George Harrison, popularly called the ‘Quiet Beatles’ alongside his schoolmates, had created a band, The Quarrymen, at age 15 to play in clubs around Liverpool and Germany.
The bands he played in Hamburg, Germany, along with the other Beatles, were the Indra Club and Kaiserkeller Club.
Beyond the iconic mop-top image, George’s life unfolds as a captivating biography, a remarkable career, a family life, and a discography that echoes through the ages.
Let’s embark on a journey through the life and times of the passionate guitarist, exploring the chapters of his personal life, the melodies he crafted, and the legacy he left behind.
Profile Summary
| Name | George Harrison MBE |
| Father | Harold Hargreaves Harrison |
| Mother | Louise (1911–1970) |
| Place of Birth | Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Siblings | Harold, Born on 1934Louise Born on 16 August 1931Peter born on 20 July 1940 – 1 June 2007 |
| Children | Dhani Harrison |
| Ancestry | Indian American |
| Wife and Ex-wife | Olivia Arias (married 1978-), Pattie Boyd (1966-1977) |
| Date of Birth | 25 February 1943 |
| Net Worth | $400 million |
| 58 years | Liverpool, England |
| Death Cause | Lung Cancer |
| Demise | November 29, 2001 |
| Died at | 58 years |
George Harrison Biography
George Harrison is a musician, father, husband, and soulful artist who left an indelible mark on the world of music.
He was born to Harold and Louise Harrison on February 25, 1943, just two years before World War 2 ended.
He grew up in Waver Tree, Liverpool, at the family’s residence at 12 Arnold Grove, Liverpool, U.K. His father, Harold, worked as a bus conductor and had prior experience as a ship’s steward on the White Star Line.
Louise, his mother, worked as a shop assistant and had Irish Catholic roots.
His parents were of Irish descent. They had three other children: Louise, Harry, and Peter, who were all older than George. The family relocated to 25 Upton Green in Speke, Liverpool, U.K., in 1950.
George and his family lived in a modest house, as the housing conditions and location affected the economy after the war. During the war, many families had to make do with very limited space.
His father and mother’s earnings were low, as salaries and wages were below average, and they had to live on a very tight budget, rationing food as the availability of basic needs like food and clothing was scarce.
He began his education at Dovedale Road Infants School, as a lot of kids his age had to be part of a close-knit community that provided a sense of comfort, support, and solidarity during the war.
He was later accepted into the nearby grammar school, Liverpool Institute for Boys, after passing his 11 Plus exam.
He studied at the Institute from 1954 to 1959. By all accounts, George was a weird kid, and he was known to make lasting impressions on people, as he was mostly known to have a long and stringy haircut with skinny jeans with holes at the knee.
This look made him stand out, as he was very independent and defied the old dressing in school, wore tight jeans, and grew his hair long.
However, his parents were strict and refused his disrespectful and wayward attitude, which made him tone down his rebellion a little bit.
He was not a particularly talented or a book-smart child academically; he had difficulties in school, and he found it difficult to connect with his professors, which resulted in him leaving high school with no qualifications.
Initially, George’s father had reservations about his son’s desire to pursue a music career.
However, in 1956, he purchased a Dutch Egmond flat-top acoustic guitar for George, costing £ 3.10.– (equivalent to £90 in 2023).
Together with his brother Peter and a friend named Arthur Kelly, George founded The Rebels, a skiffle group, at the young age of fifteen.
In 1959, during their first official performance at the British Legion Club in Speke, the band received 10 shillings.
George Harrison Career and Discography
George began his career in high school when his father got him a £3 guitar – equivalent to £90 in 2023.
He formed a little crew, The Rebels, alongside his brother Peter and a friend named Authur Kelly.
After graduating from high school, he thought of becoming an apprentice engineer, but his true passion was music.
He played with several emerging bands in Liverpool, where he later encountered the Quarrymen in 1958 and Paul McCartney, a friend of George from the Institute.
Despite being too young to be a member of the group, George did cover for usual guitarist Eric Griffiths when he was unavailable.
Although John Lennon, the creator and leader of the Quarrymen, had some doubts about Harrison, in the end, he was admitted as a full member.
He doubted that then-15-year-old Harrison was too young to join the band. Lennon, on the other hand, was 17 at then (1958).
Later, the group changed their name to Silver Beetles and then later became Johnny and the Moondogs.
During their first trip to Hamburg in August 1960, the Reeperbahn and the red-light district where they performed proved to be an educational experience for George, who was only 17 then.
He said, “Everyone around the district was homosexuals, transvestites, pimps, and hookers, and I was in the middle of that, aged 17,” he recalled.
