George Harrison was born today in 1943. In celebration, here is a re-post of our Harrison celebration. In the past year, Martin Scorsese released his documentary film about George, Living in the Material World. A companion book was published by Olivia Harrison. And George's son, Dhani, created an iPad app that offers a multi-media history tour through George's collection of instruments (NY Times review here). Image below by Richard Avedon.
Happy Birthday to George Harrison (1943-2001). George played a large role in bringing Indian music and culture to the radar of 1960s pop culture. Inspired by a sitar player on the set of Help! (1965), George went on to study with master, Ravi Shankar, who became an adopted father to the Beatle. George pursued a life-long study of meditation and spirituality and helped to produce records by Indian musicians and spiritual groups. A wonderful box set came out recently called Collaborations, which includes all of the music George and Ravi recorded together, as well as some video performances. George is also remembered today for the role he played in producing Monty Python and other independent film projects. Through his company, Hand-Made Films, Harrison was the executive producer of Mona Lisa, How to Get a Head in Advertising, Powwow Highway, Withnail & I, Times Bandits, Life of Brian, and others.
Harrison was celebrated in the all-star Concert For George at the Royal Albert Hall in 2002. The program included Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Dhani Harrison, Ravi Shankar, Tom Petty, Monty Python, and others. Fans can see the entire film in a free streaming event today on the George Harrison website. A Blu-ray [was released] on March 22nd.
In connection to our post yesterday about instruments and the James Bond Theme, it's worth noting that Harrison was also a big ukulele fan! The Beatles grew up with the sound and humor of UK stage-sensation, George Formby. During the Beatles Anthology project (1995), George, Paul, and Ringo re-visited one of their first recordings, Ain't She Sweet, on a sunny day with ukuleles. Since Harrison's passing in 2001, Paul McCartney has included a ukulele tribute to George in all of his concerts with a performance of the powerful, Harrison classic, Something (Abbey Road/1969). Here is Paul playing the song during the Concert For George with Eric Clapton below.
Spy Vibers can also visit my YouTube channel to see my experimental film for Yoko Ono (now on the festival circuit), and a 75th anniversary film/sound collage I made for John Lennon.
Enjoy the start to your week with a Spy Vibe flashback. Last summer we celebrated the signature beat of Bo Diddley and looked at how his partnership with female musicians and his choice of guitars echoed the women's liberation movement and space-age designs of the early-mid 1960s. Grab your Gretsch Jupiter, hop on that scooter, and let's go for a ride!
Meet Bo Diddley & the Duchess
Space Age Guitars
Road Runner
Hey Bo Diddley
Shindig
The Duchess & Liberation
Spy Vibers interested in seeing more about Shindig, Hollywood a Go Go, and Go Go dancers should check out the Spy Vibe archives from June 2010. Shake it up.
Bo Week continues with another performance on Hollywood A Go Go from 1965. In this clip, Bo and The Duchess run us through a hot (lip synced) version of Let Me Pass. In the spirit of the Space Age, Bo designed a trilogy of futuristic guitars. I've read that he worked with a Gretsch production man named Giulliano in White Plains, NY. They used Gretsch necks, hence the company logo on the head stocks, but the bodies were custom made for Bo. His famous "Box" version has been called minimalist modern art. Bo also played the "Jupiter Thunderbird" and a "Cadillac" Fin-inspired axe that we see in many promotional photographs and performances. Bo's Space Age guitar trilogy continues to influence various production models and they are a special passion for contemporary designer, Ed Roman. Gretsch now produces signature editions of both the Box and Jupiter guitars, including a short-scale Box called the "Mini Diddley!" Images below of the three designs (Box, Jupiter, Cadillac), followed by Bo and The Duchess ripping it up for 1965 TV.
