George Harrison stopped being a Beatle yesterday. According to
him, they would each "go on being a Beatle" until they died.
Surrendering to his extended battle with cancer, he left the stage as he had
played on it...quietly.
George became a part of my life, on February 9th 1 964.
Sitting Indian-style on the floor of my childhood home, I was spellbound by the
sounds that sprang forth from our '58 Philco. The "Fab Four" had
exploded into the American consciousness and though I was only nine years old;
it was the beginning of a life-long love of music.
My love affair (AND borderline addiction) was further fueled when
I bought my first, cherished piece of vinyl a year later. Columbia's release of Meet the Beatles made
millions of lyrical revolutions before it was retired and replaced by a copy I
still possess. Through the transformations from vinyl, to tape to compact disc,
(I've yet to break my reference to them as records) The
Beatles' complete anthology has been the cornerstone of my music collection...
And with every release, George's inimitable, and sometimes, melancholic,
strokes of the guitar captured my heart and moved my soul, shaping and
reshaping my reverence for music.
The Beatles were legendary for their masterful integration of each
one's unique talent, a fact that sometimes makes it difficult to separate the
part from the whole. My admiration for John and Paul runs deep; however, while
they commanded the frenzied infatuation of the girls at school, I saw and heard
something in the ever-evolving and unmistakable sound of the Beatle's lead
guitarist.
I remember caressing the body of my beloved first guitar and
pouring over my newly acquired Beatles songbook, suddenly seized by a sense of
awkward unworthiness. Certainly it would be blasphemous to even attempt to play
his work. These days, my dusty guitar sits silently in the corner of my music
library. I am content, and still in awe, to hear his music played as it was
written.
Comfortable in the shadows of Paul and John, George interwove his
distinctive sound throughout the Beatles' music and beyond into his solo
career. Here Comes the Sun, Give
Me Love, What is Life, Something.. .the words to each song are forever
inscribed in my head. One of his last songs, When We Was Fab always
reminds of the "quiet Beatle's" poignant sense of humor.
George Harrison's career is highlighted not only by his musical
contribution through the Beatles, but includes his adventures with
movie-making, his successful solo career, and his trailblazing leadership organizing
the Concert for Bangladesh.
In the end; however, he liked to describe himself as a gardener
saying he lived simply, planting flowers and watching them grow. In his
autobiography he remarked, "I stay at home and watch the river flow."
Yesterday, as the river flowed, George Harrison left us. He
departed, leaving us with a rich tapestry of music and memory, taking flight
with faith, on a journey home to a God who had long guided his life on earth.
Godspeed, George.
Now, my guitar gently weeps.
