George Harrison and Brian May (Guild)

AcornHouse

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I don't know if we've seen this pic before on here. George Harrison with a Guild Brian May.

50750891_10212935673162913_5330649353205841920_o.jpg
 

GAD

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What the heck. I literally just used that photo in one of my Brian May Guild articles. I’d never seen it before yesterday.

That was his last public performance according to the Brian May page.
 

AcornHouse

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What the heck. I literally just used that photo in one of my Brian May Guild articles. I’d never seen it before yesterday.

That was his last public performance according to the Brian May page.
It was posted (by someone else) on FB today.
 

Stephen

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As a HUGE George fan I would be interested to know more about this performance. My guess is that this was an impromptu performance and someone loaned their Brian May guitar to George. He was pretty much an exclusive Fender (or Fender-style) player, save for the Wilburrys.
 

walrus

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I wouldn't agree that he was an "exclusive Fender (or Fender-style) player." His "Rocky" Strat is famous for it's paint job, but he was a Gretsch and Rickenbacker player for most of the early Beatles years, played several Gibsons (notably an SG) in the later Beatles years, but did use a Telecaster for the Let It Be era. For his solo career he used a multitude of guitars as well, including the white Strat in "The Concert For Bangla Desh", but a lot of Gretsch and Gibson playing as well. And don't forget the Gretsch Duo Jet on his "Cloud nine" album cover!

Here's just a taste:

https://www.guitarplayer.com/guitar...ry-of-his-most-celebrated-beatles-era-guitars

walrus
 

adorshki

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I wouldn't agree that he was an "exclusive Fender (or Fender-style) player." His "Rocky" Strat is famous for it's paint job, but he was a Gretsch and Rickenbacker player for most of the early Beatles years, played several Gibsons (notably an SG) in the later Beatles years, but did use a Telecaster for the Let It Be era. For his solo career he used a multitude of guitars as well, including the white Strat in "The Concert For Bangla Desh", but a lot of Gretsch and Gibson playing as well. And don't forget the Gretsch Duo Jet on his "Cloud nine" album cover!

Here's just a taste:

https://www.guitarplayer.com/guitar...ry-of-his-most-celebrated-beatles-era-guitars

walrus

He was such a guitar slut, he'd play just anything.
 

walrus

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True! And during the last 15 years of life (or so) he played ukulele all the time!




walrus
 

Stephen

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I wouldn't agree that he was an "exclusive Fender (or Fender-style) player." His "Rocky" Strat is famous for it's paint job, but he was a Gretsch and Rickenbacker player for most of the early Beatles years, played several Gibsons (notably an SG) in the later Beatles years, but did use a Telecaster for the Let It Be era. For his solo career he used a multitude of guitars as well, including the white Strat in "The Concert For Bangla Desh", but a lot of Gretsch and Gibson playing as well. And don't forget the Gretsch Duo Jet on his "Cloud nine" album cover!

Here's just a taste:

https://www.guitarplayer.com/guitar...ry-of-his-most-celebrated-beatles-era-guitars

walrus

His Rickenbacker 12-string made an appearance on "Fish on the Sand" from the Cloud 9 album. But that's a specialty guitar. And I would bet dollars to donuts that his Gretsch Duo Jet didn't get past the album cover. When he toured Japan with Clapton he played a Fritz Brothers Roy Buchanan model (a 3 pickup Tele-style guitar) and an Eric Clapton signature Strat for slide.
 

walrus

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Ah, your first post did not specify only this particular time in George's career. I agree with your second post. But he definitely played ukulele more than anything during the later years. Ukulele is very prominent on a few songs from "Brainwashed", too.

This video was included in the official George Harrison guitar collection app as one of the bonus videos. It's an official app made in collaboration with Dhani Harrison:





walrus
 

F312

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All cool, oh I miss him so. He seems to get better everytime I hear is style of playing. Missed dearly.

Ralph
 

Westerly Wood

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Interesting regarding Harrison's influence on the Beatles and their growth as a band...

"By 1965's Rubber Soul, he had begun to lead the other 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)".[44][nb 2] He later called Rubber Soul his "favourite [Beatles] album"
 

Westerly Wood

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Never knew this part of the Beatles break-up story:

Dylan and the Band were a major musical influence on Harrison at the end of his career with the Beatles.[63] While on a visit to Woodstock in late 1968, he established a friendship with Dylan and found himself drawn to the Band's sense of communal music-making and to the creative equality among the band members, which contrasted with Lennon and McCartney's domination of the Beatles' songwriting and creative direction. This coincided with a prolific period in his songwriting and a growing desire to assert his independence from the Beatles.[64] Tensions among the group surfaced again in January 1969, at Twickenham Studios, during the filmed rehearsals that became the 1970 documentary Let It Be.[64] Frustrated by the cold and sterile film studio, by Lennon's creative disengagement from the Beatles, and by what he perceived as a domineering attitude from McCartney, Harrison quit the group on 10 January. He returned twelve days later, after his bandmates had agreed to move the film project to their own Apple Studio and to abandon McCartney's plan for making a return to public performance.[65]

Relations among the Beatles were more cordial, though still strained, when the band recorded their 1969 album Abbey Road.[66] The LP included what Lavezzoli describes as "two classic contributions" from Harrison – "Here Comes the Sun" and "Something" – that saw him "finally achieve equal songwriting status" with Lennon and McCartney.[67] During the album's recording, Harrison asserted more creative control than before, rejecting suggestions for changes to his music, particularly from McCartney.[68] "Something" became his first A-side when issued on a double A-side single with "Come Together"; the song was number one in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and West Germany,[69] and the combined sides topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States.[70] In the 1970s Frank Sinatra recorded "Something" twice (1970 and 1979) and later dubbed it "the greatest love song of the past fifty years".[71] Lennon considered it the best song on Abbey Road, and it became the Beatles' second most covered song after "Yesterday".[72][nb 5]

In May 1970 Harrison's "For You Blue" was coupled on a US single with McCartney's "The Long and Winding Road" and became Harrison's second chart-topper when the sides were listed together at number one on the Hot 100.[74] His increased productivity meant that by the time of their break-up he had amassed a stockpile of unreleased compositions.[75] While Harrison grew as a songwriter, his compositional presence on Beatles albums remained limited to two or three songs, increasing his frustration, and significantly contributing to the band's break-up.[76] Harrison's last recording session with the Beatles was on 4 January 1970, when he, McCartney and Starr recorded his song "I Me Mine" for the Let It Be soundtrack album.[77]


of course Something was one of my least liked songs on that album :)
 
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adorshki

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"In May 1970 Harrison's "For You Blue" was coupled on a US single with McCartney's "The Long and Winding Road" and became Harrison's second chart-topper when the sides were listed together at number one on the Hot 100...
of course Something was one of my least liked songs on that album :)
"Long And Winding Road" was right down there with "Hey Jude" for me:
Gag me with a spoon.
I know what you mean about "Something" though, as a die hard rocker I didn't really appreciate it until I got a Harrison songbook around '80 or so and discovered it was another one of those songs with not just great but magnificent bones.
May I suggest thinking of the Mrs. while you take a stab at it acoustically, y'might be surprised.
:friendly_wink:
 
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