The last year of George Harrison's life: album, singles, interviews

Despite his fame as a "the quietest and most chaste Beatle ever."name George Harrison has never escaped the notice of fans and critics. Largely because his influence and role in the band was as significant as McCartney's and Lennon's, who always dominated the "foreground". After all - it was he who wrote "While My Guitar Gently Weeps."one of the most famous songs of the Magnificent Four! And many young guitarists admit that Harrison's approach serves as a vector for their own creativity.

Then there was break-up of The Beatles - a very expected phenomenon, because rare bands continue to exist for more than 10 years - and a rather bright solo career, filled with collaborations and worthy singles. And then... then came a black streak: since 1997 the musician fought with cancer, survived the attack of a crazy fan, but he never stopped creating... We offer to make together a small, but definitely fascinating excursion into the world of music. the last year of his life!

Recent Friendly Collaborations

The year 2000 ended on a rather high note for George Harrison, who had been through a lot in the previous years. However, despite the rapid deteriorating condition and realisation of what was happening, the ex-Beatle continued to ride the wave of inspiration. As if eager to share his enthusiasm with the world, he gave a a big Billboard interview - the last one is so frank and optimistic:

"I have very big plans for the coming year! I plan to remaster some of the albums in my catalogue, as well as songs recorded as part of The Traveling Wilburys. I hate to predict things, but the next new album will probably be out by November next year! It's not the end - I'm not going to stop. It's going to be one of many albums..."

At the same time, George continued to collaborate with other artists who over the years have managed to become his "musical family.". Prime examples are the double disc "Double Bill." Bill Wyman and his band Rhythm Kings, as well as. "Zoom." Electric Light Orchestra band, where we can hear George playing slide guitar.

Last album

"Brainwashed."The album that Harrison praised in his Billboard interview in December 2000 was his last. It was released posthumously, in November 2002. But what is most interesting is that it took Harrison a total of almost 15 yearsand the first song on the record "Any Road." - was recorded back in 1988!

"His life was in these last few songs, the things he did every day, like riding along the Thames. There's really a lot of stuff in here that's personal to him - some of it's really bloody good!", said Jeff Lynne, who not only took part in the recording but also contributed to the release of "Brainwashed" (translation of the title).

Jim Keltnerwho played drums on the album, recalled how easy it was for him to work with Harrison. He also shared memories of the time he and his wife for the last time saw George.

"He said: "You'll never know what you mean to me, Jim," and he gave me a big hug. I said: "Oh, you'll be here longer than me!". When we left, my wife said: "You do realise he was saying goodbye to us, don't you?"

However, the last single recorded with Harrison's participation was a track performed by the Jools Holland titled "Horse To The Water". The song had a darkly humorous but frightening quality: instead of specifying his publishing company Harrisongs, Harrison used the name of the "RIP Ltd, 2001."perhaps a sort of admission that he knew the end might be near.

A last reunion of old friends

The three remaining Beatles got their last chance to see each other on 12 November 2001, when the Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. visited George Harrison in his Manhattan hotel room. The three musical legends reminisced about their earlier days, indulging in nostalgia and realising how precious and, most sadly of all, unique moment for each of them... Harrison's doctor, Gil Lederman, later shared his observations about this bittersweet mini-reunion of The Beatles:

"There were tears. But there was more laughter than anything else. For hours they just laughed until they cried, remembering the old days. George was very dignified. At the end, after Paul and Ringo left, he was calm and very happy. This meeting meant so much to him".

He was soon gone. On 30 November, the British national flag was lowered in Liverpool, and in London, outside Buckingham Palace, for the first time in history, the Guards Band playing Beatles music.