Coordinates	19°45′″N96°12′″N
bgcolour	silver
name	Del Lord
birthname	Delmer Lord
birth date	October 07, 1894
birth place	Grimsby, Ontario, Canada
death date	March 23, 1970
death place	Calabasas, California, United States
academyawards	}}

Del Lord (October 7, 1894March 23, 1970) was a Canadian film director and actor best known as a director of Three Stooges films.

Career

Delmer Lord was born in the small town of Grimsby, Ontario, Canada. Interested in the theatre, he traveled to New York City then when fellow Canadian, Mack Sennett offered him a job at his new Keystone Studios, Lord went on to work in Hollywood, California. There, he played the driver of the Keystone Cops police van, appearing in numerous of the successful films.

Given a chance to direct, Del Lord was responsible for a number of very successful comedies for Keystone and directed two feature films for Universal Pictures. However, the Great Depression devastated the film industry and Sennett was forced to close his studio in 1933. Work was scarce and Del Lord had to take a job selling used cars until a friend at Columbia Pictures offered him work.

From 1935 to 1945, Lord directed some of Columbia's fastest and funniest two-reelers and is credited with developing the unique comic style of the Three Stooges. In addition to more than three dozen Stooges films, on which he collaborated first with Jules White and then Hugh McCollum, over his career he directed or produced more than 200 motion pictures. Del Lord was promoted to feature films in 1944 (he was replaced as a Stooge director by Edward Bernds). Curiously, Lord's Columbia features are action melodramas rather than slapstick comedies.

Lord worked briefly for Monogram Pictures in 1946, and returned to Columbia in 1948. In 1952, he directed Buster Keaton in an industrial featurette, ''A Paradise for Buster''. Del Lord can be seen in an episode of TV's ''This Is Your Life'', honoring Lord's old boss Mack Sennett.

Death

Del Lord died on March 23, 1970 in Calabasas, California and is interred in the Olivewood Memorial Park, in Riverside, California.

Popular culture

A rock band of the 1980s, the Del Lords, was named after him.

Selected filmography

''Topsy and Eva'' (1927)

''Barnum Was Right'' (1929)

''The Loud Mouth'' (1932)

''Oh, My Nerves'' (1935)

''Three Stooges'' shorts (1935–48, more than three dozen films)

''Trapped by Television'' (1936)

''Vengeance'' (1937)

''Kansas City Kitty'' (1944)

''In Fast Company'' (1946)

''It's Great to Be Young'' (1946)

See also

Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood

References

External links

Category:Canadian film actors Category:Canadian film directors Category:People from Hamilton, Ontario Category:People from Grimsby, Ontario Category:1894 births Category:1970 deaths Category:Short film directors

fr:Del Lord

Coordinates	19°45′″N96°12′″N
name	Vince Gill
background	solo_singer
birth name	Vincent Grant Gill
birth date	April 12, 1957
origin	Norman, Oklahoma, U.S.
instrument	VocalsElectric guitarMandolinDobroBanjo
genre	CountryBluegrassBlue-eyed soulCountry pop
occupation	Singer-songwriter
years active	1979–present
label	RCAMCAMCA Nashville
associated acts	The Notorious Cherry BombsPure Prairie LeagueRodney CrowellAmy GrantDolly PartonRicky SkaggsEmmylou Harris Carrie UnderwoodSara Evans
Spouse(s):	Amy Grant (2000-present) 1 child
Website	VinceGill.com }}

Vincent Grant "Vince" Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American neotraditional country singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman to the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s, and as a solo artist beginning in 1983, where his talents as a vocalist and musician have placed him in high demand as a guest vocalist, and a duet partner. Gill has recorded more than twenty studio albums, charted over forty singles on the U.S. ''Billboard'' charts as Hot Country Songs, and has sold more than 22 million albums. He has been honored by the Country Music Association with 18 CMA Awards, including two Entertainer of the Year awards and five Male Vocalist Awards. Gill has also earned 20 Grammy Awards, more than any other male Country music artist. In 2007, Gill was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Biography

Vincent Grant "Vince" Gill was born in Norman, Oklahoma. His father, J. Stanley Gill, was a lawyer and administrative law judge who played in a country music band part time and encouraged Gill to pursue a musical career. His homemaker mother, Jerene, played the harmonica. At the encouragement of his father, Gill learned to play several instruments, including the banjo and guitar, before he started high school at Oklahoma City's Northwest Classen High School. He first played with a teenage band called Bluegrass Revue in the late 1970s. The other members were: Billy Perry on the banjo, Bobby Clark on the mandolin and Mike Perry on the bass.

While in high school, he performed with "Mountain Smoke," a bluegrass band that once opened for Pure Prairie League. After he graduated, he played in a number of bluegrass bands, including Ricky Skaggs' "Boone Creek" and Byron Berline and Sundance; later, he became a member of Rodney Crowell's road band, The Cherry Bombs.

Career

Gill debuted on the national scene with the country rock band Pure Prairie League in 1979, appearing on that band's album ''Can't Hold Back.'' Gill is the lead singer on their hit song "Let Me Love You Tonight".

Mark Knopfler once invited Gill to join Dire Straits, but Gill declined the offer (although he sang backup on Dire Straits' album ''On Every Street'').

Vince Gill is scheduled to appear at the 44th Annual Country Music Awards on Nov 10, 2010.

Vince Gill was mentioned at length by Lewis Black in Black's "Stark Raving Black" stand-up act. Black goes on to joke about how awful it was to follow Gill at a USO benefit show because of how well Vince and wife, Amy Grant, performed.

Is currently collaborating with Joe Bonamassa on his forthcoming album Dust Bowl.

In July 2011, Vince Gill appeared as a guest on NPR's new quiz show Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me.

Personal life

Gill married country singer Janis Oliver of Sweethearts of the Rodeo fame, in 1980. The couple have one daughter, Jennifer Jerene Gill, born May 5, 1982. Gill occasionally mixed sound for his wife's band at concerts. Vince and Janis separated in the mid-1990s and eventually divorced in June 1998. Vince married Christian/pop singer Amy Grant in March 2000. They have one daughter, Corrina Grant Gill, born March 12, 2001.

Gill, along with his wife Amy, are fans of the Nashville Predators. They have been season ticket holders since the opening season and are often shown on the jumbo screen. In the 2007 playoffs, he and Amy sang the national anthem for each game.

Though Gill never attended college, he's a big fan of the University of Oklahoma football team. He also attends nearly every men's basketball game at Belmont University in Nashville.

Discography

Albums

1983: ''Here Today''

1984: ''Turn Me Loose''

1985: ''The Things That Matter''

1987: ''The Way Back Home''

1989: ''When I Call Your Name''

1991: ''Pocket Full of Gold''

1992: ''I Still Believe in You''

1993: ''Let There Be Peace on Earth''

1994: ''When Love Finds You''

1995: ''The Essential Vince Gill''

1995: ''Souvenirs''

1996: ''High Lonesome Sound''

1998: ''The Key''

1998: ''Breath of Heaven: A Christmas Collection''

2000: ''Let's Make Sure We Kiss Goodbye''

2000: '''Tis The Season''

2003: ''Next Big Thing''

2006: ''These Days''

Selected awards

Academy of Country Music

1984 Top New Male Vocalist

1992 Song of the Year with John Barlow Jarvis - "I Still Believe In You"

1992 Top Male Vocalist

1993 Top Male Vocalist

Country Music Association

1990 Single of the Year - "When I Call Your Name"

1991 Male Vocalist of the Year

1992 Male Vocalist of the Year

1992 Song of the Year with Max D. Barnes - "Look At Us"

1993 Album of the Year - "I Still Believe in You"

1993 Male Vocalist of the Year

1993 Song of the Year with John Barlow Jarvis - "I Still Believe in You"

1994 Entertainer of the Year

1994 Male Vocalist of the Year

1995 Male Vocalist of the Year

1999 Vocal Event of the Year with Patty Loveless - "My Kind of Woman, My Kind of Man"

Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

Inducted in 2007

Grammy Awards

1990 Best Country Vocal Performance, Male - "When I Call Your Name"

1991 Best Country Vocal Collaboration with Ricky Skaggs and Steve Wariner - "Restless"

1992 Best Country Song with John Barlow Jarvis - "I Still Believe in You"

1992 Best Country Vocal Performance, Male - "I Still Believe in You"

1993 Best Country Instrumental Performance with Asleep at the Wheel, Chet Atkins, Eldon Shamblin, Johnny Gimble, Marty Stuart, and Reuben "Lucky Oceans" Gosfield - "Red Wing"

1994 Best Country Vocal Performance, Male - "When Love Finds You"

1995 Best Country Song - "Go Rest High on That Mountain"

1995 Best Male Country Vocal Performance - "Go Rest High on That Mountain"

1996 Best Male Country Vocal Performance - "Worlds Apart"

1997 Best Country Instrumental Performance with Randy Scruggs - "A Soldier's Joy"

1997 Best Male Country Vocal Performance - "Pretty Little Adriana"

1998 Best Male Country Vocal Performance - "If You Ever Have Forever In Mind"

1999 Best Country Instrumental Performance with Tommy Allsup, Asleep at the Wheel, Floyd Domino, Larry Franklin, and Steve Wariner - "Bob's Breakdowns"

2001 Best Country Instrumental Performance with Jerry Douglas, Gen Duncan, Albert Lee, Steve Martin, Leon Russell, Earl Scruggs, Gary Scruggs, Randy Scruggs, Paul Shaffer and Marty Stuart - "Foggy Mountain Breakdown"

2002 Best Male Country Vocal Performance - "The Next Big Thing"

2006 Best Male Country Vocal Performance - "The Reason Why"

2007 Best Country Album - "These Days"

2008 Best Country Instrumental Performance with Brad Paisley, James Burton, John Jorgenson, Albert Lee, Brent Mason, Redd Volkaert and Steve Wariner - "Cluster Pluck"

Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame

Inducted in 2005

See also

Best selling music artists

References

External links

Official Vince Gill UMG Nashville Artist Page

How to Capture Vince Gill’s Guitar Tone

Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Gill, Vince

Category:1957 births Category:American country guitarists Category:American country singers Category:American country singer-songwriters Category:American male singers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Grand Ole Opry members Category:Country Music Hall of Fame inductees Category:Living people Category:American mandolinists Category:MCA Records artists Category:Musicians from Oklahoma Category:Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame inductees Category:People from Oklahoma Category:People from Norman, Oklahoma Category:Resonator guitarists Category:The Notorious Cherry Bombs members Category:American session musicians

de:Vince Gill es:Vince Gill fr:Vince Gill nl:Vince Gill pt:Vince Gill ru:Vince Gill simple:Vince Gill

Coordinates	19°45′″N96°12′″N
name	Crystal Lewis
background	solo_singer
birth name	Crystal Lynn Lewis
alias	Crystal Lewis Ray
birth date	September 11, 1969
birth place	Corona, California, United States
instrument	Vocals
genre	Contemporary Christian/Gospel
occupation	Singer, songwriter, author
years active	1986–present
label	Frontline, Metro 1 Music, Myrrh, Word, Interscope, GospoCentric
associated acts	Wild Blue Yonder, The Screamin' Rays
website	http://www.crystallewis.com/ }}

Crystal Lewis (born September 11, 1969) is an American contemporary Christian/Gospel vocalist.

