#george and olivia

George Harrison with Mukunda Goswami in Vrindavan, India, 1996. Photo by Prithu Prabhu (?).

“[George] also wrote [songs] to remind himself. People sometimes accused him of preaching (laughs). But you know, he was really preaching to himself. He wasn’t trying to say, ‘You be like this because I’m already like this.’ No, he was always trying to remind himself. And that’s the reason he liked India so much, because he said that, ‘Everywhere you went, there was a reminder.’” - Olivia Harrison, KSHE 95, 26 December 2014 (x)

George Harrison in the gardens of Friar Park, 1978. Photo by Mike Salisbury.

“[George] thought that everyone, as a matter of course, should have themselves regularly overwhelmed by nature. He used to say that all unused buildings should be knocked down and gardens put in their place.” - Olivia Harrison, Evening Standard, 12 May 2008 (x)

Photos by Carinthia West, Terry O’Neill, Tom Pilson/REX/Shutterstock, Susan Flood, Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images for Universal Music Group, David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images.

Happy birthday to Olivia Harrison!

Q: “What’s the secret to endurance in a relationship?”
Olivia Harrison: “I think in life, first of all, you have to have — respect is really important, but also I think you have to know where you’re going in your own soul and in your own life, and in your own — who you are; who do you want to be in life? And you need a partner to help you be that best person you can be. And sometimes you’re not that best person, but I think that’s the goal. I think when you have a goal like that? You know, George always wanted to be… a light-hearted person, and he was a very intense person, and I think you need a higher goal to stay together. I think that’s the real reason. Because then your own problems don’t seem like such big deals.” […]
Q: “So how are we supposed to find which is our path?”
OH: “Oh, that’s a good question. Especially now in this day and age, when everything is a big diversion. I think nature — I think the answer is in nature, I think the answer is in silence, and not being afraid of nothingness, not being afraid of the abyss, the void, the silence. I think that’s where man can be saved from where we are now. I really do. I think you need to go sit somewhere in silence and be overwhelmed by nature. That seems to be a way to reset our lives.” - Cultura Pop, 19 October 2017 (x)

Hariprasad Chaurasia, George Harrison, and Shivkumar Sharma, 1973; photographer unnamed, photo courtesy of hariprasadchaurasia dot com.

Rest in peace, Shivkumar Sharma. Sincere condolences to his family and friends.

“George used to always say that if ever you are not feeling right, you should listen to Bob Dylan’s ‘Last Thoughts on Woody Guthrie’ and [Hariprasad Chaurasia, Shivkumar Sharma and Brij Bhushan Kabra’s] ‘Call of the Valley.’” - Olivia Harrison, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 October 2011

“‘Bhoop Ghara’ from Call of the Valley, recorded in 1967 by Shivkumar Sharma, Hariprasad Chaurasia and slide guitar player Brijbhusan Kabra, [Olivia recalls] was ‘something George had on our juke box. We played it as a remedy in our home if you were feeling a certain way. Kabra was one of George’s heroes as a slide guitarist, up there with Ry Cooder.’” - Songlines, 2018 (x)

Ravi Shankar and George Harrison, 1966; photo courtesy of Indian Express.

“‘You revered Ravi,’ [Olivia Harrison] says of the great man. ‘He carried with him that great tradition, but he was also a very modern man and had a great sense of humor.’
Partly recorded in India and partly at Harrison’s Friar Park home in Henley-on-Thames, Olivia recalls the recording sessions [for Chants of India] well. ‘Ravi was very specific about the mantras and how they were recorded and orchestrated and George really wanted people to understand the vibrations of those chants was beneficial to their well-being.’
The track on her [Songlines] playlist is a particularly poignant choice. ‘At the end of his life George said to me that all he could listen to was “Sarve Shaam,”’ Olivia remembers. ‘After all the sounds and sights and tastes you experience over a lifetime, it came down to the purity of “Sarve Shaam.”’ The piece was also performed as the opening blessing at the Concert for George memorial, held at London’s Albert Hall in 2002.” - Songlines, June 2018 (x)

George Harrison, 1987; photo by Aaron Rapoport/Corbis via Getty Images.

“Really sweet guy. He had those eyes. I only saw them one other time; Dylan had those eyes. They can look right through you, right into your soul. I never thought I’d see them again but Harrison had them.” - Al Kooper, Lancaster Online, 2009

“George looked me deep in the eyes, as only George could do. He had this great sort of mystic look that he could put on that pierced you completely.” - Gordon Murray, Living In The Material World bonus features

“He had this way of looking at you that made you feel you were without limitations. It just went straight to your heart. Once you’d been with him, he had this way of making you want to bring out a truer version of yourself, unlocking something. It was profound and electrifying, and it can still bring prickles to the back of my neck.” - Olivia Harrison, Huffington Post, 2014 (x)

George Harrison and Pete Ham in the studio control room, September 1971; photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images.

“Pete just loved working with George. He felt he learned a lot from him. […] George Harrison told Pete he wanted to perform an acoustic duet of ‘Here Comes The Sun’ [at the Concert for Bangladesh]. […] ‘Pete was thrilled that someone he admired thought enough of him to do that stage spot at the Bangla Desh concert. It was really a buzz for him.” - Beverley (Pete’s widow), Without You: The Tragic Story of Badfinger

“We all came through so much in the Sixties and we all wanted so much to create something positive, something good. And it’s hard to… You know, when we come out into the Seventies, and we find it’s hard to go on. A lot of these people were only part-time hippies, or part-time lovers. They, you know, the badness of the world, or in them, caught up to them too soon. And you find that they turned round and all just started stabbing each other in the back. It’s like, we all need to support each other in many ways in order to exist. Like for example, just the other day I heard that [Pete Ham] from Badfinger — you know, Badfinger, who was on Apple Records, ‘Day After Day’ — the guy who wrote the big Harry Nilsson tune ‘Without You.’ He hanged himself. Okay, so, he’s hanged himself because he… can’t go on, you know… can’t go on.” - George Harrison, radio interview, August 1975

Q: “Who are the bands you’re most proud of from the Apple stable?”
George Harrison: “Anybody who had a hit, probably… like Badfinger was pretty good. It was a very sad story, though, because the guy, he ended up killing himself. Pete Ham, who was a lovely fellow, he was a good guitar player and a great singer. He wrote… the most famous tune I would imagine is ‘Without You,’ you know, the Harry Nilsson record.” - Undercover, 1996

“[George spoke of Pete] with fondness as a friend and with respect for his beautiful songs. I have had the pleasure of meeting Pete’s family and, although I did not know Pete himself, his lyrics and recordings embody a gentle spirit and tender heart.” - Olivia Harrison, BBC, 27 April 2013 (x)