George Harrison (February 24, 1943; Liverpool, England - November 29, 2001; Los Angeles, California)[1] was a member of The Beatles. Most Beatles albums included one or more songs written and sung by Harrison, including “Taxman” (Revolver), “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” (The Beatles/"The White Album"), “Here Comes the Sun” and the famous love song "Something" (Abbey Road).
After the breakup of the Beatles, Harrison had a solo career with several hit singles from 1972-1981 such as "My Sweet Lord," "What Is Life," "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)," his 1981 tribute to John Lennon "All Those Years Ago," and "Got My Mind Set on You."
Harrison's two most famous songs -- "Something" and "My Sweet Lord"—were copied in significant ways from other artists' prior works. The lead lyrics to "Something" ("Something in the way she moves") were copied directly from a prior song by James Taylor,[Citation Needed] initially used as filler by Harrison but then kept in the Beatles' final version. Due to the melodic similarities between "My Sweet Lord" and the Chiffons' 1963 number-one hit "He's So Fine" (composed by Ronnie Mack), that song's publisher sued Harrison for copyright infringement. A court found Harrison liable for "unconscious plagiarism" and awarded the plaintiff a substantial fine.[2]
During the late 1980s, Harrison formed The Traveling Wilburys with Bob Dylan, Jeff Lynne (of Electric Light Orchestra), Roy Orbison and Tom Petty. Their debut album reached number 3 on the Billboard album chart.
Harrison died in 2001 after a bout with cancer.
Categories: [Musicians] [Beatles]