Biography

Early years

Lewis (b. Crystal Lynn Lewis in Corona, California) grew up singing in her father's church. In 1984, at the age of 15, Lewis auditioned for a children's musical called ''Hi Tops,'' written and produced by Ernie and Debbie Retino, creators of ''Psalty, the Singing Song Book.'' Lewis passed the audition and was able to go into the studio and participate in the Soundtrack recording with the rest of the cast members. While working with the musical, Lewis met a member of the rockabilly band, The Lifters. After becoming friends with the members of that band, Lewis was asked to join. Soon after, the band changed its name to Wild Blue Yonder. Lewis also met her husband, Brian Ray, through her association with the band.

Wild Blue Yonder was together for two years and recorded a single full length album ''Wild Blue Yonder'', produced by Daniel Amos frontman Terry Scott Taylor, for Frontline Records in 1986. She would also sing on D.A.'s album ''Fearful Symmetry'' in 1986, and Taylor's solo album ''A Briefing for the Ascent'' in 1987. After Wild Blue Yonder disbanded, Frontline offered Lewis a solo recording contract at the age of 17. ''Beyond The Charade'', her first solo project, was released in 1987.

Metro 1 and television appearances: 1992–1995

Lewis went on to record three more albums for Frontline, ''Joy'' in 1988, ''Let Love In'' in 1990, and her first greatest hits project ''Simply The Best'' in 1991, before starting her own record label, Metro 1 Music in 1992 with a distribution deal through Diamante Music Group.

In 1992, Lewis joined the original cast of the Nickelodeon sketch comedy series, ''Roundhouse'' (for which she helped originate the theme song). After season one, she left the show to pursue her music career.

Her next solo project, ''Remember'', was recorded and released on Metro 1 label in 1992, followed by ''The Bride'' in 1993, and ''Hymns: My Life'' in 1995. ''The Bride'' was listed at # 97 in the 2001 book, ''CCM Presents: The 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music.'' Her second greatest hits collection released that year landed Lewis in the # 1 spot on the Pop/Dance charts with her rendition of "Shine Jesus Shine."

Rise to fame and commercial success: 1996–2000

''Beauty For Ashes'' was released in 1996, the first album from Metro 1 Music to be distributed through a new arrangement with Myrrh Records. ''Ashes'' was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America, and the song "People Get Ready...Jesus Is Comin' " was the # 1 song of the year (1996) in Christian Radio. The album also won an ASCAP award for "Beauty For Ashes" as the most played song (1997). The album contained four # 1 radio singles: "People get ready...Jesus is Comin' ", "Beauty of the Cross", "God's been good to me", and "Beauty for Ashes."

''Gold'' was released in 1998 and gave Lewis two # 1 hits, "Lord, I Believe in You" and "Not the Same". ''Gold'' & ''Beauty for Ashes'' have collectively sold nearly 1,000,000 copies to date. Crystal wrote a companion devotional to go along with the ''Gold'' album entitled ''Gold: A Devotional''. The devotional revolves around Lewis' personal experiences and thoughts in relation to the songs found on ''Gold''. ''Gold'' was later re-issued that same year with a new recording of "Lean on Me" (lead vocals by Crystal Lewis), which originally appeared on Kirk Franklin's album ''The Nu Nation Project'' that included "Lean on Me" featuring Mary J. Blige, R.Kelly, Bono, Crystal Lewis and The Family. That same year, Crystal won Dove Awards for "Female Vocalist of the Year" and "Spanish Language Album of the Year" for ''La Belleza de la Cruz.'' Lewis also joined Franklin along with Gerald Levert, Mary J. Blige, and Bono on stage at the 1999 Grammy Awards for a performance of "Lean on Me."

Lewis returned to her Rockabilly roots briefly in 1999 by joining long time friends/musicians Gene Eugene and Chris Brigandi (among others) to release ''The Attack of the Screamin' Rays''. The live project ''Live @ The Woodlands'', recorded live in Houston, Texas on November 6, 1998, was also released that year. In 1999 she was also featured in a song on The O.C. Supertones' album, Chase the Sun. Crystal picked up two more Dove awards in 1999 for "Special Event Album" for her contribution to the project ''Exodus'', and "Spanish Language Album" for ''Oro.'' In 2000, Lewis released ''Fearless,'' which was nominated for "Best Christian Pop Album of the Year" at the 2000 Grammy Awards. The song "Only Fools" from that album was voted song of the year by ASCAP. Her first Christmas album, ''Holiday! A Collection of Christmas Classics,'' went on to be voted the 5th Best Christmas album of all-time by CCM Magazine

Other projects: 2001–present

Crystal's third compilation project ''More'' was released in 2001. A second live project, ''More Live'', recorded at the Sun Theater in her hometown of Anaheim, California on November 17, 2001, was released in 2002—along with another collection of hymns and gospel standards, ''Holy, Holy, Holy.'' ''See'' was released in 2005, and, the children's project, ''Joyful Noise (Songs For Kids!)'' was released in 2006. Her latest Christmas offering, ''Peace on Earth'', available exclusively through iTunes, was released in 2009. Her new album entitled ''Plain and Simple'' was released on June 7, 2011.

Personal life

Lewis lives in northwestern Montana with husband Brian, with whom she has two children. Her daughter, Izzi Ray, is also a singer/songwriter and is currently in the studio recording her debut album. Her son, Solomon Ray, is also pursuing a career in music having recently wrapped production on his mother's new release ''Plain and Simple''.

Discography

1987: ''Beyond the Charade''

1988: ''Joy''

1990: ''Let Love In''

1992: ''Remember''

1993: ''The Bride''

1995: ''Hymns: My Life''

1996: ''Beauty For Ashes''

1998: ''Gold''

2000: ''Fearless''

2002: ''Holy, Holy, Holy''

2005: ''See''

2006: ''Joyful Noise (Songs For Kids!)''

2011: ''Plain and Simple''

References

External links

The Official Crystal Lewis Website

The Official Metro One Website

Category:American Christians Category:American female singers Category:American gospel singers Category:American performers of Christian music Category:Christian religion-related songwriters Category:People from Anaheim, California Category:People from Corona, California Category:1969 births Category:Living people

pt:Crystal Lewis

Coordinates	19°45′″N96°12′″N
alt	Black-and-white shot of a mustachioed man in his early thirties with long, dark hair.
background	solo_singer
alias	Carl HarrisonL'Angelo MisteriosoHari GeorgesonNelson/Spike WilburyGeorge HarrysongGeorge O'Hara-Smith
birth date	February 25, 1943
birth place
death date	November 29, 2001
death place
instrument	Guitar, vocals, bass, keyboards, ukulele, mandolin, sitar, tambura, sarod, swarmandal
genre	Rock, pop, psychedelic rock, experimental, world
occupation	Musician, singer-songwriter, actor, record and film producer
years active	1958–2001
label	Parlophone, Capitol, Swan, Apple, Vee-Jay, EMI, Dark Horse
associated acts	The Quarrymen, The Beatles, Traveling Wilburys, Dhani Harrison, Ravi Shankar
website	GeorgeHarrison.com
notable instruments	Gretsch Country Gentleman"Rocky""Lucy"Rosewood Telecaster }}

George Harrison, MBE (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English rock musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other Beatles, as well as those of their Western audience. Following the band's break-up, he had a successful career as a solo artist and later as part of the Traveling Wilburys, and also as a film and record producer. Harrison is listed at number 21 in ''Rolling Stone'' magazine's list of "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".

Although most of The Beatles' songs were written by Lennon and McCartney, Beatle albums generally included one or two of Harrison's own songs, from ''With The Beatles'' onwards. His later compositions with The Beatles include "Here Comes the Sun", "Something" and "While My Guitar Gently Weeps". By the time of the band's break-up, Harrison had accumulated a backlog of material, which he then released as the acclaimed and successful triple album ''All Things Must Pass'' in 1970, from which came two singles: a double A-side single, "My Sweet Lord" backed with "Isn't It a Pity", and "What Is Life". In addition to his solo work, Harrison co-wrote two hits for Ringo Starr, another former Beatle, as well as songs for the Traveling Wilburys—the supergroup he formed in 1988 with Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, and Roy Orbison.

Harrison embraced Indian culture and Hinduism in the mid 1960s, and helped expand Western awareness of sitar music and of the Hare Krishna movement. With Ravi Shankar he organised a major charity concert with the 1971 ''Concert for Bangladesh''.

Besides being a musician, he was also a record producer and co-founder of the production company HandMade Films. In his work as a film producer, he collaborated with people as diverse as the members of Monty Python and Madonna.

He was married twice, to model Pattie Boyd from 1966 to 1974, and for 23 years to record company secretary Olivia Trinidad Arias, with whom he had one son, Dhani Harrison. He was a close friend of Eric Clapton. He is the only Beatle to have published an autobiography, with ''I Me Mine'' in 1980. Harrison died of lung cancer in 2001.

Early years: 1943–1959

Harrison was born in Liverpool, England, on 25 February 1943, the last of four children to Harold Hargreaves Harrison and his wife Louise, née French. thumb|alt=Exterior of a red brick building. Visible are a black door with a small window just above it, two larger windows to the left of the door, one above the other, and a flowerpot between the door and the lower larger window|Harrison's first home – 12 Arnold Grove He had one sister, Louise, born 16 August 1931, and two brothers, Harry, born 1934, and Peter, born 20 July 1940. His mother was a Liverpool shop assistant, and his father was a bus conductor who had worked as a ship's steward on the White Star Line. The family were Roman Catholic; his maternal grandfather, John French, was born at County Wexford, Ireland, emigrating to Liverpool where he married a local girl, Louise Woollam.

