George Harrison was an English guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is most famously known for being the lead guitarist in the Beatles. Known as the "Quiet One" in the band, he wrote some of their most popular songs such as “Here Comes The Sun,” “Something,” and “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” After his success with the Beatles, he went on to have a long and successful solo career. Through Harrison 's interest in Eastern culture, he introduced the Western World to Indian mysticism, philosophy, and the sitar. George Harrison’s contribution to music and popular culture irrefutably made him one of the most influential musicians of the twentieth century.
On February 25, 1943 George Harrison was born in Liverpool, England. It was the middle of …show more content…
In an interview commenting on his trip, Harrison said, "I had this lingering thought that just stayed with me after that and this thought was 'the yogis of the Himalayas '" (George Harrison). He had never thought about them before or anything related to it. That thought lingered with him until 1965 when David Crosby introduced Harrison to Indian classical music and a man named Ravi Shankar. Shankar was an Indian musician and a master sitar player. Harrison picked up the sitar and learned to play. "Norwegian Wood" was the Beatles ' first song that featured the sitar. This sparked many other rock and roll artists to use the sitar as well, such as Brian Jones from The Rolling Stones. Harrison stated that he had never met anyone that had impressed him before he met Ravi Shankar in 1966 (George Harrison). Shankar took Harrison as his student and taught him "so much without saying a word, but by example" (George Harrison). He helped lead Harrison spiritually, as well. Later that year, Harrison traveled to Srinagar, India and practiced the sitar "at the foot of the Himalayan mountains surrounded by fields of golden saffron flowers" (Greene). Here in this "idyllic setting," Harrison was able to immerse himself into music and spend hours reading about ancient Indian teachings (Greene). Hinduism arrived to Harrison at a time when he began to yearn for something deeper in life. He had money, fame, and drugs, but had a deep feeling that this was not all there was to life. Growing up Catholic, Harrison was always told to believe what the religion taught, but he never directly experienced it. The Hindu concept of not being able to have anything until you experience direct perception of it made him feel as if he finally found something that made sense to him (George Harrison). In 1968, Harrison invited his band to accompany him and his then wife, model Pattie Boyd, on a retreat in India. There they
On February 25, 1943 George Harrison was born in Liverpool, England. It was the middle of …show more content…
In an interview commenting on his trip, Harrison said, "I had this lingering thought that just stayed with me after that and this thought was 'the yogis of the Himalayas '" (George Harrison). He had never thought about them before or anything related to it. That thought lingered with him until 1965 when David Crosby introduced Harrison to Indian classical music and a man named Ravi Shankar. Shankar was an Indian musician and a master sitar player. Harrison picked up the sitar and learned to play. "Norwegian Wood" was the Beatles ' first song that featured the sitar. This sparked many other rock and roll artists to use the sitar as well, such as Brian Jones from The Rolling Stones. Harrison stated that he had never met anyone that had impressed him before he met Ravi Shankar in 1966 (George Harrison). Shankar took Harrison as his student and taught him "so much without saying a word, but by example" (George Harrison). He helped lead Harrison spiritually, as well. Later that year, Harrison traveled to Srinagar, India and practiced the sitar "at the foot of the Himalayan mountains surrounded by fields of golden saffron flowers" (Greene). Here in this "idyllic setting," Harrison was able to immerse himself into music and spend hours reading about ancient Indian teachings (Greene). Hinduism arrived to Harrison at a time when he began to yearn for something deeper in life. He had money, fame, and drugs, but had a deep feeling that this was not all there was to life. Growing up Catholic, Harrison was always told to believe what the religion taught, but he never directly experienced it. The Hindu concept of not being able to have anything until you experience direct perception of it made him feel as if he finally found something that made sense to him (George Harrison). In 1968, Harrison invited his band to accompany him and his then wife, model Pattie Boyd, on a retreat in India. There they