George Harrison

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  • Year:
    2004
  • Inducted by:
    Tom Petty & Jeff Lynne (ELO)
  • Category:
    Performers
George Harrison

Introduction

The “quiet Beatle” took his inner conflict between fame and privacy, secular and sacred, and turned it into a huge body of work.

George Harrison’s rich inner life yielded a prolific oeuvre that introduced the Western world to Eastern musical and spiritual influences.

Hall of Fame Essay

2004

Ashley Kahn

In a not-so-distant, black-and-white age we clapped and screamed as four dark-haired lads from Liverpool ascended the dizzying ladder of gain and glory we now expect all our rock stars to climb. They got the hits and the headlines; got the money and the movie roles; got the cars, gorgeous girlfriends and wives. Then one of them - the youngest Beatle - reached one rung higher and got religion.

Or a deep spirituality, to be accurate. Today, when the name of one deity or another is so easily dropped in award speeches and CD liner notes, public acknowledgment of the divine can seem a rote exercise. When George Harrison began exploring spiritual matters, however, this seemingly trend-setting act derived from his eyes-wide, questioning nature. And it was that nature that ultimately lashed Harrison’s musical career to a spiritual pursuit.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Program Cover 2004
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he had a very keen sense of humor, very keen sense of spirit.
Tom Petty

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Gallery

Photography: Kevin Mazur, WireImage