His first journey resulted in his deportation due to his underage employment.
As the backing band for Tony Sheridan, The Beatles recorded their debut song, “My Bonnie,” in June 1961 after they made a comeback in March 1961.
They were paid 300 marks without receiving any royalties.
He had expressed an early desire to contribute to his music. He wrote his debut song, “Don’t Bother Me,” in the summer of 1963, and it appeared on the group’s second album, With the Beatles.
His tunes became the centerpiece of all Beatles albums from that point on.
He wrote some of the band’s most well-known songs, including “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” and “Something,” the latter of which was covered by over 150 other musicians, including Frank Sinatra.
However, his impact on the group and mainstream music in general went beyond his singles. While working on the Beatles’ second video imagery, ‘Help’.
Related: Eric Clapton Biography, Career, Children, Wife
The Beatles: 1958–1970
McCartney and his buddy John Lennon were part of a skiffle group named the Quarrymen.
In March 1958, McCartney convinced George to try out for the Quarrymen at Rory Storm’s Morgue Skiffle Club.
George, just 15 at the time, played “Guitar Boogie Shuffle,” but Lennon thought he was too young.
McCartney arranged another meeting on a Liverpool bus where George impressed Lennon by playing the lead guitar for “Raunchy.” After hanging out with the group and filling in on guitar, he became a full member.
Despite his father’s wish for him to continue school, George left at 16 to work as an apprentice electrician at Blacklers, a local store.
During the group’s 1960 tour of Scotland, George used the name “Carl Harrison” in honor of Carl Perkins.
George played a crucial role in the Beatles, especially in exploring new music for their American releases, particularly soul music.
By the time of Rubber Soul in 1965, he was steering the band toward folk-rock, inspired by the Byrds and Bob Dylan.
His use of the sitar on “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)” introduced Indian classical music.
He considered Rubber Soul his favorite Beatles album. In Revolver (1966), three of his compositions, including “Taxman,” showcased his evolving musical influence.
His sitar and tabla-based “Love You To” marked the Beatles’ first venture into Indian music.
This song, according to ethnomusicologist David Reck, respectfully represented Asian culture in popular music.
After his initial sitar use in “Norwegian Wood,” he gained the nickname “the maharaja of raga-rock.”
His interest in non-Western instruments continued with the swarmandal (a plucked box zither, originating from India) in “Strawberry Fields Forever.”
Towards the end of 1966, George Harrison’s focus had moved away from the Beatles. This was reflected in his inclination towards Eastern gurus and religious personalities, which were featured on the album cover of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band released in 1967.
Harrison’s only solo contribution to the album was the Indian-inspired “Within You Without You,” to which no other Beatle had contributed.
In January 1968, he recorded “The Inner Light” in Bombay, reflecting his growing interest in Hinduism(induism). Released as the B-side to McCartney’s “Lady Madonna,” it marked Harrison’s first composition on a Beatles single.
Influenced by Dylan and the Band, he befriended Dylan in Woodstock in late 1968 and admired the Band’s collaborative music-making. This marked a prolific songwriting period and a desire for independence from the Beatles.
Tensions flared between the Beatles during the Let It Be filming in January 1969, leading Harrison to quit briefly. What happened was that George Harrison found McCartney bossy and domineering, and John Lennon was addicted to heroin and unwilling to be parted from Yoko Ono, his lover.
He returned to the Beatles, and Abbey Road, recorded later in 1969, featured two classics, “Here Comes the Sun” and “Something.”
The latter became his first A-side and topped the charts worldwide. In May 1970, “For You Blue” and McCartney’s “The Long and Winding Road” became a chart-topping single.
Harrison’s increased productivity and limited songwriting presence on Beatles albums contributed to the band’s breakup. His last recording session with the Beatles was on January 4, 1970, for “I Me Mine” on the Let It Be soundtrack.
His Solo Career
Before the Beatles went their separate ways, George had already created two solo albums: Wonderwall Music and Electronic Sound.
These albums were quite different, featuring mostly instrumental compositions. Wonderwall Music, released in November 1968, served as the soundtrack for the film Wonderwall, blending Indian and Western sounds.
Electronic Sound, an experimental album using a Moog synthesizer, was also released around the same time. Notably, Wonderwall Music was not only the first solo album by the Beatles but also the debut LP from Apple Records.
It included Indian musicians Aashish Khan and Shivkumar Sharma, featuring an experimental sound collage titled “Dream Scene,” recorded before Lennon’s “Revolution 9.”
In December 1969, he toured Europe with Delaney & Bonnie and Friends, which included Clapton and others. It was during this tour that he began playing slide guitar and wrote “My Sweet Lord,” his first solo single.
