George Harrison … The Beatles' Quiet Lead Guitarist

Story by UEC

LOS ANGELES (AP) – George Harrison, the Beatles’ quiet lead guitarist and spiritual explorer who added both rock ‘n’ roll flash and a touch of the mystic to the band’s timeless magic, has died. He was 58.

Harrison died at 1:30 p.m. Thursday at a friend’s Los Angeles home following a battle with cancer, longtime friend Gavin De Becker told The Associated Press late Thursday. Harrison’s wife, Olivia Harrison, and son Dhani, 24, were with him.

“He left this world as he lived in it, conscious of God, fearless of death, and at peace, surrounded by family and friends,” the Harrison family said in a statement. “He often said, ‘Everything else can wait but the search for God cannot wait, and love one another.'”

We sadly mourn the tragic loss of our good friend and brother. Thanks for making our world a better place George, we love you … the Gretsch family.

George Harrison “I’m really quite simple,” he assured us in his 1979 memoir, I Me Mine. ” I don’t want to be in the (music) business full-time because I’m a gardener. I plant flowers and watch them grow. I stay at home and watch the river flow.”

As we might’ve guessed when we heard that sitar, the quiet Beatle was destined to grow into the mystic Beatle, whose karma led him to causes and calm. In the early ’70s he grew “tired of people saying, ‘But what can I do?'” and organized the hugely successful benefit concerts for Bangladesh. His spiritual quest, nourished by Hinduism, involved him daily: “If there is a God, I want to see him, and Krishna consciousness and meditation are methods where you can actually see God and hear him, play with him.”

The flip side of this has always been George’s keen sense of humor, best on display when he cameoed in Eric Idle’s 1978 film, All You Need Is Cash, about a rock band called the Rutles–the “Prefab Four.” According to George, the parody told the Beatles’ story “much better than the usual boring documentary.” Of course, at millennium’s end George–along with Paul and Ringo–took part in one of the biggest documentary projects ever with the Anthology film/disc/book series.

Besides making new music with his old mates for Anthology, George also, on occasion, joined Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and others to record as the Traveling Wilburys, and in 2001 he oversaw the reissue of his great solo work, All Things Must Pass, marking its 30th anniversary. The double-disc included a new version of the classic “My Sweet Lord”, which remains a masterpiece today!

Excerpt taken from “From Yesterday To Today – The Beatles”
Life Magazine – Time Inc. Specials

My sweet lord
Hm, my lord
Hm, my lord
I really want to see you
Really want to be with you
Really want to see you lord
But it takes so long, my lord
My sweet lord
George Harrison