70s George - Blog Posts

George Harrison, his father Harold, Olivia, Billy Preston, Ravi Shankar, and the whole Dark Horse Tour band visiting the White House, 13 December 1974. Photos: screenshot © Harrison Family; David Hume Kennerly; Bettmann/Corbis.

They’d been invited when George met Jack Ford backstage in Salt Lake City on 16 November 1974.

Olivia Harrison: “This is in the Oval Office with Billy Preston. President Ford’s son Jack had come to some shows and said: Why don’t you meet my dad? I was in the room, and George was telling Gerry Ford how Muhammad Ali had lifted up ‪the Beatles‬; I think he got two of them under each arm! Somehow they’d got straight into that conversation, then Ford asked him what all the badges he was wearing were and George explained that they were Krishna, Babagi [sic], and the Om sign. Then Ford went to his desk and pulled out a badge that said WIN, which meant Whip Inflation Now. So funny! I remember George wore red handmade Tibetan boots, probably the first hint of any protest about Tibet. A sly political statement.” - Olivia Harrison, Observer Monthly Magazine, June 2009

“We were taken up to into the private apartments, had lunch up there, came down and went into the Oval Office. […] There’s a photo of ‪Billy Preston‬ playing the piano in the White House. He was playing ‘God Bless America’ on the 200th or 2000th Steinway.” - George Harrison, Raga Mala

“According to the briefing paper for this visit, it was the first Presidential meeting with a member of ‪the Beatles‬. President Ford recognized not only ‪George Harrison‬’s musical ability but also his efforts to raise funds for UNICEF and various hospitals throughout the United States. (A2426-17 / National Archives Identifier ‪7839929‬)” (x)

Dark Horse Tour (1974)

ok girlie <3

George Harrison, Dark Horse Tour, 1974. Photo: John Gellman

“This happened in Philadelphia, so long ago: December the 16th, 1974. […] I asked the bartender for a piece of paper to write a note. On the paper, I wrote: ‘George: Do a favour for me. Make some mention of the fact that today is Beethoven’s birthday. Do it for me. I am Eric Hall, formerly of Porchester Road, Norris Green, Liverpool 11.’ Then I walked all round the stadium to where one could see steps that led down into the darkness of backstage. Reaching the bottom of the steps, I beckoned to a giant security guard […]. I proffered the folded little note and said politely, ‘Would you see that George Harrison gets this, please?’ He took the note and ambled away from me… I thought, ‘Well, that’s the last I’ll hear of that…’ […] December 16th was a Monday that year. On the Wednesday, I was sitting in my office and the phone rang. It was Jim, a photographer friend. He said, ‘Eric! Were you at the Spectrum last night?!’ I said, 'For George Harrison? No, I was there Monday night.’ Jim said, 'Wow, man! You wouldn’t believe what happened! 'George Harrison came out and halfway through the show and he said, “My friend, Eric Hall from Norris Green back in my hometown is here tonight. He tells me it’s Beethoven’s birthday today. Here’s something for Eric,” and then he played the Ode to Joy from Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony! In the coolest rock style, dude!’ Jim yelled into the phone, 'I couldn’t believe my ears, ma-an!’ Whoa, neither could I. The amazing thing was that there was someone there that knew me. I would never have known of George’s generosity – or his pride in doing something for a Scouser so far from home! Some karma, huh? But then, you know, sometimes good karma is just being a Scouser. Eric Hall copyright 1998” - People’s Stories: Liverpool Lives, 7 Jun 2011 (x)

1971 vs 1974

1974: George Harrison promoting John Lennon's album "Walls and Bridges" during his Dark Horse tour.

Q: “Were you going down fast [prior to meeting Olivia in 1974]?” George Harrison: “Well, I wasn’t ready to join Alcoholics Anonymous or anything — I don’t think I was that far gone — but I could put back a bottle of brandy occasionally, plus all the other naughty things that fly around. I just went on a binge, went on the road… all that sort of thing, until it got to the point where I had no voice and almost no body at times. Then I met Olivia and it all worked out fine. There’s a song on the new album, ‘Dark Sweet Lady’: ‘You came and helped me through/When I’d let go/You came from out the blue/Never have known what I’d done without you.’ That sums it up.” - Rolling Stone, April 19, 1979

A polaroid of GEORGE HARRISON and OLIVIA ARIAS. Taken in Vancouver on the 3 November 1974. From Olivia’s new book, Came the Lightening: Twenty Poems for George.

ONE THING ABOUT GEORGE HARRISON IS HES GONNA DANCE WHILE PLAYING HIS GUITAR !!!

Billy Preston and George Harrison, Dark Horse Tour, 1974; photo by and © Ron Pownall.

“We became like brothers, very close. […] [George] was a very, very loving person, a great guy. […] He had such a heart. […] He was very unaffected by the fame. He just loved God and his family and his friends.” - Billy Preston, WBUR, November 30, 2001 “[When The Beatles first met Billy Preston in Hamburg] Billy was so young George said you could hardly see his head over the Hammond organ. They had a connection — like brothers. His mother used to call George her paler son.” - Olivia Harrison, Concert for George ltd. ed. book “[Billy] used to play with George a lot in his studio at home in England and he had Billy’s [Hammond] B3. We just called it ‘Billy’s B3.’ Billy would sit and dance on that seat and on the pedals of that organ. He really did. His seat would just dance across there, he was just amazing. Such a sweet man. So gentle and what a talent. He had absolute fluidity on that organ and on any keyboard really.” - Olivia Harrison, Billboard, April 3, 2017 “[George is] a very emotional guy; he’s very spiritual and sensitive. He’s a very kind-hearted person. […] We feel like we’re together all the time, just through spirit.” - Billy Preston, Ticket To Ride: A Celebration Of The Beatles (1989) “[Billy Preston]’s a tremendous inspiration to work with.” - George Harrison, Disc & Music Echo, July 5, 1969 “Billy Preston, man — Billy Preston, I just love him. I never wanna play in another band without Billy. I mean, I hope I don’t ever have to.” - George Harrison, KLOL, November 1974

this friendship >>>>

He's a dark horse, running on a dark race course

wish someone loved me as much as George loved this vest

George really did love himself some plaid shirts huh

George Harrison !!

George's moles- a study

My main thought was to map out the moles on George's face as an art reference- I have trouble looking at pictures of him when drawing or painting him mostly because his moles mix in with freckles, acne scars, pimples etc etc. So I thought I'd compare pictures of him throughout his life to see which ones stay there the whole time so as to not confuse them with the more temporary ones ^^ I drew up a little map of the ones I concluded were absolutely moles and not seasonal freckles or age spots- but honestly you can just draw your own conclusions from that little collage. He definetely has some more on his forehead but he's like ALWAYS got bangs on so it's harder to tell. Ok bye now assume I am wrong about everything

George Harrison Dark Horse Tour Moodboard

All images sourced from Pinterest, links in captions.

george harrison with sexy little earrings and choker you will always be famous

GEORGE HARRISON on the Dick Cavett Show, November 23, 1971