Harrison was born in the house where he lived for his first six years: 12 Arnold Grove, Wavertree, Liverpool, which was a small 2 up, 2 down terraced house in a cul-de-sac, with an alley to the rear. The only heating was a single coal fire, and the toilet was outside. In 1950 the family were offered a council house, and moved to 25 Upton Green, Speke.

His first school was Dovedale Primary School, very close to Penny Lane, the same school as John Lennon who was a couple of years ahead of him. He passed his 11-plus examination and achieved a place at the Liverpool Institute for Boys (in the building that now houses the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts), which he attended from 1954 to 1959. George said that, when he was 12 or 13, he had an "epiphany" of sorts – riding a bike around his neighbourhood, he heard Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel" playing from a nearby house and was hooked. Even though he had done well enough on his 11-plus examination to get into the city's best high school, from that point on, the former good student lost interest in school. When Harrison was 14 years old, he sat at the back of the class and tried drawing guitars in his schoolbooks: “I was totally into guitars. I heard about this kid at school who had a guitar at £3 10s, it was just a little acoustic round hole. I got the £3 10s from my mother: that was a lot of money for us then.” Harrison bought a Dutch Egmond flat top acoustic guitar. While at the Liverpool Institute, Harrison formed a skiffle group called the Rebels with his brother Peter and a friend, Arthur Kelly. At this school he met Paul McCartney, who was one year older. McCartney later became a member of John Lennon's band called The Quarrymen, which Harrison joined in 1958.

The Beatles: 1960–1970

Harrison became part of The Beatles when they were still a skiffle group called The Quarrymen. McCartney told Lennon about his friend George Harrison, who could play "Raunchy" on his guitar. Although Lennon considered him too young to join the band, Harrison hung out with them and filled in as needed. By the time Harrison was 15, Lennon and the others had accepted him as one of the band. Since Harrison was the youngest member of the group, he was looked upon as a kid by the others for another few years.

Harrison left school at 16 and worked as an apprentice electrician at local department store Blacklers for a while. When The Beatles were offered work in Hamburg in 1960, the musical apprenticeship that Harrison received playing long hours at the Kaiserkeller with the rest of the group, including guitar lessons from Tony Sheridan, laid the foundations of The Beatles' sound, and of Harrison's quiet, professional role within the group; this role would contribute to his reputation as "the quiet Beatle". The first trip to Hamburg was shortened when Harrison was deported for being underage.

When Brian Epstein became The Beatles' manager in December 1961 after seeing them perform at The Cavern Club in November, he changed their image from that of leather-jacketed rock-and-rollers to a more polished look, and secured them a recording contract with EMI. The first single, "Love Me Do", with Harrison playing a Gibson J-160E, reached number 17 in the UK chart in October 1962, and by the time their debut album, ''Please Please Me'', was released in early 1963, The Beatles had become famous and Beatlemania had arrived.

After he revealed in an interview that he liked jelly babies, British fans inundated Harrison and the rest of the band with boxes of the sweets as gifts. A few months later, American audiences showered the band with the much harder jelly beans instead. In a letter to a fan, Harrison mentioned jelly babies, insisting that no one in the band actually liked them and that the press must have made it up.

The popularity of The Beatles led to a successful tour of America, the making of a film, ''A Hard Day's Night'' (during which Harrison met his future wife Pattie Boyd), and in the 1965 Queen's Birthday Honours, all four Beatles were appointed Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). Harrison, whose role within the group was that of the careful musician who checked that the instruments were tuned, by 1965 and the ''Rubber Soul'' album, was developing into a musical director as he led the others into folk-rock, via his interest in The Byrds and Bob Dylan, and into Indian music with his exploration of the sitar. Harrison's musical involvement and cohesion with the group reached its peak on ''Revolver'' in 1966 with his contribution of three songs and new musical ideas. By 1967, Harrison's interests appeared to be moving outside the Beatles, and his involvement in ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' consists mainly of his one song, "Within You Without You", on which no other Beatle plays, and which stands out for its difference from the rest of the album.

During the recording of ''The Beatles'' in 1968, tensions were present in the band; these surfaced again during the filming of rehearsal sessions at Twickenham Studios for the album ''Let It Be'' in early 1969. Frustrated by ongoing slights, the poor working conditions in the cold and sterile film studio, and Lennon's creative disengagement from the group, Harrison quit the band on 10 January. He returned on 22 January after negotiations with the other Beatles at two business meetings.

Relations among The Beatles were more cordial (though still strained) during recordings for the album ''Abbey Road''. The album included "Here Comes the Sun" and "Something", "Something" was later recorded by Frank Sinatra, who considered it "the greatest love song of the past fifty years". Harrison's increasing productivity, coupled with his difficulties in getting The Beatles to record his music, meant that by the end of the group's career he had amassed a considerable stockpile of unreleased material. Harrison's last recording session with The Beatles was on 4 January 1970. Lennon, who had left the group the previous September, did not attend the session.

Relationships with the other Beatles

For the most part of The Beatles career, the relationships in the group were extremely close and intimate. According to Hunter Davies, "The Beatles spent their lives not living a communal life, but communally living the same life. They were each other's greatest friends." Harrison's wife Pattie Boyd described how The Beatles "all belonged to each other" and admitted, "George has a lot with the others that I can never know about. Nobody, not even the wives, can break through or even comprehend it."

Ringo Starr also stated, "We really looked out for each other and we had so many laughs together. In the old days we'd have the biggest hotel suites, the whole floor of the hotel, and the four of us would end up in the bathroom, just to be with each other." and added "There were some really loving, caring moments between four people: a hotel room here and there – a really amazing closeness. Just four guys who loved each other. It was pretty sensational."

John Lennon stated that his relationship with George was "one of young follower and older guy", and admitted that "[George] was like a disciple of mine when we started." The two would often go on holiday together throughout the 60s. Their relationship took a severe turn for the worse after George published his autobiography, ''I Me Mine''. Lennon felt insulted and hurt that George mentioned him only in passing. Lennon claimed he was hurt by the book and also that he did more for George than any of the other Beatles. As a result, George and John were not on good terms during the last months of Lennon's life. After Lennon's murder, George paid tribute to Lennon with his song "All Those Years Ago" which was released in 1981, six months after Lennon's murder. In it, he admitted "I always look up to you", thereby implicitly agreeing with Lennon's appraisal of their relationship.

Paul McCartney has often referred to Harrison as his "baby brother", and he did the honours as best man at George's wedding in 1966. The two were the first of The Beatles to meet, having shared a school bus, and would often learn and rehearse new guitar chords together. McCartney stated that he and George usually shared a bedroom while touring.

Guitar work

Harrison's guitar work with The Beatles was varied and flexible; although not fast or flashy, his guitar playing was solid and typified the more subdued lead guitar style of the early 1960s. The influence of the plucking guitar style of Chet Atkins and Carl Perkins on Harrison gave a country music feel to The Beatles' early recordings. Harrison explored several guitar instruments, the twelve-string, the sitar and the slide guitar, and developed his playing from tight eight- and twelve-bar solos in such songs as "A Hard Day's Night" and "Can't Buy Me Love", to lyrical slide guitar playing, first recorded during an early session of "If Not for You" for Dylan's ''New Morning'' in 1970. The earliest example of notable guitar work from Harrison was the extended acoustic guitar solo of "Till There Was You", for which Harrison purchased a José Ramírez nylon-stringed classical guitar to produce the sensitivity needed.

Harrison's first electric guitar was a Czech built Jolana Futurama/Grazioso, which was a popular guitar among British guitarists in the early 1960s., The guitars Harrison used on early recordings were mainly Gretsch played through a Vox amp. He used a variety of Gretsch guitars, including a Gretsch Duo Jet – his first Gretsch, which he bought in 1961 second hand off a sailor in Liverpool; a Gretsch Tennessean, and his (first out of two) Gretsch Country Gentleman, bought new for £234 in April 1963 at the Sound City store in London, which he used on "She Loves You", and on The Beatles' 1964 appearance on ''The Ed Sullivan Show. During The Beatles' trip to the US in 1964, Harrison acquired a Rickenbacker 360/12 guitar. He had tried out the 12-string electric guitar during an interview with a Minneapolis radio station, and was given the guitar either by the Rickenbacker company or the radio station. The 360/12 was an experimental 12-string guitar with the strings reversed so that the lower pitched string was struck first, and with an unusual headstock design that made tuning easier. Harrison used the guitar extensively during the recording of ''A Hard Day's Night'', and the jangly sound became so popular that the ''Melody Maker'' termed it "the beat boys' secret weapon". Roger McGuinn liked the effect Harrison achieved so much that it became his signature guitar sound with the Byrds.

He obtained his first Fender Stratocaster in 1965 and used it for the recording of the ''Rubber Soul'' album, most notably on the "Nowhere Man" track, where he played in unison with Lennon who also had a Stratocaster. Lennon and Harrison both had Sonic Blue Stratocasters, which were bought second hand by roadie Mal Evans. Harrison painted his Stratocaster in a psychedelic design that included the word "Bebopalula" painted above the pickguard and the guitar's nickname, "Rocky", painted on the headstock. He played this guitar in the ''Magical Mystery Tour'' film and throughout his solo career.

After David Crosby of the Byrds introduced him to the work of sitar master Ravi Shankar in 1965, Harrison—whose interest in Indian music was stirred during the filming of ''Help!'', which used Indian music as part of its soundtrack—played a sitar on the ''Rubber Soul'' track "Norwegian Wood", expanding the already nascent Western interest in Indian music. Harrison listed his early influences as Carl Perkins, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry and the Everly Brothers.

Song writing and singing

Harrison wrote his first song published with the Beatles, "Don't Bother Me", while sick in a hotel bed in Bournemouth during August 1963, as "an exercise to see if I ''could'' write a song", [emphasis in original] as he remembered. "Don't Bother Me" appeared on the second Beatles album (''With the Beatles'') later that year, then on ''Meet the Beatles!'' in the US in early 1964, and also briefly in the film ''A Hard Day's Night''. The group did not record another Harrison composition until 1965, when he contributed "I Need You" and "You Like Me Too Much" to the album ''Help!''.

Harrison's songwriting improved greatly through the years, but his material did not earn respect from his fellow Beatles until near the group's break-up. McCartney told Lennon in 1969: "Until this year, our songs have been better than George's. Now this year his songs are at least as good as ours". Harrison had difficulty getting the band to record his songs. The group's incorporation of Harrison's material reached a peak of three songs on the 1966 ''Revolver'' album and four songs on the 1968 double ''The Beatles''.

