George+Harrison

As you research your selected guitarist, you will need to note some specific information from his or her life and career. Include the following in your final writing: Details for your written assignment:
 * Introduction
 * Biography
 * Discography
 * Legacy
 * Conclusion

Your Name (First Name, Last Initial:Samantha M Type Your Essay Here! :

George Harrison, a former member of the enormously popular band; the Beatles, had two different playing styles. His two styles were plain old rock, and folk- rock. Rock is a popular music that is based on both folk music and jazz. However, folk- rock is a form of rock that is made and passed down among common people. A unique technique that Harrison mastered within his career, in the 1960's, was learning how to play the sitar. Rather than the sitar this musician could play the guitar and sung as well. This shows that George Harrison wasn't a basic performer; instead he brought interest and variety into the musical world.

Harrison was born in Liverpool, England and lived from February 25, 1943 to November 29, 2001. He grew up in a public housing project. He also was always a average and ordinary student throughout his childhood. As a child, he bought a guitar and his efforts at playing were unsuccessful. He couldn't make out the chording patterns for this instrument and then he soon after damaged the guitar itself. Then, in aggravation, he put the guitar away and tried the trumpet, but still turned out to be unsuccessful. His brother fixed the guitar and Harrison finally managed to learn some chords. After this he started practicing thoroughly while listening to famous guitarists so he would advance in his guitar skills. Two examples of guitarists that he listened to were Chet Atkins and Duane Eddy. Also, as a child, and when he was teaching himself to play the guitar, he became friends with Paul McCartney. They went to school together at Liverpool Institute, and often practiced guitar together. Throughout his entire childhood he had no musical training. Also, one interesting fact about George Harrison is that one guitar that he played within his career was a Rickenbacker 12-string. It had a sound that inspired the Byrds, R.E.M., and many other "jangle-obsessed" indie bands. Another interesting fact was that at a point in his career he had some rough times, which shows that not even a famous musician can be famous. His 1974 American tour was a failure. Also, in 1976, "My Sweet Lord," one of his biggest hits from his album //All Things Must Pass//cost him $587,000. This was because he apparently "subconsciously plagiarized" the Chiffons tune, "He's So Fine." One more thing was that his divorce to Patty Bold, a former actress and model, in 1977, and the assassination of Lennon in 1980 were personally dreadful for him. One more interesting fact about George Harrison is that he was involved in film making. He appeared in the motion pictures //A Hard Day's Night// and //Help!//, and supplied the voice for the cartoon image of himself in the animated film //Yellow Submarine//. But in the 1980s, he was the co-owner of the production company //Hand Made Films,// which brought popular works such as //Monty Python's Life of Brian// and //Time Bandits//.

As a solo artist, George Harrison's first album in 1971, was //All Things Must Pass.// Many people loved this album, which included his hit single, "My Sweet Lord." Although, in Anthony DeCurtis's (whom was part of the Rolling Stones) perspective, his finest was his 1987 album //Cloud Nine.// In this album, some songs that were included in it were his singles, " Got My Mind Set on You, "When We Was Fab," and " Devil's Radio." Musically, Harrison was pretty active in the late 1980's. Some musicians that influenced this guitarist were Chet Atkins and Duane Eddy. He listened to them when he practiced playing the guitar as a child. Also in the mid 1960's, he met an Indian sitarist named Ravi Shankar. Once he met him, he quickly became his student. As Shankar's student, Harrison took in Indian music and became fascinated in their culture. He convinced his fellow Beatles to join him in a study with Mararesh, whom is the author of the song //Something// (one of the Beatles greatest successes,) in 1968.

George Harrison transformed popular music and culture and created world music. He did this with his celebration of creativity and spirituality. He combined traditional Western pop music with Indian music and instruments. He added a sitar to the song //Norwegian Wood//. His artistic freedom inspired a frenzy of musical freedom throughout the world and can be traced to contemporary dance music. The use of synths and tape loops on Wonderwall Music and Electronic Songs in the late '60s inspired bands such as the Chemical Brothers in the electronic crazed '90s.

