(Gibson) On this day in 2001, Former Beatles guitarist George Harrison died in Los Angeles of lung cancer at age 58. Following the breakup of The Beatles, Harrison had a successful career as a solo artist and later as part of the Traveling Wilburys. The youngest member of The Beatles, (16 when he joined), his compositions include "Taxman," "Here Comes the Sun," "Something" and "While My Guitar Gently Weeps." Gibson takes a look back: On November 29, 2001, media outlets all over the world reported that former Beatle George Harrison had passed away, having lost his battle with cancer. But such statements were grossly insufficient to capture the breadth of Harrison's life. Though he contributed mightily to The Beatles — with his guitar playing, his vocal harmonies and as a burgeoning songwriter — Harrison's life encompassed much more than those 12 years on the Beatle rollercoaster.
When the group split in 1970, Harrison took a stockpile of songs — many of which he was unable to release with The Beatles due to the Lennon/McCartney stranglehold on the band's songwriting — into the studio to record what turned out to be a triple album, All Things Must Pass. Aided by such legendary friends as Eric Clapton, Dave Mason, Billy Preston and Beatle pal, Ringo Starr, Harrison laid down such classics as "My Sweet Lord," "What Is Life" and the gorgeous title track. The resulting album is considered by many to be the best solo record by any of The Beatles.
During the following decade, Harrison was unable to match the critical or commercial success of All Things Must Pass. Still, his musical output was more than noteworthy. He released the hit single, "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)," and wrote or produced multiple hits for Ringo Starr, including "It Don't Come Easy" and "Photograph." He also appeared on albums by John Lennon, Harry Nilsson and Billy Preston. Eclipsing all of this, though, was his role as organizer of The Concert for Bangladesh, an all-star charity event featuring the likes of Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Leon Russell, Ringo Starr and others. The Madison Square Garden concert, which was filmed and recorded for subsequent commercial release, set the template for later events like Rock for Kampuchea and Live Aid.
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