Harrison performed the lead vocal on all Beatles songs that he wrote by himself. He also sang lead vocal on other songs, including "Chains" and "Do You Want to Know a Secret" on ''Please Please Me'', "Roll Over Beethoven" and "Devil in Her Heart" on ''With The Beatles'', "I'm Happy Just to Dance with You" on ''A Hard Day's Night'', and "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby" on ''Beatles for Sale''.

Solo work: 1968–1987

Before The Beatles split up in 1970, Harrison had already recorded and released two solo albums, ''Wonderwall Music'' and ''Electronic Sound''. These albums were mainly instrumental. ''Wonderwall Music'' was a soundtrack to the ''Wonderwall'' film in which Harrison blended Indian and Western sounds; while ''Electronic Sound'' was an experiment in using a Moog synthesiser. It was only when Harrison was free from The Beatles that he released what is regarded as his first "real" solo album, the commercially successful and critically acclaimed ''All Things Must Pass''.

''All Things Must Pass'' (1970)

After years of being restricted in his song-writing contributions to the Beatles, ''All Things Must Pass'' contained such a large outpouring of Harrison's songs that it was released as a triple album, though only two of the discs contained songs—the third contained recordings of Harrison jamming with friends. The album is regarded as his best work; it was a critical and commercial success, topping the charts on both sides of the Atlantic, and produced the number-one hit single "My Sweet Lord" as well as the top-10 single "What Is Life". The album was co-produced by Phil Spector using his "Wall of Sound" approach, and the musicians included Eric Clapton, Dave Mason, Gary Wright, Billy Preston, and Ringo Starr.

Harrison was later sued for copyright infringement over the song "My Sweet Lord" because of its similarity to the 1963 Chiffons song "He's So Fine", owned by Bright Tunes. Harrison denied deliberately plagiarizing the song, but he lost the resulting court case in 1976 as the judge deemed that Harrison had "subconsciously" plagiarised "He's So Fine". When considering liable earnings, "My Sweet Lord"'s contribution to the sales of ''All Things Must Pass'' and ''The Best of George Harrison'' were taken into account, and the judge decided a figure of $1,599,987 was owed to Bright Tunes. The dispute over damages became complicated when Harrison's former manager Allen Klein purchased the copyright to "He's So Fine" from Bright Tunes in 1978. In 1981, a district judge decided that Klein had acted improperly, and it was agreed that Harrison should pay Klein $587,000, the amount Klein had paid for "He's So Fine", so he would gain nothing from the deal, and that Harrison would take over ownership of Bright Tunes, making him the owner of the rights to both "My Sweet Lord" and "He's So Fine" and thus ending the copyright infringement claim. Though the dispute dragged on into the 1990s, the district judge's decision was upheld.

The Concert for Bangladesh (1971)

Responding to a request for help by longtime friend Ravi Shankar, Harrison organised a major charity concert, ''The Concert for Bangladesh'', on 1 August 1971, drawing over 40,000 people to two shows in New York's Madison Square Garden. The aim of the event was to raise money to aid the starving refugees during the Bangladesh Liberation War. Ravi Shankar opened the proceedings, which included other popular musicians such as Bob Dylan (who rarely appeared live in the early 1970s), Eric Clapton, who made his first public appearance in months (due to a heroin addiction which began when Derek and the Dominos broke up), Leon Russell, Badfinger, Billy Preston and fellow Beatle Ringo Starr. Tax troubles and questionable expenses tied up many of the concert's proceeds. Apple Corporation released a newly arranged concert DVD and CD in October 2005 (with all artists' sales royalties continuing to go to UNICEF), which contained additional material such as previously unreleased rehearsal footage of "If Not for You", featuring Harrison and Dylan.

''Living in the Material World'' to ''George Harrison'' (1972–1979)

Harrison would not again release an album that came close to the critical and commercial achievements of ''All Things Must Pass''. Although 1973's ''Living in the Material World'' initially did well, holding number one spot on the US album chart for five weeks and reaching number two in the UK, and the album's single, "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)", was also successful, reaching number one in the US and the top ten in the UK, neither could match the sales of ''All Things Must Pass'' and "My Sweet Lord". The album was lavishly produced and packaged, and its dominant message was the power of Harrison's Hindu beliefs. The one fully secular song, "Sue Me, Sue You Blues", expressed Harrison's disgust with the endless legal squabbling that had overtaken all of the former Beatles. The ''Dark Horse'' album of 1974 written after Harrison's break-up with his wife Pattie Boyd and when he was suffering from laryngitis received harsh reviews, as did the accompanying tour of North America. Harrison was criticised for poor songwriting and poor vocals on the album, and for over-indulging his love for Indian music during the tour. The album and single "Dark Horse" did briefly make an appearance near the top of the US charts, but both failed to chart in the UK.

His final studio album for EMI (and Apple Records) was ''Extra Texture (Read All About It)'', featuring a diecut cover. The album spawned two singles, "You" which reached the Billboard top 20 and "This Guitar (Can't Keep From Crying)", which became Apple's final original single release in December 1975. Following the former Beatle's departure from Capitol, the record company was in a position to licence releases featuring Beatles and post-Beatles work on the same album, using Harrison for this experiment. ''The Best of George Harrison'' (1976) combined his Beatles songs with a selection of his solo Apple work.

''Thirty Three & 1/3'' his first Dark Horse release, was his most successful late-1970s album, reaching number 11 on the US charts in 1976, and producing the singles "This Song" (a satire of the "My Sweet Lord"-"He's So Fine" court case ruling) and "Crackerbox Palace", both of which reached the top 25 in the US. With an emphasis on melody, musicianship, and subtler subject matter rather than the heavy orchestration and didactic messaging of earlier works, he received his best critical notices since ''All Things Must Pass''. With its surreal humour, "Crackerbox Palace" also reflected Harrison's association with Monty Python's Eric Idle, who directed a comic music video for the song. After his second marriage and the birth of son Dhani Harrison, Harrison's next released a self-titled album. 1979's ''George Harrison'' included the singles "Blow Away", "Love Comes to Everyone" and "Faster". Both the album and "Blow Away" made the Billboard top 20.

In addition to his own works during this time, between 1971 and 1973 Harrison co-wrote or produced three top ten US and UK hits for Ringo Starr ("It Don't Come Easy", "Back Off Boogaloo", and "Photograph"). Harrison played electric, slide and dobro guitars on five songs on John Lennon's 1971 ''Imagine'' album ("How Do You Sleep?", "Oh My Love", "I Don't Want to Be a Soldier", "Crippled Inside" and "Gimme Some Truth"), with his stinging slide guitar work on the first of these indicating that he took John's side of the intense Lennon-McCartney feud of the time. Lennon later said of Harrison's work on the album, "That's the best he's ever fucking played in his life!" Harrison also produced and played slide guitar on the Apple band Badfinger's 1971 top ten US and UK hit "Day After Day".

During the decade, Harrison also worked with Harry Nilsson ("You're Breakin' My Heart", 1972), as well as Billy Preston ("That's the Way God Planned It", 1969 and "It's My Pleasure", 1975) and Cheech & Chong ("Basketball Jones", 1973). He also appeared with Paul Simon to perform two acoustic songs on ''Saturday Night Live''.

''Somewhere in England'' to ''Cloud Nine'' (1980–1987)

Harrison was deeply shocked by the 8 December 1980 murder of John Lennon. The crime reinforced his decades-long worries about safety from stalkers. It was also a deep personal loss, although unlike former bandmates McCartney and Starr, Harrison had little contact with Lennon in the years before the murder. Their estrangement had been marked by Harrison's longstanding dislike of Yoko Ono, his refusal to allow her participation in the ''Concert for Bangladesh'', and his omission of any mention of Lennon in his autobiography, ''I Me Mine'', published the year of Lennon's murder. The omission had upset Lennon greatly, which Harrison had regretted, leading him to leave a telephone message for Lennon, but Lennon had declined to return the call and they had not spoken again. Following the murder, Harrison said, "After all we went through together I had and still have great love and respect for John Lennon. I am shocked and stunned. To rob life is the ultimate robbery in life."

Harrison modified the lyrics of a song he had written for Starr to make it a tribute song to Lennon. "All Those Years Ago" received substantial radio airplay, reaching number two on the US charts. All three surviving ex-Beatles performed on it, although it was expressly a Harrison single. "Teardrops" was issued as a follow-up single, but was not nearly as successful. Both singles came from the album ''Somewhere in England'', released in 1981. Originally slated for release in late 1980, Warner Bros. rejected the album, ordering Harrison to replace several tracks, and to change the album cover as well. The original album cover that Harrison wanted was used in the 2004 reissue of the album. In 1981, Harrison played guitar on one track of Mick Fleetwood's record ''The Visitor'' and Lindsey Buckingham's song "Walk a Thin Line".

Aside from a song on the ''Porky's Revenge'' soundtrack in 1985 (his version of a little-known Bob Dylan song "I Don't Want to Do It"), Harrison released no new records for five years after 1982's ''Gone Troppo'' received apparent indifference.

In October 1985, Harrison made a rare public appearance on the Cinemax Channel 4 live concert TV special in a tribute to Carl Perkins. He appeared along with Ringo Starr and Eric Clapton among others. The show was called ''Blue Suede Shoes: A Rockabilly Session''. He performed "Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby", "Your True Love", "That's Alright Mama" (including the guitar solo), "Glad All Over" (including the guitar solo), "Gone Gone Gone" and "Blue Suede Shoes". He only agreed to appear because he had been a close admirer and friend of Carl Perkins for over 20 years.

In 1987, Harrison returned with the critically acclaimed platinum album ''Cloud Nine'', co-produced with Jeff Lynne of Electric Light Orchestra, and enjoyed a hit (number one in the US; number two in the UK) when his rendition of James Ray's early 1960s number "Got My Mind Set on You" was released as a single; another single, "When We Was Fab", a retrospective of The Beatles' days complete with musical flavours for each bandmate, was also a minor hit. MTV regularly played the two videos, and elevated Harrison's public profile with another generation of music listeners. The album reached number eight and number ten on the US and UK charts, respectively. In the US, several tracks also enjoyed high placement on Billboard's Album Rock chart – "Devil's Radio", "This Is Love" and "Cloud 9" in addition to the aforementioned singles.