One important and interesting fact about George Harrison is that he was a lead guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He joined a group which had become the Beatles in1958. He stayed with this group all the way through until their breakup in 1970. 18 years later became a member of a group that was called the Traveling Wilburys. In this group, the people included were Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, and Roy Orbison. Their first album was called //Volume One// and it was a huge success for them. Through his life, Harrison showed in motion pictures and was the voice for an animated film. George was the co-owner of //Hand Made Films// and organized a charity concert in Bangladesh in 1971. George Harrison was stabbed in his home in 1999, and he eventually recovered. Unfortunately, on November 29, 2001, Harrison died of cancer in Los Angeles at the age of 58. The following year, //Brainwashed//, his final album was released.

Work Cited

Sources : Include the source information for all of the articles or web sites that were used to complete your project. Source information is found at the end of each article in iCONN.They should also be listed in alphabetical order by the first word of the source citation. sample: "Carol Kaye." //Contemporary Musicians//. Vol. 22. Detroit: Gale, 1998. //Gale Biography In Context//. Web. 8 Jan. 2012. "Selected Websites on Carol Kaye's Life and Works." //Gale Biography in Context//. Detroit: Gale, 2008. //Gale Biography In Context//. Web. 8 Jan. 2012.

Your Source List: "George Harrison." //Contemporary Musicians//. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 1989. //Gale Biography In Context//. Web. 15 Oct. 2012.

Molenda, Michael. "Divine light: George Harrison's fab life of innovation and exploration." //Guitar Player// Mar. 2002: 92+. //Gale Biography In Context//. Web. 19 Oct. 2012.

Kuhn, Laura Diane. //Baker's Student Encyclopedia of Music / Compiled by Laura Kuhn.// Vol. 2. New York: Schirmer, 1999. Print.

