Together, they shared stories and reminiscences of George Harrison, days before the 21st anniversary of the Beatle’s passing.
Nearly 20 years after his death, the legacy of George Harrison and his fellow Beatles continues to reveal itself.
Her ongoing mission to excavate, catalog and share the long musical history of her husband is never-ending, and has already led to her co-producing the acclaimed 2011 documentary George Harrison: Living in the Material World, directed by Martin Scorsese. (source Rolling Stone, www.georgeharrison.com).
Now comes the expanded reissue of his 1980 book, I Me Mine, a casually intimate memoir and collection of lyrics. The book and a meticulously crafted vinyl box set of Harrison's 12 solo albums arrived in time for the 75th anniversary of Harrison's birth, which fell last Saturday.
My book of 20 poems for George, in the 20th year of his passing, will be released on June 21st. ☀
I hope you enjoy these personal stories, recollections and reflections. Olivia Harrison
Pre-order here - https://t.co/IXlIJndsPs pic.twitter.com/UjIJjOb2ql
— George Harrison (@GeorgeHarrison) April 21, 2022
The catalog of Dark Horse Records has finally reached the digital platforms
The label founded by the late ex Beatle George Harrison in 1974 which includes - in addition to the works of the artist himself - also recordings by Ravi Shankar, the virtuoso of the sitar born in Varanasi in 1920 who introduced the guitarist to the typical instrument of the Indian tradition, as well as to those of - among others - Attitudes, Splinter, Stairsteps, the former guitarist of the Joe Cocker band Henry McCullough and Jiva. All publications made available in streaming have been remastered this year, and are listed at this address.
She found the material in cupboards, piano benches and throughout Friar Park where Olivia still resides.
"The lyrics were all over the house," she says. One piano bench used regularly by keyboardist Billy Preston during visits to George's home studio was filled with 20 years of work, and one desk was loaded with lyrics and Polaroid photos just from 1973.
"It was pretty much a revelation. There would be spiral-bound notebooks. Some of them would go back to the Sixties. Others would be around the [Traveling] Wilburys time. Some were in the Eighties."
The book includes a handful of lyrics never recorded, including something from the early Seventies called "Hey Ringo," which includes the line: "Hey Ringo, there's one thing that I've not said/I'll play my guitar with you till I drop dead."
"I was really moved because I'd never seen it," Ringo Starr told Rolling Stone, minutes after seeing the song for the first time "He was my best friend. I had two other great friends, and three brothers. We were pals."
On the walls were Fairey portraits of the former Beatle and facsimiles of Harrison's original handwritten lyrics from throughout his career. There were words from "Behind That Locked Door," scribbled onto a blank record sleeve, and the water-smudged lyric to "Beware of Darkness" (both from the 1970 classic All Things Must Pass).
One lyric, for "The Pirate Song," was co-authored by Idle, who collaborated with Harrison on several films and music videos. Harrison became a producer and founded Handmade Films initially to fund Python's The Life of Brian, even mortgaging Friar Park to raise the money. "His spirit is always around," Idle told Rolling Stone. "He was like the best friend you ever had. You couldn't imagine a man so lovely – to everybody."
Accompanying Starr to the gallery was Joe Walsh, both friend and brother-in-law to the Beatles drummer. (Walsh is married to Marjorie Bach, sister of Barbara Bach, Starr's wife since 1981.)
He met Harrison a few times, and played alongside him at the Royal Albert Hall in 1992, and was an open admirer of his guitar playing. "When you sit down and try one of his leads, the technique is wacky," he said of Harrison. "The parts he would come up with, they don't make any sense, but they're brilliant. His choice of notes makes your hand go to a different position than anybody would ever think of. You really realize how special he was."
"There was 20 more years of songs," she said. "I didn't feel it was right to not let those songs see the light of day."
