h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A662168
An article about Geoege Harrison, an underappreciated member of The Beatles

<BB<

1 - Give the entry a spell-check, lot's of typos in there. (And it's Jeff Lynne, not Lyne)

2 - Some passages are confusing:

Like: "George persisted, and eventually, after teaching him guitar..." Whom?

Another anecdote: Sinatra used to attribute Something to Lennon/McCartney when announcing the song in his concerts.

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Nice entry.

HELL

Nice entry, informative and interesting.

Just a few points.

It might be worth saying that George's mother had paid £3 10s for the guitar and putting the £3.50 in brackets afterwards.

Also I thought the correct spelling for Bangladesh was as one word, but I may be wrong about that.

Well done.

Ben

First off, thank you. I was griping over whether or not I was the right person to write this entry: I see that I wasn't.

A brief general overview-intro thingy might be nice. Just sort of a very general "who was this guy" in case anybody out there actually doesn't know.

<> is kind of confusing like this. You might mention "after several name changes" or something along that line.

I'm confused by the single thing. I was under the impression that any song on a single released in the UK was not on an LP released in the UK (which would mean that Something wasn't on a UK single). I may be wrong though...

Elaborate more on the sitar on Norweigen wood please. George bought it in a music shop on the advice of a friend and had it sitting around his apartment for a while, unused. When recording Norweigan wood he wanted a sound that he couldn't quite pinpoint: that sound was the sitar. He tought himself to play it enough to record the lead. This started his fascination in eastern culture, music, and religion, all of which lasted him the rest of his life.

<> hmm. I'm probably also wrong on this one, but I though that George initiated this decision, because he was so fed up with not being able to hear himself in concert.

Interesting quote: George said (of Patti being with Eric)
something along the lines of "I'd rather she was with him than with some other guy." If you're at all interested, I will obtain the actual quote.

<> I know that you're reffering to after the Beatles' split-up, but someone else might not.

Mention with the lawsuit that George was convicted of "unintentional plagerism."

Films: and The Rutles!

Hooray! I'm glad you've undertaken this project. You've done him well.

-Strider

Okay - a few changes made. If you can find the exact quote about Patti, I think it'd be good.

Regarding the "Something" album/single controversy, you are right that initially most songs on albums weren't on singles, with a few exceptions ("Help!" etc.), but after the Beatles renewed their contract, they expressly forbade Capital from releasing different versions of their albums in the USA, so everything from Sgt. Pepper onwards was the same both sides of the Atlantic, and yes, "Something" was on both "Abbey Road" and a single. I'm going to write an article about the differences between the UK and USA Beatles albums eventually.

<BB<

The actual quote is:

"I'd rather she was with him than with some dope."

Also, and interesting quote in response to accusations that he was a recluse: "I just don't go to discos where the gossip columnists hang out."

-Strider

Excellent stuff, BB, certain to make the Guide.

I have spotted a few mistakes, though. I have checked these in reference books, so I can offer the following corrections with some certainty!

1) George did indeed play on (and produce) Ringo Starr's first solo single, but it wasn't 'Back Off Boogaloo'. It was 'It Don't Come Easy', released on April 2, 1971.

2) The title of one of the John Lennon songs from the 'Imagine' album to which George contributed is simply 'I Don't Want To Be A Soldier'.

3) The Traveling Wilburys' name was written like that, with one 'l' and a 'g' in 'Traveling'.

4) The song George was ruled to have plagiarised when writing 'My Sweet Lord' was called 'He's So Fine', not 'She's So Fine'. (The Chiffons were a girl group!) On the subject of 'My Sweet Lord', I think you may be on shaky legal ground in saying that the lawsuit was unfair. After all, the court ruled otherwise - and if you ever hear 'He's So Fine', it IS the same tune!

There also looks to be a mistake in the quote at the start of the 'After The Beatles' section: you've typed 'is getting is getting out of them'.

Finally, despite the quote you've included, I don't think it's quite accurate to say that George resented The Beatles' decision to stop playing live. I'm sure I've read that it was actually George who demanded that The Beatles should become a studio band, because he couldn't stand playing shows where the band couldn't hear themselves play over all the screaming fans! He may, as the quote suggests, have felt frustrated at not being able to play concerts, but the way you've phrased it suggests that he blamed the other Beatles for hampering his development as a guitarist. I don't think that was the case.

Please excuse my nitpicking. I don't mean to be over-critical - it is a great Entry!

Okay, some changes made.
I haven't changed the song title of "I Don't Wanna Be A Soldier" as that is how it was spelt on my copy of the album "Iamgine" - so if that's how it's spelt on the album, that's the tile.
I am also still saying that the lawsuit was unfair. Afterall, there are only a finite number of notes available to a musician/composer, and so as people have been writing songs, tunes etc. for several millenia, as they have, it is logically inevitable that there is going to be some repitition, and even with the best will in the world, it is impossible to avoid that. Taking people to court about it would only disuade people from composing music.
Besides which, why aren't all the dreadful tunes out on the Garage/House market now that sound exactly like all other dreadful tunes on the Garage/House market sued? If George Harrison is one of the only musicians to be taken to court for a crime that many other musicians are committing then that is surely unfair.

But feel free to nit-pik more - afterall, who can refuse advice from my friend the great Ormy?

<BB<

Who can refuse my advice? Well - you, apparently, BB...

If you have a copy of 'Imagine' to hand, I have to concede that point over the Lennon title. My reference book must be wrong!

I am now going to go and compose 'Strawberry Fields Forever'. After all, according to your argument, I'm perfectly entitled to do so!

Not sure of the spelling of Bangla desh (?) in section titled - after the beatles.

Is this correct, or is it a typo?

I've just checked on the BBC News site, and they write the name as 'Bangla Desh'. I have seen it written as one word, but I guess BB should probably go with the BBC version!

This, I promise, is my last word about that disputed Lennon song title: I looked at a CD of 'Imagine' about an hour ago. On it, the title was listed as 'I Don't Wanna Be A Soldier Mama'. (Note absence of the '...I Don't Wanna Die' bit).

So Bluebottle and I were both wrong.

Have I mentioned lately that I think this is a great Entry?

(s away before BB sets the on him).

Editorial Note: This conversation has been moved from 'Peer Review' to 'A Tribute To George Harrison'.

This thread has been moved out of the Peer Review Forum because your entry has now been recommended for the Edited Guide.

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Congratulations!

Or, even worse, the

(s back in)

Congratulations, BB!

(s back out again, pursued by )

Great entry - loved picking it.

*Sets and after Ormy*

<BB<

Way back when Apple Records was in full swing, George Harrison produced a great rock n roll LP by Jackie Lomax, "Is This What You Want?" Whilst promoting Jackie Lomax in Los Angeles, 1968, George visited Frank Sinatra at the recording studio. You can see a photo of he and Sinatra on the back of the LP cover to "Cycles". Not only did he visit him in the studio, but he and Patti also stayed in Sinatra's house! ( During that visit, George made a surprise appearance on the "Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour", a show which included Donovan! George did not perform, just came on stage at the beginning of the show.) Sinatra was very impressed with George and his cover of "Something" was the result, which Sinatra often introduced, when he performed it in concert, as "the most beautiful love song ever". And he WOULD credit George as the composer, at least at the concert I went to.