Guitarist Research Notes Table
November 29, 2001 || Harrison had no formal musical education, and learned to play the guitar by osmosis and acclimatization. || Lead guitarist, singer, songwriter; apprentice electrician in Liverpool; joined group that eventually became the Beatles in 1958; stayed with them until group's dissolution in 1970; solo performer, 1970--; member of the Traveling Wilburys, 1988. Appeared in motion pictures A Hard Day's Night and Help!; provided voice for animated film Yellow Submarine; co-owner of film production company Hand Made Films; organized charity concert for Bangladesh, 1971. Harrison also became involved in filmmaking. Of course, as a Beatle, he appeared in the motion pictures A Hard Day's Night and Help!, and provided the voice for the cartoon image of himself in the animated film Yellow Submarine, but in the 1980s he busied himself as the co-owner of the production company Hand Made Films. The company brought to the screen popular works such as Monty Python's Life of Brian and Time Bandits. Harrison told Dougherty: "We tend to do low-budget movies that nobody else will do." He also joined in 1988 with musical acquaintances Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, and Roy Orbison to form the Traveling Wilburys. The Wilburys's first album, Volume One, became a huge chart success. Orbison died soon after. In 1999 Harrison was attacked in his home by an intruder. Though he was stabbed he eventually recovered. Harrison died of cancer on November 29, 2001, in Los Angeles. He was 58. His final album, Brainwashed, was released posthumously the following year. George Harrison is perhaps best known as one-fourth of what was probably the most popular and influential quartet in the history of rock, the Beatles. || Though his tribute to Lennon, "All Those Years Ago," on Somewhere in England brought him back into the musical spotlight, his reaction to his friend's death gave rise to rumors that Harrison had become a recluse. Musically, Harrison was very active in the late 1980s. His 1987 album, Cloud Nine, produced hits with the singles "Got My Mind Set on You," lauded by DeCurtis as a "cocky, early-rock kicker"; "When We Was Fab," a recollection of being a Beatle; and "Devil's Radio," which DeCurtis described as an "assault on gossip journalism." || What do you like about his/her style? ||  ||
 * ** Information Feature ** ||= **Your Findings** //cells will expand as you enter your findings// ||
 * The guitar style I am researching is: || Rock ||
 * The artist I am researching is: || George Harrison ||
 * This guitarist lived from || February 25, 1943 to
 * Describe the guitar style you are researching. || Rock- a popular music based on jazz and folk music ||
 * What kind of musical training did the guitarist have? || Harrison's early efforts at guitar playing were somewhat futile--he bought a guitar as a young adolescent, but found he couldn't understand the chording patterns. While he was experimenting with one of the screws, the instrument fell apart. In frustration Harrison hid the guitar in the closet and turned his efforts to the trumpet, where he met with a similar lack of success. Eventually one of his older brothers repaired the guitar, and on his next attempts Harrison managed to learn a few chords. After that he practiced diligently, listening to recordings of famed guitarists Chet Atkins and Duane Eddy to perfect his style. At roughly the same time, Harrison became friends with Paul McCartney, a fellow student at the Liverpool Institute, and the two often took their guitars and went camping together in the country.
 * What types of music influenced this artist? || In the mid 1960's, he met Indian sitarist Ravi Shankar and quickly became his student. Besides absorbing Indian music, he became interested in the Indian culture as a whole, convincing the other Beatles to join him on a retreat to study with the Mahareshi in 1968. He is the author of the song Something, one of the Beatles' greatest successes. ||
 * Name some musicians who influenced the guitarist you are researching. || After that he practiced diligently, listening to recordings of famed guitarists Chet Atkins and Duane Eddy to perfect his style. ||
 * Has this guitarist played more than one style? If so, what other styles? || And it's not a stretch to maintain that Harrison is partly responsible for launching the folk-rock genre. Folk- rock is rock music that is made and handed down among the common people. ||
 * What type of guitar does this musician play? || Then there was the gorgeous shimmer of Harrison's Rickenbacker 12-string--a sound that inspired the Byrds, R.E.M., and countless jangle-obsessed indie bands. ||
 * What are some interesting facts about your guitarist’s childhood? || He grew up in a public housing project, and was a mediocre student. ||
 * What did this guitarist do before he became famous? ||  ||
 * List two interesting facts about the guitarist’s life. || But then Harrison fell on relatively hard times. Perhaps because the orchestra of Indian musicians accompanying him was judged too esoteric for most audiences, his 1974 American tour was a failure. And in 1976, "My Sweet Lord," his biggest hit from All Things Must Pass, cost him $587,000. According to Steve Dougherty of People magazine, Harrison was found guilty of "'subconsciously plagiarizing' the Chiffons tune 'He's So Fine'" with the song. His divorce from actress and model Patti Boyd in 1977, and the assassination of Lennon in late 1980, were personal blows to Harrison.
 * List two albums or songs your artist released, the dates they were released and why they are important. || Harrison had mixed success as a solo artist; his first album, 1971's All Things Must Pass, was highly praised and included the hit single "My Sweet Lord," but his "finest since," according to Anthony DeCurtis in Rolling Stone, was his 1987 effort, Cloud Nine.
 * Who is playing this style of music today?
 * What legacy has this guitarist left to the world of music? || Appropriately, it was his serene celebration of creativity and spirituality that transformed popular culture. And although those changes weren't heralded by bombast or fanfare, they are still molding our consciousness today. He popularized the concept of world music, for example, by cross-pollinating Western pop structures with Indian instruments and melodies. The concept of borrowing musical elements from other cultures didn't originate with Harrison, of course. But adding a sitar to "Norwegian Wood" in 1965--while a member of the biggest band in the universe--shattered the so-called stylistic limitations of the pop song, and initiated a frenzy of artistic freedom that can be traced all the way to contemporary dance music. The use of synths and tape loops on Wonderwall Music (1968) and Electronic Sounds (1969) further presaged tracks that artists such as the Chemical Brothers would build careers upon throughout the electronica-crazed '90s. ||