On September 6, 1994, Nicky Hopkins died aged 50. He was musician (piano, organ), worked with The Easybeats, The Rolling Stones, The Move, Jeff Beck, The Beatles, The Who, The Kinks, Small Faces, Led Zeppelin, John Lennon, George Harrison, and The Jerry Garcia Band.
Tag Archives: George Harrison
The Concert for Bangladesh
“The Concert for Bangladesh” were actually two benefit concerts organized by George Harrison and Ravi Shankar, held at 2.30 and 8 pm on Sunday, August 1, 1971, playing to a total of 40,000 people at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The shows were organized to raise international awareness and fund relief efforts for refugees from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), following the Bangladesh Liberation War-related Bangladesh atrocities. The concerts were followed by a live album, a boxed three-record set, and “Apple Films” concert documentary, which opened in cinemas in the spring of 1972. The event was the first-ever benefit concert of such a magnitude and featured a supergroup of performers that included Harrison, Ringo Starr, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Billy Preston, Leon Russell and the Badfinger. In addition, Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan – both of whom had ancestral roots in Bangladesh – performed an opening set of Indian classical music. Decades later, Shankar would say of the overwhelming success of the event: “In one day, the whole world knew the name of Bangladesh. It was a fantastic occasion”.
The concerts raised close to US$250,000 for Bangladesh relief, which was administered by UNICEF. Although the project was subsequently marred by financial problems – a result of the pioneering nature of the venture – the “Concert for Bangladesh” is recognized as a highly successful and influential humanitarian aid project, generating both awareness and considerable funds as well as providing valuable lessons and inspiration for projects that followed, notably Live Aid. By 1985, through revenue raised from the “Concert for Bangladesh” live album and film, an estimated $12 million had been sent to Bangladesh in relief. Sales of the live album and DVD release of the film continue to benefit the George Harrison Fund for UNICEF.
The Beatles: Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
On May 26, 1967, “Parlaphone” label released “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”, the eighth Beatles (The) studio album. It was recorded 24 November 1966 – 21 April 1967, at “EMI Studios” and “Regent Sound Studio” in London, and was produced by George Martin. The album is regarded as the first concept and art album in popular music. “Time” magazine described it as “a historic departure in the progress of music” It was an immediate commercial and critical success, winning four “Grammy Awards” in 1968, including “Album of the Year”, becoming the first rock album to receive this award. “Rolling Stone” magazine ranked “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” at number one in its list of the “500 Greatest Albums of All Time”. “Oxford Encyclopedia of British Literature” (Professor Kevin J. Dettmar) described it as “the most important and influential rock and roll album ever recorded”.
Personnel:
- John Lennon– lead, harmony and background vocals; rhythm, acoustic and lead guitars; Hammond organ and final piano E chord; harmonica, tape loops, sound effects, and comb and tissue paper; hand claps, tambourine, maracas
- Paul McCartney– lead, harmony and background vocals; bass and lead guitars; electric and acoustic pianos, Lowrey and Hammond organs; hand claps; vocalisations, tape loops, sound effects, comb, tissue paper
- George Harrison– lead, harmony and background vocals, lead, rhythm and acoustic guitars, sitar; tambourine, harmonica, kazoo, hand claps, maracas
- Ringo Starr– lead vocals, drums, congas, tambourine, maracas, handclaps and tubular bells, harmonica; final piano E chord
- Sounds Incorporated– the saxophone sextet on “Good morning, good morning”
- Neil Aspinall– tamboura, harmonica
- Geoff Emerick– audio engineering; tape loops and sound effects
- Mal Evans– counting, harmonica, alarm clock, final piano E chord
- George Martin– tape loops, sound effects, harpsichord , harmonium, Lowrey organ, glockenspiel, Hammond organ , piano , final harmonium chord
- Four French horns on “Sgt. Pep per’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”: Neill Sanders, James W. Buck, John Burden, Tony Randall, arranged and conducted by George Martin and Paul McCartney,
- String section and harp on “She’s leaving home”, arranged by Mike Leander and conducted by George Martin
- Tabla, dilrubas, tamboura and swarmandalon “Within you without you”, played by members of the Asian Music Circle, with eight violins and four cellos arranged and conducted by George Harrison and George Martin
- Clarinet trio on “When I’m Sixty-Four”: Robert Burns, Henry MacKenzie, Frank Reidy, arranged and conducted by George Martin and Paul McCartney
- Saxophones on “Good morning, good morning”, arranged and conducted by George Martin and John Lennon
- Forty-piece orchestra, including strings, brass, woodwinds, percussion; arranged by George Martin, John Lennon and Paul McCartney and conducted by George Martin and Paul McCartney.
Track listing
All tracks by John Lennon and Paul McCartney except where noted.
- Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
- With a Little Help From My Friends
- Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds
- Getting Better
- Fixing a Hole
- She’s Leaving Home
- Being for the Benefit of Kite
- Within You Without You – George Harrison
- When I’m Sixty Four
- Lovely Rita
- Good Morning Good Morning
- Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band – reprise
- A Day in the Life
musicalphabet 