The End of the Beatles
In 1965, he became intrigued by some of the Eastern instruments and the melodies that were arranged for them in the film, and he quickly became quite interested in Indian music.
He picked up the sitar on his own and popularized it in the West with John Lennon’s song “Norwegian Wood.” Additionally, he developed a close friendship with the well-known sitar performer Ravi Shankar.
The Rolling Stones and other rock bands soon followed suit and started using sitars in their music. Another argument might be that George’s exploration of various instrumentation types paved the way for the Beatles’ revolution.
His fascination with Indian music eventually led to a desire to understand more about Eastern spiritual traditions.
He escorted the Beatles to northern India in 1968 so they could study transcendental meditation with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. (The journey was canceled due to claims that the self-proclaimed celibate Maharishi had participated in inappropriate sexual behavior.)
However, there was obviously a lot of pressure among the group. Years had passed since Lennon and McCartney had stopped composing together, and they, too, were itching to take a fresh path.
The band recorded his “I Me Mine” in January 1970. This was the final song that the renowned group would ever collaborate on.
The Beatles ended when McCartney publicly announced his departure from the group three months later.
What is George Harrison’s Net Worth?
George Harrison experienced unheard-of levels of fame and wealth while he was a Beatles member.
He and his bandmates were among the richest musicians in the world during the band’s era of fame. Harrison’s wealth did not only come from his musical career.
When famous musician John Lennon died in 1980, his net worth was $200 million, George Harrison’s net worth was $100 million, Ringo Starr was worth $80 million, and Paul McCartney’s net worth was $400 million.
George’s net worth of $100 million in 1980 equals over $300 million after adjustment to inflation.
He also had many commercial ventures, including the blossoming film production firm HandMade Films.
He was also an experienced investor. He also owned a large estate in England and made investments in various real estate.
George Harrison’s estimated net worth at the time of his death in 2001 was $400 million. Through album sales, royalties, and the licensing of his music for different commercial uses, his posthumous revenues are increasing.
In addition, the George Harrison estate is still actively involved in charitable endeavors, guaranteeing that his influence goes well beyond his music collections.
His Interest in Cars and Gardening
Harrison renovated Friar Park, his home in Henley-on-Thames, including the 36-acre garden where he filmed music videos like “Crackerbox Palace.” The grounds also appeared on the cover of his album “All Things Must Pass.”
He employed ten workers to maintain the garden, seeing gardening as a way to escape. With the help of former Beatles publicist Derek Taylor, Harrison wrote a book focusing on his hobbies, music, and lyrics rather than delving into the Beatles.
He was into sports cars and motor racing, even owning a McLaren F1 road car. Harrison wrote “Faster” as a tribute to racing drivers Jackie Stewart and Ronnie Peterson, with proceeds going to the Gunnar Nilsson cancer charity.
In 2011, Harrison’s first extravagant car, a 1964 Aston Martin DB5, was auctioned for £350,000 to an anonymous Beatles collector. Harrison had originally bought the car in January 1965.
Who Inherited George Harrison’s Enormous Fortune?
George Harrison’s first marriage was with English model and photographer Pattie Boyd. Unfortunately, their marriage ended after ten years due to George’s repeated infidelities.
While still married to Boyd, Eric Clapton, a friend of Harrison, fell in love with Pattie. Clapton expressed his feelings in a letter to Pattie. After the divorce, Boyd and Clapton got married, but that relationship also faced challenges.
In 1978, Harrison married Olivia Trinidad Arias, a secretary at Dark Horse Records. They had a son named Dhani Harrison, born on August 1, 1978.
Known as the ‘quiet Beatle,’ George chose to leave his entire wealth and estate to his widow Olivia and their son Dhani, as outlined in his will. Additionally, he allocated a portion of his wealth to some family members and various charities.
Did His Family Receive All His Royalties From the Beatles?
Beyond playing lead guitar for The Beatles, Harrison also contributed to the band’s songwriting, creating some iconic tunes like ‘Here Comes the Sun’ and ‘Something.’
Despite his significant role, he received less credit for songwriting compared to his bandmates. In 1980, after John Lennon’s tragic death, a report disclosed the net worth of each Beatles member.
Lennon’s was $200 million, McCartney’s was $400 million, Starr’s was $80 million, and Harrison’s was $100 million, equivalent to around $300 million today.
From his substantial fortune, estimated at $400 million, George Harrison allocated the earnings from Beatles royalties to his widow, Olivia, and his only child, Dhani.
