Unless you live under a rock, you know who The Beatles are. Considered to be the most influential band of the 20th century, it’s no secret that they paved the way for a multitude of different artists. There are more iconic Beatles songs I can name in one sitting: “Yesterday” (the most-covered song of all time, by the way), “Hey Jude,” “Let it Be,” “Here Comes the Sun,” and more.
Something that really bothers me about our society when we talk about The Beatles is that most people typically think about John Lennon and Paul McCartney. While the Lennon-McCartney songwriting duo does dominate the majority of the band’s discography, Paul McCartney, now 83, said it himself, the band members were like “four corners of a square.. without any of those corners, you collapse.” Personally, my favorite part of that square is George Harrison.
Born on this day 83 years ago in Liverpool, Harrison joined The Beatles, then called The Quarrymen, in 1958 when he was only 15 years old. He was a longtime school friend of Paul McCartney, who had pulled him in after meeting John Lennon. Despite his young age, his talent on the guitar without a doubt solidified him as lead guitarist, a role which he would continue to hold until the band’s breakup in April 1970.
Harrison wrote 22 songs for the band, first making his songwriting debut for the band in 1963 with “Don’t Bother Me,” a song found on “With The Beatles.” While he didn’t write nearly as many songs as the Lennon-McCartney duo, he was responsible for writing some of the band’s most iconic songs, including “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” “Taxman,” “I Me Mine,” and more. While still a part of the Beatles, he released his first solo album in 1968, “Wonderwall Music.”
Despite his songwriting’s successes, Harrison had definitely grown frustrated with the band’s dynamic, feeling extremely undervalued as a songwriter. It got to the point where, during the Get Back sessions shown in the recent Disney+ documentary, he is seen simply getting up, calmly stating, “I think I’ll be leaving the band now,” and leaving. That day, George went home and wrote “Wah-Wah,” his infamous Beatles diss-track on his 1970 triple LP, “All Things Must Pass.” John Lennon and Yoko Ono convinced George to come back not long after, and George’s song, “Something,” eventually was released as the lead single on the band’s final album, “Abbey Road.” The other song he wrote on that album, “Here Comes The Sun,” is currently the most streamed Beatles song on Spotify, proving his capabilities.
After the Beatles broke up, George released “All Things Must Pass,” which is credited as the first triple LP released by a solo artist. The album was, and still is, massively successful, with hits such as “What is Life” and “My Sweet Lord” topping charts. “Beware of Darkness,” a song off that album, was recently featured as the opening song in the 2025 film Weapons, proving the album’s cultural significance over half a century later.
Harrison would release 12 solo albums throughout his career, with hits such as “Got My Mind Set On You” (Cloud Nine), “Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)” (Living in the Material World), and “Blow Away” (George Harrison). He was known for his work with prolific artists such as Tom Petty and Bob Dylan, with whom he would join the Traveling Wilburys.
George was heavily inspired by Indian culture and Buddhism. While interested in the concept before, he started practicing transcendental meditation in 1967 after attending a lecture in London with his then wife Pattie Boyd. Afterwards, in February 1968, he studied meditation with the Maharishi in Rishikesh, India. His involvement in meditation led him to initiate The Beatles’ involvement, eventually leading to their psychedelic phase in their discography. Later on, George was inspired by people he had met in India to organize a charity event, the Concert for Bangladesh, to raise money for refugees of the Bangladesh Liberation War. The concert was recorded and released as an album that would go on to win the Grammy for Album of the Year. The album is highly credited for spreading awareness and helping end the war.
“People always say I’m the Beatle who changed the most, but really that’s what I see life is about… you have to change.”
George Harrison
Eventually, George would get diagnosed with throat cancer in 1997, caused by years of smoking, but he underwent treatment and beat it in 1998. However, this would not be the end of George’s battle with his own health. On December 30, 1999, George and his wife, Olivia, were attacked in their home in Oxfordshire by a paranoid schizophrenic who had broken into their home. They both survived, but while treating him in the hospital, doctors discovered that his cancer had returned in his lungs. Eventually, the cancer metastasized, and Harrison died on November 29, 2001, at Paul McCartney’s home in Los Angeles.
It’s been nearly 25 years since his passing, but George Harrison’s legacy lives on as anything but quiet. Although he was known as the quiet one during the height of Beatlemania, his legacy is anything but.