The Beatles Forever and Ever: Part Eight

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The year was 1988 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame committee had voted unanimously that The Beatles be inducted. For obvious reasons the late John Lennon could not attend. His songwriting partner Paul McCartney on the other hand refused to appear due to ensuing financial disagreements he was having with Harrison, Starr and Lennon’s widow Yoko Ono over Apple. His absence from the ceremony was an obvious way of making a statement. However the drummer and the lead guitarist were happy to accept the prestigious award. After Ringo slurred through his speech, it was ironically left to the shy and stage weary Harrison to make some coherent and gracious statements on behalf of the group.

“I don’t have much to say,” he said, “ because I’m the quiet Beatle.”

This inspired a loud bout of laughter from the audience and fellow luminary musicians who were then moved by George’s heartfelt expression of love towards the absent John and Paul, the two men that had inspired him musically and in equal measure stymied his contribution as a fellow songwriter. By the late eighties the ‘quiet Beatle’ had come to terms with his superstar status and was even experiencing a revival in his career with the well received ‘Cloud Nine’ album. Being one of the four most famous people in the world never sat well with this most studious technician of rock and roll and he was never one to mince words about it.

“…We were parading about in those silly suits and ties, cranking out music that no one could hear anyway,” said George Harrison on becoming world famous. “After a bit we realized that fame wasn’t what we were really after at all, just the fruits of it. After the initial excitement and thrill had worn off, I for one, became depressed. Is this all I have to look forward to in life? Being chased around by a crowd of hooting lunatics from one crappy hotel room to the next?”

This comment typifies Harrison’s ill-fitted psyche to a phenomenon that he was an integral part of creating. A distinctive guitar player with a somewhat laconic and wry personality his biggest regret in life was allowing the mayhem of Beatlemania to stunt his growth as a musician. Guitar supremo’s such as Eric Clapton, Pete Townsend, Jimmy Page, and Jeff Beck would overtake his standing as the best lead guitarist in the world. Ultimately rock critics and fellow-guitarists alike would anoint African American rock God Jimmy Hendrix as the greatest axeman not only of the sixties, but of all time. The humble Harrison would be the first to agree.