Live performances (1971–1992)

On 23 November 1971, Harrison appeared on an episode of ''The Dick Cavett Show'' in a band called Wonder Wheel performing a song written by Gary Wright called "Two Faced Man". Harrison played slide guitar in this band as a favour since Wright had played piano on Harrison's album ''All Things Must Pass''. The episode can be viewed on DVD ''The Dick Cavett Show: Rock Icons'' Disc 3.

Harrison launched a major tour of the United States in 1974. Critical and fan reaction panned the tour for its long mid-concert act of Pandit Ravi Shankar & Friends and for Harrison's hoarse voice. Harrison had hired filmmaker David Acomba to accompany the tour and gather footage for a documentary. Due to Harrison's hoarse voice throughout most of this tour, the film was not released, but in 2007 Acomba placed a newly revised director's cut in the Harrison archive. It was the last time he toured in the United States.

In 1986, Harrison made a surprise performance at the Birmingham Heart Beat Charity Concert 1986 a concert event to raise money for the Birmingham Children's Hospital. Harrison played and sang the finale "Johnny B. Goode" along with Robert Plant, The Moody Blues, and Electric Light Orchestra, among others. The following year, Harrison appeared at The Prince's Trust concert in Wembley Arena, performing "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and "Here Comes the Sun" with Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, and others.

In 1991, Harrison staged a tour of Japan along with Eric Clapton. It was his first tour since the 1974 US tour, but no other tours followed. The ''Live in Japan'' recording came from these shows.

On 6 April 1992, Harrison held a benefit concert for the Natural Law Party at Royal Albert Hall, his first London performance in 23 years and his last full concert. In October 1992, Harrison performed three songs ("If Not for You", "Absolutely Sweet Marie", and "My Back Pages") at a Bob Dylan tribute concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City. This was released on the album ''The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration'' in August 1993.

On 14 December 1992, Harrison took part in a memorial concert at the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles for Toto drummer Jeff Porcaro. The concert consisted of an all-star lineup that included Boz Scaggs, Donald Fagen, Don Henley, Michael McDonald, David Crosby, Eddie Van Halen, and the members of Toto. The proceeds of the concert were used to establish an educational trust fund for Porcaro's sons.

Later life: 1988–2001

Early in 1989, Harrison, Lynne and Ringo Starr all appeared in the music video for Tom Petty's "I Won't Back Down", although Starr did not actually play on the track; Harrison played acoustic guitar. The same year also saw the release of ''Best of Dark Horse 1976–1989'', a compilation drawn from his later solo work. This album also included two new songs, "Poor Little Girl", and "Cockamamie Business" (which saw him once again looking wryly upon his Beatle past), as well as "Cheer Down", which had first been released earlier in the year on the soundtrack to the film ''Lethal Weapon 2'', which starred Mel Gibson and Danny Glover. Unlike his previous greatest hits package, Harrison made sure to oversee this compilation. In 1989 Harrison played slide guitar on the "Leave a Light On" and "Deep Deep Ocean" songs from Belinda Carlisle's third album ''Runaway Horses''. "Leave a Light On" was successful worldwide.

In 1996, Harrison recorded, produced and played on "Distance Makes No Difference With Love" with Carl Perkins for his ''Go-Cat-Go'' record.

Harrison's final television appearance was not intended as such; in fact, he was not the featured artist, and the appearance had been intended to promote ''Chants of India'', another collaboration with Ravi Shankar released in 1997, at the height of interest in chant music. John Fugelsang, then of VH1, conducted the interview, and at one point an acoustic guitar was produced and handed to Harrison. When an audience member asked to hear "a Beatles song", Harrison pulled a sheepish look and answered, "I don't think I know any!" Harrison then played "All Things Must Pass" and revealed for the first time "Any Road", which subsequently appeared on the 2002 ''Brainwashed'' album.

In January 1998, Harrison attended the funeral of his boyhood idol, Carl Perkins, in Jackson, Tennessee. Harrison played an impromptu version of Perkins' song "Your True Love" during the service. That same year he attended the public memorial service for Linda McCartney. Also that same year, he appeared on Ringo Starr's ''Vertical Man'', where he played both electric and slide guitars on two tracks.

In 2001, Harrison performed as a guest musician on the Electric Light Orchestra album ''Zoom''. He played slide guitar on the song "Love Letters" for Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings, and remastered and restored unreleased tracks from the Traveling Wilburys. He also co-wrote a new song with his son Dhani, "Horse to the Water". The latter song ended up as Harrison's final recording session, on 2 October, just eight weeks before his death. It appeared on Jools Holland's album ''Small World, Big Band''.

Harrison's final album, ''Brainwashed'', was completed by Dhani Harrison and Jeff Lynne and released on 18 November 2002. It received generally positive reviews in the United States, and peaked at number 18 on the Billboard charts. A media-only single, "Stuck Inside a Cloud", was heavily played on UK and US radio to promote the album (number 27 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart), while the official single "Any Road", released in May 2003, reached number 37 on the British chart. The instrumental track, "Marwa Blues" went on to receive the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance, while the single "Any Road" was nominated for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.

The Traveling Wilburys: 1988–1990

In 1988, Harrison played an instrumental role in forming the Traveling Wilburys with Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan, and Tom Petty when they gathered in Dylan's garage to quickly record an additional track for a projected Harrison European single release. The record company realised the track ("Handle With Care") was too good for its original purpose as a B-side and asked for a full, separate album. This had to be completed within two weeks, as Dylan was scheduled to start a tour. The album, ''Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1'', was released in October 1988 and recorded under pseudonyms as half-brothers (supposed sons of Charles Truscott Wilbury, Sr.). Harrison's pseudonym on the first album was "Nelson Wilbury"; he would use the name "Spike Wilbury" for the Traveling Wilburys' second album.

After the death of Roy Orbison in late 1988 the group recorded as a four-piece. Though ''Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3'' was their second release, the album was mischievously titled ''Vol. 3'' by Harrison. According to Lynne, "That was George's idea. He said, 'Let's confuse the buggers.'" It was not as well received as the previous album, but did reach number 14 in the UK and number 11 in the US where it went platinum, while the singles "She's My Baby", "Inside Out", and "Wilbury Twist" got decent air play.

The Beatles Anthology: 1994–1996

In 1994–1996, Harrison reunited with the surviving former Beatles, and Traveling Wilburys producer Jeff Lynne for ''The Beatles Anthology'' project, which included the recording of two new Beatles songs built around solo vocal and piano tapes recorded by John Lennon in the late 1970s, as well as the lengthy interviews on The Beatles' history. The single "Free as a Bird", was the first Beatles single since "The Long and Winding Road" in 1970.

HandMade Films: 1978–1994

HandMade Films was a British film production and distribution company that Harrison formed in 1978 with his business partner, Denis O'Brien. It was created to help out his Monty Python friends by raising £2 million to finish their film ''Life of Brian'' after EMI Films, the original financiers, pulled out due to the film's satirical content. Harrison took the name from some handmade paper he had been given on a mill visit. Though the company was formed with the intention of funding just the one film (a scenario which became epitomised as Harrison's "world's most expensive cinema ticket", as the Python's Eric Idle put it), Harrison and O'Brien bought the rights to ''The Long Good Friday'', which had been faced with various cuts, and released it in its original form.

The first film started under the company was ''Time Bandits'', equipped with a soundtrack by Harrison, in 1981, a solo project by Python Terry Gilliam for whom HandMade originally also was to finance ''The Adventures of Baron Munchausen'' before several funding parties including HandMade dropped out of the project. Harrison produced twenty three films with HandMade, including ''Mona Lisa'', ''Shanghai Surprise'', and ''Withnail and I''. He made several cameo appearances in these movies, including appearing as a nightclub singer in ''Shanghai Surprise'' and as Mr Papadopolous in ''Life of Brian''. Handmade Films became a rarity in the British film industry, a production company that was both consistently successful and internationally known. The company was well regarded both for nurturing British talent and for most of its films having British settings or inspirations.

Harrison was involved in some creative decisions, approving projects such as ''Withnail and I'' and visiting sets as executive producer to sort out creative problems. On the whole, though, he preferred to stay out of the way: "[As a musician] I've been the person who's said of the people with the money, 'What do they know?' and now I'm that person. But I know that unless you give an artist as much freedom as possible, there's no point in using that artist."

The bulk of the financial and business decisions were left to O'Brien, who was tasked with making sure that films got made on time and on budget. This eventually resulted in disagreements and lawsuits between the pair as HandMade Films encountered reversals, and Harrison sold the company in 1994.

Interest in Indian culture

Sitar and Indian music

During The Beatles' American tour in August 1965, Harrison's friend David Crosby of the Byrds introduced him to Indian classical music and the work of sitar player Ravi Shankar. Harrison became fascinated with the instrument, immersed himself in Indian music and played a pivotal role in expanding the emerging interest in the sitar in particular and Indian music in general in the West.

Buying his own first sitar from a London shop called India Craft later that year (as he recalled during interviews for "The Beatles Anthology"), he played one on the ''Rubber Soul'' track "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)", which was influential in the decision to have Ravi Shankar included on the bill at the Monterey Pop Festival in June 1967. After a few initial lessons with Pandit Ravi Shankar, Harrison was placed under the tutelage of Shambhu Das.

Hinduism

During the filming of the movie ''Help!'', on location in the Bahamas, a Hindu devotee presented each Beatle with a book about reincarnation. Harrison's interest in Indian culture expanded to Hinduism. During a pilgrimage to Bombay with his wife, Harrison studied sitar, met several gurus and visited various holy places, filling the months between the end of the final Beatles tour in 1966 and the commencement of the ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' recording sessions. In 1968, Harrison travelled to Rishikesh in northern India with the other Beatles to study meditation with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

In the summer of 1969, he produced the single "Hare Krishna Mantra", performed by the devotees of the London Radha Krishna Temple. That same year, he and fellow Beatle John Lennon met A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Soon after, Harrison embraced the Hare Krishna tradition (particularly ''japa-yoga'' chanting with beads), became a lifelong devotee, being associated with it until his death.

Harrison was a vegetarian from 1968 until his death.

While during his lifetime, Harrison bequeathed to ISKCON his Letchmore Heath mansion (renamed Bhaktivedanta Manor) north of London, some sources indicate he left nothing to the organisation, others report he did leave a sum of 20 million pounds.

Harrison respected people of other faiths and believed in a united holy cause; he once remarked:

Personal life

Family and friends

Harrison married model Pattie Boyd on 21 January 1966, at the then Epsom Register Office, Upper High Street, Epsom, with McCartney as best man. They had met during the filming for ''A Hard Day's Night'', in which the 19-year-old Boyd was cast as a schoolgirl. After Harrison and Boyd split up in 1974, she moved in with Eric Clapton and they subsequently married.

