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“All things must pass, all things must pass away” said George Harrison in one his most famous solo career songs, but his music never passed away, and keeps being the soundtrack to millions of people around the world. It can makes us happy, dance or even cry. The amazing sound and lyrics he gave us continues to be part of our lives and giving us always more strength and courage to endure everything we face in life. [caption id="attachment_4710" align="alignnone" width="812"] George Harrison in Cannes (1976) * Credit All Uses © Retna Ltd.[/caption] He told us that his “guitar gently weeps”, he questioned “what is life” and he gave us hope making us believe more in spirituality telling that we were “Brainwashed” by everything in the material world, forgetting about god. George Harrison left us 16 years ago, on November 29, 2001. The legendary guitarist, singer-songwriter, and producer died in 2001, with only 58 years old, from lung cancer that was attributed to years of cigarette smoking. His remains were cremated and the ashes were scattered according to Hindu tradition in a private ceremony in the Ganges and Yamuna rivers in India. He left an estate of almost £100 million. Career He achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles and was often referred to as "the quiet Beatle". He embraced Hinduism and helped broaden the horizons of his bandmates as well as their American audience by incorporating Indian instrumentation into the Beatles' music. Although the majority of the Beatles' songs were written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, most Beatles albums from 1965 onwards contained at least two Harrison compositions. His songs for the group included "Taxman", "Within You Without You", "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", "Here Comes the Sun" and "Something", the last of which became the Beatles' second-most covered song. Harrison's earliest musical influences included George Formby and Django Reinhardt; Carl Perkins, Chet Atkins and Chuck Berry were subsequent influences. By 1965, he had begun to lead the Beatles into folk rock through his interest in the Byrds and Bob Dylan, and towards Indian classical music through his use of the sitar on "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)". 10 essential George Harrison solo career songs Having initiated the band's embracing of transcendental meditation in 1967, he subsequently developed an association with the Hare Krishna movement. After the band's break-up in 1970, Harrison released the triple album All Things Must Pass, a critically acclaimed work that produced his most successful hit single, "My Sweet Lord", and introduced his signature sound as a solo artist, the slide guitar. He also organized the 1971 Concert for Bangladesh with Indian musician Ravi Shankar, a precursor for later benefit concerts such as Live Aid. In his role as a music and film producer, Harrison produced acts signed to the Beatles' Apple record label before founding Dark Horse Records in 1974 and co-founding HandMade Films in 1978. Hear George Harrison’s isolated lead guitar on the classic “What Is Life” Harrison released several best-selling singles and albums as a solo performer. In 1988, he co-founded the platinum-selling supergroup the Traveling Wilburys. A prolific recording artist, he was featured as a guest guitarist on tracks by Badfinger, Ronnie Wood and Billy Preston, and collaborated on songs and music with Dylan, Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr and Tom Petty, among others. Rolling Stone magazine ranked him number 11 in their list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time". He is a two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee – as a member of the Beatles in 1988, and posthumously for his solo career in 2004. Harrison's first marriage, to model Pattie Boyd in 1966, ended in divorce in 1977. The following year he married Olivia Arias, with whom he had a son, Dhani. See more Articles

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