Obituaries: George Harrison 1943 - 2001

And now there are two; only Paul and Ringo remain. There is no longer any question about a Beatles reunion for there is no longer a quorum. There’s only a couple of guys named Paul and Ringo who used to play in the same band that just happened to be the most important group from the rock era. Not that a reunion was even possible, mind you. As George himself once remarked, there could be no reunion as long as John Lennon remained dead.

On the morning after George Harrison died, I found myself quietly crying as I watched a mini-biography on the Today show. This surprised me, because I’d been reading for weeks that he was succumbing to brain cancer and thought that I would be prepared for this inevitability. Besides, I didn’t remember that I’d ever felt any particular closeness to George. It was John who’d commanded center stage, both before and after his death. George, especially in recent years, had been... well, quiet.

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Slowly I began to realize that I wasn’t only crying over the loss of this person. Mostly, I was crying for myself, for something very precious which I’d lost long ago. I’m sure that it was the same for many people from my generation. The scenes and commentary on the television evoked memories of my own youth, when I was relatively innocent and believed that &#147with our love, with our love, we could save the world.&#148

At the same time, I began to flash back to the period, shortly after the Beatles broke-up, when George’s solo career was important and vibrant. This was the time of the triple album set, All Things Must Pass, and the movie and boxed set for The Concert For Bangladesh, a time when it was becoming evident that George’s interest in eastern mysticism set him apart from the other Beatles and that there had been more to the band than the well publicized creative forces of Lennon/McCartney.

In retrospect, George Harrison was a much bigger influence on the persona of the post transitional Beatles than anyone, including Harrison, realized as long as the band was still together. During the late sixties, beginning with Sgt. Pepper and their sojourn to India (which had been Harrison’s idea), the group became sort of the unofficial ambassadors to hippiedom, making the message of &#147we are all one&#148 palatable to middle class sensibilities. I dare say that without Harrison’s presence, the band would never have been able to fulfill this role.

Just how important Harrison’s place within the group dynamics of the fab four was becomes obvious if we picture the Beatles as a body, and place each of the four members into the chakras, or energy centers, that they represented within the group. In this sense, Paul McCartney occupied the root chakra, not only by virtue of playing bass but because of his strong connection with the status quo (after all, Sir Paul is about as status quo as it gets). Ringo, as drummer and the band’s &#147everyman&#148 sensibility, would occupy the second chakra, supplying the group with its libido and driving force. John, as mouthpiece and intellect, would be the throat and third eye for the group. This left Harrison as the group’s heart and will center.

And so it was Harrison, with his abiding devotion to spirituality and his willingness to experiment with musical forms and instruments from different cultures, that ended-up influencing the very essence that was the Beatles. Even though he was often overshadowed by the song writing team of Lennon/McCartney, it’s possible that they would never have penned &#147Fool On The Hill,&#148 &#147I Am The Walrus,&#148 &#147All You Need Is Love&#148 or &#147Hey Jude&#148 if they hadn’t been under Harrison’s spell. Certainly they wouldn’t have had the credentials to become hippiedom’s ambassadors to the straight world.

This unassuming &#147quiet&#148 Beatle, who spent the second half of his life lamenting being forever associated as an ex-Beatle, brought many innovations to our world. He was one of the first to make the west aware of the wealth of spiritual knowledge to be found in the east. It was he who introduced the sitar and traditional Indian musical forms to the rock genre, inventing &#147international music&#148 in the process with &#147Within You Without You.&#148 He was the first to use the rock concert venue to raise money for worthwhile causes, paving the way for the likes of &#147Farm Aid,&#148 &#147Live Aid&#148 and the &#147No Nukes&#148 concerts.

Now he is gone, and an important part of the lives of the baby boomer generation has left with him. There is a richness from our past that’s been taken away, never again to return. It’s okay though. As Harrison himself would say, &#147All things must pass.&#148

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