Harrison married for a second time, to Dark Horse Records secretary Olivia Trinidad Arias on 2 September 1978. They had met at the Dark Horse offices in Los Angeles in 1974. They had one son, Dhani Harrison. After the 1999 stabbing incident in which Olivia subdued Harrison's assailant nearly single-handedly, Harrison received a fax from his close friend Tom Petty that read: "Aren't you glad you married a Mexican girl?"

Harrison formed a close friendship with Clapton in the late 1960s, and they co-wrote the song "Badge", which was released on Cream's ''Goodbye'' album in 1969. Harrison also played rhythm guitar on the song. For contractual reasons, Harrison was required to use the pseudonym "L'Angelo Misterioso", meaning "The Mysterious Angel" in Italian. Harrison wrote one of his compositions for The Beatles' ''Abbey Road'' album, "Here Comes the Sun", in Clapton's back garden. Clapton also guested on the Harrison-penned Beatles track "While My Guitar Gently Weeps". Through Clapton, Harrison met Delaney Bramlett, who introduced Harrison to slide guitar. They remained close friends after Pattie Boyd split from Harrison and married Clapton, referring to each other as "husbands-in-law".

Through his appreciation of Monty Python, he met Eric Idle. The two became close friends, with Harrison appearing on Idle's ''Rutland Weekend Television'' series and in his Beatles spoof, The Rutles' ''All You Need Is Cash''. Harrison was also parodied as a Beatle as "Stig O'Hara", portrayed by Rikki Fataar. Idle also performed the famous Monty Python sketch, "The Lumberjack Song", at the Concert for George, held in 2002 to commemorate Harrison.

Interests

An accomplished gardener, Harrison restored the English manor house and grounds of Friar Park, his home in Henley-on-Thames. The house once belonged to Victorian eccentric Sir Frank Crisp. Purchased in 1970, it is the basis for the song "Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll)". Several Harrison videos were also filmed on the grounds, including "Crackerbox Palace"; in addition, the grounds served as the background for the cover of ''All Things Must Pass''. He employed a staff of ten workers to maintain the garden, and both of his older brothers worked on Friar Park as well. Harrison took great solace working in the garden and grew to consider himself more a gardener than a musician; his autobiography is dedicated "to gardeners everywhere".

That autobiography, ''I Me Mine'', published in 1980, is the only full autobiography by an ex-Beatle. Former Beatles' publicist Derek Taylor helped with the book, which was initially released in a high-priced limited edition by Genesis Publications. The book said little about the Beatles, focusing instead on Harrison's hobbies, such as gardening and Formula One automobile racing. It also included the lyrics to his songs and some photographs with humorous captions.

Harrison had an interest in sports cars and motor racing; he was one of the 100 people who purchased the McLaren F1 road car, and would often attend Formula One races. He had collected photos of racing drivers and their cars since he was young; when he was 12 he attended his first race, the 1955 British Grand Prix at Aintree, in which Stirling Moss won his first Grand Prix. He wrote "Faster" as a tribute to the Formula One racing drivers Jackie Stewart and Ronnie Peterson. Proceeds from its release went to the Gunnar Nilsson cancer charity, set up following the Swedish driver's death from the disease in 1978. Harrison's first "important" car was recently sold at auction in Battersea Park, London. The 1964 Aston Martin DB5 was bought new and delivered to Harrison personally in 1965 at his Kinfauns estate in Esher, Surrey, England.

Knife attack

In late 1999, Harrison survived a knife attack by an intruder in his home. At 3:30 am on 30 December 1999, 36-year-old Michael Abram broke into the Harrisons' Friar Park home and began loudly calling to Harrison. Harrison left the bedroom to investigate while his wife, Olivia, phoned the police. Abram attacked Harrison with a kitchen knife, inflicting seven stab wounds, puncturing a lung and causing head injuries before Olivia Harrison incapacitated the assailant by striking him repeatedly with a fireplace poker and a lamp. The attack lasted approximately 15 minutes. Abram, who believed he was being possessed by Harrison and was on a "mission from God" to kill him, was later acquitted of attempted murder on grounds of insanity, but was detained for treatment in a secure hospital. He was released in 2002 after 19 months' detention. Since John Lennon's assassination in 1980, Harrison had rarely made public appearances, except at tightly controlled settings such as Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductions.

Illness and death

Cancer diagnosis

Harrison developed throat cancer, which was discovered in the summer of 1997 after a lump on his neck was analysed. He attributed it to smoking heavily from the 1960s until at least the late 1980s. He was successfully treated with radiotherapy. Early in May 2001, it was revealed that he had undergone an operation at the Mayo Clinic to remove a cancerous growth from one of his lungs. In July 2001, it was reported that he was being treated for a brain tumour at a clinic in Switzerland.

On 22 July 2001, media reports claimed that Harrison was close to death as a result of the cancer, but he denied that this was true.

In November 2001, by which time the ''Daily Mail'' had reported that Harrison may only have a month to live, Harrison began radiotherapy at Staten Island University Hospital in New York City for lung cancer which had spread to his brain.

On 25 November, it was reported in the ''Sunday People'' that Harrison's condition had continued to deteriorate in spite of the treatment, and that he was likely to die within days.

Lederman affair

In a complaint later brought on behalf of Harrison's estate, it was alleged that while under the care of Staten Island University Hospital, Dr Gilbert Lederman, a radiation oncologist, repeatedly revealed Harrison's confidential medical information during television interviews and forced him to autograph a guitar. The complaint alleges that Lederman and his family came to visit Harrison and began singing, and that, in laboured breaths, Harrison said, "Please stop talking." Later, Lederman allegedly had his son play the guitar for Harrison. The complaint alleges that after the performance, Lederman asked Harrison for an autograph on the guitar, and that Harrison responded, "I do not even know if I know how to sign my name any more." Lederman then allegedly took Harrison's hand and guided his hand along to spell his name while encouraging him by saying, "Come on, George. You can do this. G-E-O...". The suit was ultimately settled out of court under the condition that the guitar be "disposed of".

Death

Despite the treatments and operations, Harrison died on 29 November 2001, at a Hollywood Hills mansion that was once leased by McCartney and was previously owned by Courtney Love. The cause of death was listed on his Los Angeles County death certificate as "metastatic non-small cell lung cancer". He was cremated at Hollywood Forever Cemetery and his ashes were scattered in the Ganges River by his close family in a private ceremony according to Hindu tradition. He left almost £100 million in his will.

Tribute concert

In 2002, on the first anniversary of Harrison's death, the Concert for George was held at the Royal Albert Hall; it was organised by Eric Clapton and included performances by many of Harrison's musical friends, including Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. The profits from the concert went to Harrison's charity, the Material World Charitable Foundation, which he established in 1973 “to sponsor diverse forms of artistic expression and to encourage the exploration of alternative life views and philosophies.”

==Honours== Harrison's first official honour was when The Beatles were appointed Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1965, and received their insignia from the Queen at an investiture at Buckingham Palace on 26 October. Another award with The Beatles came in 1970 when they won an Academy Award for the best Original Song Score for ''Let It Be''.

A significant music award as a solo artist was in December 1992, when he became the first recipient of the Billboard Century Award – presented to music artists for significant bodies of work. The minor planet 4149, discovered on 9 March 1984 by B. A. Skiff at the Anderson Mesa Station of the Lowell Observatory, was named after Harrison. Harrison is listed at number 21 in ''Rolling Stone'' magazine's list of "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".

Harrison was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist on 15 March 2004 by his Traveling Wilburys friends Lynne and Petty. He was inducted into the Madison Square Garden Walk of Fame on 1 August 2006 for the Concert for Bangladesh.

Harrison featured twice on the cover of ''Time'' magazine, initially with The Beatles in 1967, then on his own, shortly after his death in 2001. In June 2007, portraits of Harrison and John Lennon were unveiled at The Mirage Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip, where they will be on permanent display.

American film director Martin Scorsese announced that he will make a documentary titled ''Living in the Material World: George Harrison''.

On 14 April 2009, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce awarded Harrison a star on the Walk of Fame in front of the Capitol Records Building. (The Beatles also have a group star on the Walk of Fame.) Musicians Paul McCartney, Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty were among those in attendance when the star was unveiled. Harrison's widow Olivia, actor Tom Hanks and comedian Eric Idle made speeches at the ceremony; Harrison's son Dhani uttered the Hare Krishna mantra. After the ceremony, Capitol/EMI Records announced that a new career-spanning CD entitled ''Let It Roll: Songs by George Harrison'' would be released in mid-June 2009.

Solo discography

rowspan="2" style="width:33px;"	Year	Album	Label	Notes	Peak chart positions	!colspan="2"
!style="width:3em;font-size:90%"	!style="width:3em;font-size:90%"	!style="width:3em;font-size:90%"	!style="width:3em;font-size:90%"	!style="width:3em;font-size:90%"	!style="width:3em;font-size:90%"	! style="font-size:90%;"	! style="font-size:90%;"
	''Wonderwall Music''	style="text-align:center;"
	''Electronic Sound''	style="text-align:center;"
	''All Things Must Pass''									6x Platinum
		style="text-align:center;"								Gold
	''Living in the Material World''									Gold
										Gold	Silver
	''Extra Texture (Read All About It)''									Gold
	''Thirty Three & 1/3''	style="text-align:center;"								Gold	Silver
	''The Best of George Harrison''	style="text-align:center;"								Gold
										Gold
	''Somewhere in England''
	''Gone Troppo''
										Platinum	Gold
	''Best of Dark Horse 1976–1989''
	Live in Japan (George Harrison album)>Live in Japan''	style="text-align:center;"
										Gold	Gold
	''Let It Roll: Songs by George Harrison''	style="text-align:center;"

Notes

References

External links

GeorgeHarrison.com — Official Site

RollingStone.com – George's Greatest Musical Moments

George Harrison – Daily Telegraph obituary

Genesis Publications – Concert for George: A Celebration of the Life of George Harrison