Personal Life
Hinduism
In the mid-1960s, George Harrison developed a keen interest in Indian culture and mysticism, and he shared this fascination with the other Beatles.
While filming Help! in the Bahamas, they crossed paths with Swami Vishnu-Sivananda, the founder of Sivananda Yoga. Each Beatle received a signed copy of his book, The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga.
Between the Beatles’ last tour in 1966 and the start of Sgt Pepper recording sessions, Harrison, accompanied by his first wife Pattie Boyd, went on a pilgrimage to India.
There, he learned the sitar from Ravi Shankar, met various gurus and visited holy places.
In 1968, he joined the other Beatles on a trip to Rishikesh in northern India to study meditation with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
Following the Hindu yoga tradition, Harrison adopted a vegetarian lifestyle in the late 1960s.
After receiving religious texts from Shankar in 1966, he became a lifelong supporter of the teachings of Swami Vivekananda and Paramahansa Yogananda.
These spiritual leaders authored Raja Yoga and Autobiography of a Yogi, respectively. In mid-1969, Harrison produced the single “Hare Krishna Mantra,” performed by members of the London Radha Krishna Temple.
He not only assisted the Temple devotees in establishing themselves in Britain but also met their leader, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, whom he regarded as both a friend and a master.
Harrison fully embraced the Hare Krishna tradition, especially japa-yoga chanting with beads, becoming a devoted follower for life.
In 1972, he generously donated his Letchmore Heath mansion north of London to the devotees, which was later converted into a temple and named Bhaktivedanta Manor – after Abhay Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, commonly known as the “Hare Krishna movement.”
Wife and Son
Harrison first met his first wife, Pattie Boyd, on the set of A Hard Day’s Night in 1964 when Boyd, then 19, was cast as a schoolgirl. George playfully proposed to her during a lunch break.
Harrison tied the knot with model Pattie Boyd on January 21, 1966, with McCartney as his best man. However, their marriage faced challenges, leading to a separation in 1974, and their divorce was finalized in 1977.
Check out: Pattie Boyd Biography, Husband, Relationship Timeline
Boyd cited George’s repeated infidelities as a significant reason for ending the marriage, with the affair with Ringo’s wife Maureen being the last straw.
The final year of their marriage involved heavy use of alcohol and cocaine, with Boyd stating that George’s excessive cocaine use changed him emotionally.
After the divorce, Boyd moved in with Eric Clapton, and they got married in 1979.
Harrison met another woman, Olivia Arias, over the phone while working in the record company business and then in person in 1974 at the A&M Records offices in Los Angeles. They had one son together, Dhani Harrison, born on August 1, 1978.
On September 2, 1978, Harrison married Olivia Trinidad Arias, a marketing executive for A&M Records and later Dark Horse Records.
George Harrison’s Interests
Harrison took care of Friar Park, his English manor in Henley-on-Thames, restoring both the house and the grounds. He even used the place for some of his music videos, like “Crackerbox Palace.”
The garden, spanning 36 acres, was looked after by ten workers. Gardening, for Harrison, was a way to escape.
In his autobiography, “I, Me, Mine,” dedicated “to gardeners everywhere,” he didn’t talk much about the Beatles. Instead, he focused on his hobbies, music, and lyrics. Derek Taylor, the former Beatles publicist, helped him write the book.
Harrison was also into sports cars and motor racing, even buying the McLaren F1 road car. He had been a racing fan since he was a kid, attending his first race, the 1955 British Grand Prix at Aintree, when he was just 12.
He wrote a song called “Faster” as a tribute to Formula One racing drivers Jackie Stewart and Ronnie Peterson, and the proceeds from its release went to the Gunnar Nilsson cancer charity.
In 2011, his 1964 Aston Martin DB5 was sold at auction in London for £350,000 to an anonymous Beatles collector. Harrison had bought the car new in January 1965.
Later Life and Death
On December 30, 1999, at their home at Friar Park, George Harrison and his wife Olivia faced a traumatic incident. A man named Michael Abram, diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia broke in and attacked Harrison with a kitchen knife.
He punctured George’s lung and caused head injuries. Olivia bravely fought back, using a fireplace poker and a lamp to subdue the assailant. After the attack, he was hospitalized with over 40 stab wounds, and part of his lung was removed.
In May 2001, it was revealed he had surgery to remove a cancerous growth from his lung, and in July, he received treatment for a brain tumor in Switzerland.
Despite undergoing radiotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer that had spread to his brain, George passed away on November 29, 2001, at a property owned by McCartney in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles.
He was 58. Olivia and their son Dhani were with him when he died, and he left nearly £100 million in his will for his son and wife.