Post by erik on Feb 25, 2023 22:45:10 GMT -5
The "Quiet Beatle" George Harrison is in this week's Pop Music Hits Spotlight with what is arguably rock's first "charity" recording.
BANGLA DESH (George Harrison; Apple; 1971)—During the existence of The Beatles, George Harrison was often thought of as “The Quiet Beatle”. He pretty much got stuck with that since, because of John Lennon’s and Paul McCartney’s songwriting acumen, he rarely was able to get too many of his contributions onto a Beatles record (though his Abbey Road song “Something” became an unquestioned pop and rock standard in the fall of 1969). The break-up of the band in early 1970 led him to a burgeoning solo career that was justified by the massive success of his triple album All Things Must Pass at the end of 1970 and the start of 1971, resulting in the massive #1 hit “My Sweet Lord”. But at the same time the album came out, the nation of Bangladesh, which borders India, was hit by a massive tropical cyclone that killed at least 300,000 people; and this hit Harrison hard, considering that one of his mentors, the legendary sitarist Ravi Shankar, was from that hugely impoverished nation. Shankar asked Harrison for help in organizing a relief concert for his homeland; and in preparation for that, Harrison wrote “Bangla Desh” in short order in July 1971, and recorded it in the same month in Los Angeles. Arguably the first “charity” single in rock and roll history, “Bangla Desh” was a bigger hit in Harrison’s native England, where it went to #10; but its #23 showing on the Hot 100 in early September wasn’t too shabby either. Harrison’s subsequent live album The Concert For Bangla Desh, done live at New York’s Madison Square Garden on August 1, 1971 with appearances by Shankar, fellow Beatle Ringo Starr, and Bob Dylan, was a huge hit in America, hitting #2 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart, and subsequently raising millions in relief money for the impoverished and war-torn South Asian country.
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BANGLA DESH (George Harrison; Apple; 1971)—During the existence of The Beatles, George Harrison was often thought of as “The Quiet Beatle”. He pretty much got stuck with that since, because of John Lennon’s and Paul McCartney’s songwriting acumen, he rarely was able to get too many of his contributions onto a Beatles record (though his Abbey Road song “Something” became an unquestioned pop and rock standard in the fall of 1969). The break-up of the band in early 1970 led him to a burgeoning solo career that was justified by the massive success of his triple album All Things Must Pass at the end of 1970 and the start of 1971, resulting in the massive #1 hit “My Sweet Lord”. But at the same time the album came out, the nation of Bangladesh, which borders India, was hit by a massive tropical cyclone that killed at least 300,000 people; and this hit Harrison hard, considering that one of his mentors, the legendary sitarist Ravi Shankar, was from that hugely impoverished nation. Shankar asked Harrison for help in organizing a relief concert for his homeland; and in preparation for that, Harrison wrote “Bangla Desh” in short order in July 1971, and recorded it in the same month in Los Angeles. Arguably the first “charity” single in rock and roll history, “Bangla Desh” was a bigger hit in Harrison’s native England, where it went to #10; but its #23 showing on the Hot 100 in early September wasn’t too shabby either. Harrison’s subsequent live album The Concert For Bangla Desh, done live at New York’s Madison Square Garden on August 1, 1971 with appearances by Shankar, fellow Beatle Ringo Starr, and Bob Dylan, was a huge hit in America, hitting #2 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart, and subsequently raising millions in relief money for the impoverished and war-torn South Asian country.
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