Interview with Paul Cashmere

BBC news article on Harrison's death

BBC news George Harrison: Life in pictures

George and other Beatles at Tittenhurst Hare Krishna temple

BBC news UK version with different pictures

Category:1943 births Category:2001 deaths Category:Apple Records artists Category:Best Original Music Score Academy Award winners Category:Capitol Records artists Category:Cancer deaths in California Category:Deaths from lung cancer Category:English film producers Category:English gardeners Category:English Hindus Category:Converts to Hinduism Category:Krishna Category:English-language singers Category:English male singers Category:English multi-instrumentalists Category:English people of Irish descent Category:English pop singers Category:English record producers Category:English rock guitarists Category:English singer-songwriters Category:English vegetarians Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Lead guitarists Category:People educated at Liverpool Institute High School for Boys Category:Members of the Order of the British Empire Category:Musicians from Liverpool Category:Performers of Hindu music Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Category:Slide guitarists Category:Sitar players Category:Survivors of stabbing Category:The Beatles members Category:The Quarrymen members Category:Delaney & Bonnie & Friends members Category:Traveling Wilburys members Category:Plastic Ono Band members Category:Ukulele players Category:Warner Music Group artists Category:Western mystics

ar:جورج هاريسون ay:George Harrison az:Corc Harrison bn:জর্জ হ্যারিসন be:Джордж Харысан be-x-old:Джордж Харысан bg:Джордж Харисън ca:George Harrison cs:George Harrison cy:George Harrison da:George Harrison de:George Harrison et:George Harrison el:Τζωρτζ Χάρισον es:George Harrison eo:George Harrison eu:George Harrison fa:جورج هریسون fo:George Harrison fr:George Harrison fy:George Harrison ga:George Harrison gd:George Harrison ko:조지 해리슨 hy:Ջորջ Հարրիսոն hi:जार्ज हरिसन hr:George Harrison io:George Harrison id:George Harrison is:George Harrison it:George Harrison he:ג'ורג' האריסון kn:ಜಾರ್ಜ್ ಹ್ಯಾರಿಸನ್ ka:ჯორჯ ჰარისონი sw:George Harrison la:Georgius Harrison lv:Džordžs Harisons lt:George Harrison hu:George Harrison mk:Џорџ Харисон mr:जॉर्ज हॅरिसन nah:George Harrison nl:George Harrison ne:जर्ज ह्यारिसन ja:ジョージ・ハリスン no:George Harrison nn:George Harrison oc:George Harrison nds:George Harrison pl:George Harrison pt:George Harrison ro:George Harrison ru:Харрисон, Джордж sc:George Harrison sq:George Harrison scn:George Harrison simple:George Harrison sk:George Harrison sl:George Harrison sr:Џорџ Харисон sh:George Harrison fi:George Harrison sv:George Harrison tl:George Harrison th:จอร์จ แฮร์ริสัน tr:George Harrison uk:Джордж Гаррісон vi:George Harrison zh-yue:佐治夏里遜 zh:乔治·哈里森

Coordinates	19°45′″N96°12′″N
name	Andrea Bocelli
background	solo_singer
born	September 22, 1958Pisa, Toscana, Italy
instrument	Vocals, keyboards, flute, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, harp, harmonica, guitar, drums, melodica
genre	Adult contemporary, classical, easy listening, Latin pop, opera, operatic pop, pop, vocal
occupation	Musician, songwriter, record producer, multi-instrumentalist
years active	1992–present
label	Universal, Philips, PolyGram, Decca, Sugar
website	Andrea Bocelli
abilities	Echolocation }}

Andrea Bocelli, (; born 22 September 1958) is an Italian tenor, multi-instrumentalist and classical crossover artist. Born with poor eyesight, he became completely blind at the age of twelve following a football accident.

Since winning the Newcomers section of the Sanremo Music Festival in 1994, Bocelli has recorded thirteen solo studio albums, of both pop and classical music, two greatest hits albums, and eight complete operas, selling over 70 million copies worldwide. Thus, he is the biggest-selling solo artist in the history of classical music and has caused core classical repertoire to "cross over" to the top of international pop charts and into previously uncharted territory in popular culture.

In 1998, he was named one of People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People. In 1999, his nomination for Best New Artist at the Grammy Awards marked the first, and so far only time a classical artist had been nominated in the category, since Leontyne Price, in 1961. ''The Prayer'', his duet with Celine Dion for the animated film, ''The Quest for Camelot'', won the Golden Globe for Best Original Song and was nominated for an Academy Award in the same category. With the release of his classical album, ''Sacred Arias'', Bocelli captured a listing in the Guinness Book of World Records, as he simultaneously held the top 3 positions on the U.S. classical albums charts. Five of his albums have since reached the ''Top 10'' on the ''Billboard'' 200, and a record-setting 7, have topped the classical albums charts in the United States.

With over 5 million units sold worldwide, ''Sacred Arias'' became the biggest-selling classical album by a solo artist of all time, and with just under 20 million units sold worldwide, his 1997 pop album, ''Romanza'', became the best-selling album by an Italian artist ever, as well as the best-selling album by a foreign artist in Canada, and a number of other countries in Europe and Latin America. The album's first single, "Time to Say Goodbye", topped charts all over Europe, including Germany, where it stayed at the top of the charts for fourteen consecutive weeks, breaking the all-time sales record, with over 3 million copies sold in the country. He is widely regarded as the most popular Italian and classical singer in the world.

In 2006, Bocelli was made a Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, and on March 2, 2010, he was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, for his contribution to Live Theater.

Early life

Childhood and education

Bocelli was born in 1958 to Alessandro and Edi Bocelli. They lived on the family farm, selling farm machinery and making wine in the small village of La Sterza, a frazione of Lajatico, Tuscany, Italy, which is about 40 km south of Pisa. Bocelli's mother and younger brother Alberto still live in the family home. Bocelli's father died in 2000.

As a young boy, Bocelli showed a great passion for music. His mother has said that music was the only thing that would comfort him. At the age of six he started piano lessons, and later also learned to play the flute, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, harp, guitar and drums.

Bocelli would also spend time singing during his childhood. At the age of 14 he won his first song competition, the Margherita d'Oro in Viareggio with ''O sole mio''.

After finishing secondary school in 1980, he studied law at the University of Pisa. To earn money Bocelli performed evenings in piano bars. He completed law school and spent one year as a court-appointed lawyer. It was there, in 1987, that he met his future wife, Enrica.

Loss of sight

It was evident at birth that Bocelli had problems with his sight, and after visits to many doctors, he was diagnosed with congenital glaucoma. In 1970, at the age of 12, he lost his sight completely following an accident during a football game.

Career

1992–94: Sanremo and ''Il mare calmo della sera''

In 1992, Italian rock star Zucchero held auditions for tenors to make a demo tape with of the song ''Miserere'' from his album of the same name, to send to Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti. After hearing Bocelli on tape, Pavarotti urged Zucchero to use Bocelli instead of him. The demo tape was from Caterina Caselli, who had discovered Bocelli. Caselli is Bocelli's current manager and producer.

Zucchero eventually persuaded Pavarotti to record the song with him and it became a hit throughout Europe. In Zucchero's European concert tour in 1993, it was Bocelli who accompanied him to sing the duet and he was also given solo sets in the concerts, singing "Nessun Dorma" from Puccini's ''Turandot''. Bocelli signed with the Sugar Music label in Milan after the group's president heard Bocelli sing ''Miserere'' and "Nessun Dorma" at a birthday party for Zucchero.

In December Bocelli entered the preliminary round of the Sanremo Music Festival in the category of Giovani, performing both parts of the duet ''Miserere''. He won the preliminary competition with the highest marks ever recorded in the Newcomers section. On 28 December, he debuted in the classical world in a concert at the Teatro Romolo Valli in Reggio Emilia.

In February 1994 he entered the main Sanremo Festival competition with "Il mare calmo della sera", and he won the "Newcomers" section, again with a record score. His debut album, of the same name, was released and immediately entered the Italian Top Ten, going platinum within weeks.

In May he toured with Italian pop singer Gerardina Trovato. In September he sang at Pavarotti's annual Charity Gala concert, ''Pavarotti International'' in Modena, where he sang Ruggero Leoncavallo's "Mattinata" and sang a duet with Pavarotti, Maurizio Morante's ''Notte e Piscatore''. He also sang "Libiamo ne' lieti calici" from Giuseppe Verdi's La traviata in the finale, along with Nancy Gustafson, Giorgia, Andreas Vollenweider and Bryan Adams; and also Adams' song ''All for Love''.

In September he made his opera debut as Macduff in Verdi's ''Macbeth'' at the Teatro Verdi in Pisa. Bocelli had been an agnostic, but around 1994, partly as a result of immersing himself in the works of Tolstoy, he returned to the practice of the Catholic faith. He performed the hymn, "Adeste Fideles" in Rome before Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Basilica at Christmas.

1995–97: ''Bocelli'' and ''Romanza'' – Conquering Europe and Latin America

As winner of the 1994 Newcomers section at the Sanremo Festival, he was invited to return the following year, entering the main competition with "Con te partirò" and finishing in fourth place.

The song was included in his album ''Bocelli'' which was produced by Mauro Malavasi and released in the spring. His third album, ''Viaggio Italiano'', was released in autumn. Bocelli sang "Miserere" and "Funiculì, Funiculà" with guitarist John Miles. In Belgium, "Con te partirò" became the best-selling single of all time.

In 1996, Bocelli was invited to sing a duet with English soprano Sarah Brightman at the final bout of German IBF World Light-Heavyweight boxing champion Henry Maske. Brightman, a friend of Maske, approached Bocelli after she heard him singing "Con te partirò" whilst she was dining in a restaurant. Changing the title lyric of the song to "Time to Say Goodbye", they re-recorded it as a duet with members of the London Symphony Orchestra and sang it as a farewell for Maske. The single debuted atop the German charts, where it stayed for fourteen weeks. With sales nearing three million copies, and a sextuple platinum award, "Time to Say Goodbye" eclipsed the previous best-selling single by more than one million copies. He topped the Spanish singles chart in 1996 with a duet with Marta Sanchez, "Vivo Por Ella", the Spanish version of "Vivo per lei", recorded with Giorgia for the ''Romanza'' album. He also recorded a Portuguese version of the song with Sandy Leah.

The same year, Bocelli recorded "Je vis pour elle", the French version of "Vivo per lei", as a duet with French singer Hélène Ségara. Released in December 1997, the song became a hit in Belgium (Wallonia) and France, where it reached #1 on the charts. To date, it is the best-selling single for Ségara, and the second for Bocelli after "Time to Say Goodbye". On 3 March he appeared in Hamburg, Germany, with Sarah Brightman to receive the ECHO music award for "Best Single of the Year".

