fend off the attack and George survived.

He died of cancer on November 29, 2001 His final album, Brainwashed, was released in November of 2002; just shy of the one year anniversary of his death. "Stuck Inside A Cloud" was from that album.



We still miss you, George. Perhaps you gave us the best perspective with another one of your songs from all those years ago...