In August, he appeared at the Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago, Italy, and then at the World Youth Festival in Paris, where he again sang in the presence of the Pope. In the summer, he gave 22 open air concerts in Germany, as well as an indoor concert in Oberhausen on 31 August. In September he performed in concert at the Piazza dei Cavalieri in Pisa for the home video ''A Night in Tuscany'' () with guests Nuccia Focile, Sarah Brightman and Zucchero. On 14 September in Munich, Germany, he received an ECHO Klassik "Best seller of the year" award for his album, ''Viaggio Italiano''.

Back in Italy in Bologna on 27 September, he yet again sang before the Pope at the International Eucharistic Congress. On 19 October, he sang at the TeleFood benefit concert held in the Vatican City, and organised by the Food and Agriculture Organization to raise awareness about world hunger. On 25 October he received a Bambi award, an annual television and media prize awarded by the German media company Hubert Burda Media, in the Klassik category in Cologne, Germany.

1998–99: ''Aria'', ''Sogno'' and ''Sacred Arias'' – Breaking into the United States

Bocelli made his debut in a major operatic role in 1998 when he played Rodolfo in a production of ''La bohème'' at the Teatro Comunale in Cagliari from 18 February to 25 February. His fifth album ''Aria - The Opera Album'' was released in March. On 19 April Bocelli entered the United States (USA) market with a concert at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. followed the next day by a reception at the White House with then US President Bill Clinton. On 5 May, he appeared in Monte Carlo, winning two World Music Awards, one in the category "Best Italian Singer", and one for "Best Classical Interpretation". He was also named one of People magazine's 50 most beautiful people of 1998.

In June, July, and August, he toured North and South America. His final concert of the tour at Madison Square Garden was sold out. In September, he received his next Echo Klassik award, this time for "Best selling classical album" with ''Aria - the opera album''. On Thanksgiving Eve Bocelli appeared as a guest on Céline Dion's Television special ''These Are Special Times'' in which he joined Dion with their hit ''The Prayer'' from Dion's album ''These Are Special Times'' and he also sang ''Ave Maria'' solo. Dion introduced him by saying, "I heard someone say – If God had a singing voice, he would sound a lot like Andrea Bocelli." As a result of his appearance on the show, his popularity in the USA further increased. Dion's album containing ''The Prayer'' was released in 1998 and re-issued with the DVD of the TV special in 2007. The song appeared on the ''Quest for Camelot'' soundtrack in 1998 and on Bocelli's album, ''Sogno'', the following year.

At the New Year, he performed two concerts at the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas. The hotel used ''Con te partirò'' in its advertisements, further increasing his popularity in the USA. He also performed the first Internet live opera broadcast in its entirety from the Detroit Opera House, with Denyce Graves. At the 56th Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California on 24 January, ''The Prayer'' won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song from the film ''Quest for Camelot''. At the 41st Grammy Awards ceremony held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on 24 February, Bocelli was nominated in the Best New Artist category which was won by Lauryn Hill. Bocelli and Dion received a standing ovation after singing ''The Prayer''. The song was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song and performed by Bocelli and Dion at the ceremony held at the Los Angeles Music Center on 21 March.

From 11 April to 24 April, he toured the West coast of North America from San Diego to Vancouver, with a final performance before over 18,000 spectators at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. Actress Elizabeth Taylor stood by his side on the stage during the encore, while he sang ''The Prayer''.

At the invitation of Steven Spielberg, Bocelli sang in Los Angeles on 15 May before Bill Clinton at an event on behalf of the Democratic Party. At the end of May he toured Portugal and Spain and sang with the Portuguese Fado singer Dulce Pontes. On 27 June he took part in the Michael Jackson benefit concert for suffering children in Munich's Olympic Stadium.

From 10 July to 27 August he appeared in a guest role at seven performances of ''The Merry Widow'' at the Verona Arena in Rome. As the "Tenor Conte Andrea" he performed three arias, "La donna è mobile" from Verdi's ''Rigoletto''; "Tu, che m' hai preso il cuor" from Franz Lehár's ''Land des Laechelns'' and "Libiamo ne' lieti calici" from Verdi's ''La traviata'', again receiving standing ovations.

On 10 September, together with soprano Daniela Dessi and two Polish singers, he performed at the Great Theatre of Łódź in Poland. From 7 October to 19 November, he made his United States operatic debut in Jules Massenet's ''Werther'' at the Detroit Opera House with the Michigan Opera Theater. He was cheered by the audiences, but criticized by the press.

He also performed at Rodeo Drive in Hollywood and gave further concerts in Detroit, Cleveland and Chicago, and made an appearance on Jay Leno's first installment of The Tonight Show. Then Mayor of New York City Rudy Giuliani gave him the Crystal Apple, a gift to celebrated personalities from New York City. His seventh album ''Sacred Arias'', which contains exclusively sacred music, was released worldwide on 8 November, and two weeks later reached first place in the USA Classic Billboard charts -- making Bocelli the first vocalist to hold all top three places on the chart, with ''Aria, the opera album'' in second place, and ''Viaggio Italiano'' in third place. The album also included the hymn of the Holy Year 2000 which was chosen as the official version by the Vatican in October.

Immediately after his return to Italy, Bocelli sang in Florence at a meeting of the centre-left Heads of State. Invited by Queen Elizabeth II, he performed at the annual Royal Variety Performance in Birmingham, UK, on 29 November. On 30 November, his book ''La musica del silenzio'', an autobiographical novel, was released in Italy.

From 12 December to 21 December he performed six concerts in Barcelona, Strasbourg, Lisbon, Zagreb, Budapest and Messina, directed by Lorin Maazel, some of which were broadcast on local television. He also performed on German television; Wetten, dass..? on 11 December and the José Carreras Gala in Leipzig on 17 December. On 31 December, he finished a marathon twenty-four concerts in thirty days, with a concert at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in New York in front of 8,000 people, welcoming in the new millennium.

2000–01: ''Verdi'' and ''Cieli di Toscana''

At the 42nd Grammy Awards on 23 February, Bocelli was nominated twice. ''The Prayer'' was nominated for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals and for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. Bocelli performed it with Dion at the ceremony. His "World Tour 2000" started on 31 March. In May his ''Sacred Arias'' album was voted album of the year by listeners of the Classic FM radio station in the UK. His world tour continued from 12 May to 14 May with four concerts in Japan and South Korea. At the end of the UEFA European Football Championship he performed with Valery Gergiev and Renée Fleming at a concert on the River Maas in Rotterdam. On 6 July he performed at the Statue of Liberty in New York and on 17 August he performed in Giuseppi Verdi's Messa da Requiem at the Verona Arena in Rome. His seventh album ''Verdi'' was released on 11 September. In September he also performed three concerts in Australia. He received another Echo Klassik award for "Bestseller of the year" for ''Sacred Arias''. In November his first complete opera recording, ''La Bohème'' was released. In December he received another award in Germany, the Goldene Europa for classical music.

In January 2001, Bocelli portrayed the main character in Pietro Mascagni's opera ''L'amico Fritz'' at the Teatro Filarmonico in Verona and again performed the tenor part in Verdi's Requiem. On 19 March the Requiem album was released with Bocelli as tenor. From 22 March to 6 April he toured North America accompanied by Cecilia Gasdia and the Hartford Symphony Orchestra. On 17 June he performed at the re-opening of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. In July he performed two concerts in Dublin with Ana María Martínez and the New Symphony Orchestra. At the Scuola Grande di San Rocco in Venice on 4 October he presented his new album ''Cieli di Toscana'' and was recognised for having sold more than 40 million albums worldwide. In October he opened the celebrations of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Sicilian opera composer Vincenzo Bellini in Catania. On 28 October, he sang Franz Schubert's ''Ellens dritter Gesang'' as a representative of the Roman Catholic faith, during a memorial concert at Ground Zero in New York City for the victims of the September 11 attacks there. In November he received the Platinum Europe Award for one million sales of the album ''Cieli di Toscana'', and at the Italian Music Awards he was given a special award from the Federation of the Italian Music Industry for his merits as an "Ambassador of Italian music in the world". He performed seven more concerts in the US accompanied by Ana María Martínez, and on 23 December, in front of the President of Italy and other guests of honour, he sang the Italian national anthem as well as works of Bellini and Verdi at the traditional Christmas concert in the Italian Senate, which was broadcast live on television for the first time.

2002–05: ''Sentimento'' and ''Andrea''

In Berlin on 5 February he received a Goldene Kamera award in the "Music & Entertainment" category. On 6 March he received two World Music Awards in Monte Carlo: "World best selling classical artist" and "Best selling Italian artist". On 11 March, he gave a concert for peace at the Basilica di San Marco a Venezia in Venice, accompanied by the orchestra of the Teatro La Fenice and conducted by Lorin Maazel. On 15 March he took part in the opening of Walt Disney Studios Park in Marne-la-Vallée France. On 7 May Bocelli and Tony Renis received a Telegatto Italian Television award for the soundtrack of the series ''Cuore''. On 23 May he received the 2002 Classical BRIT Award for "Outstanding Contribution to Music". On 27 May he performed at the Villa Madama in Rome in front of USA president George W. Bush and Italian president Silvio Berlusconi. On 28 May he took part in "Pavarotti & Friends" charity concert in Modena in aid of Angola. In June he again toured the USA, then on 26 July and 3 August he portrayed Lieutenant B.F. Pinkerton in ''Madama Butterfly'' at the 48th Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago. On 14 October he and Lorin Maazel presented his new album ''Sentimento'' to a worldwide audience. Further presentations took place in Milan and New York, and the album was released on 4 November, selling over two million copies in 40 days. On 24 October he started his ''Sentimento'' tour in Zürich which took in large arenas in several European and North American cities.

In February 2003, Bocelli performed ''Madama Butterfly'' in an exclusive Monte Carlo concert, which was attended by Caroline, Princess of Hanover. In March for the first time he appeared as a producer, at the Sanremo Festival, where the young artists Allunati and Jacqueline Ferry sang for his new record label, Clacksong. In May his second complete opera, ''Tosca'', was released. At a private benefit gala for the Royal National Institute of Blind People Bocelli sang in front of the British Royal Family. A day later he received two awards for ''Sentimento'' at the 2003 Classical BRIT Award held at the Royal Albert Hall in London – "Best selling classical album" and "Album of the year". On 24 May he performed in a benefit concert for the Arpa Foundation for Film, Music and Art in the Piazza del Campo in Siena, with sopranos Maria Luigia Borsi and Lucia Dessanti, baritone Soo Kyung Ahn, and violinist Ruth Rogers, accompanied by Marcello Rota and the Orchestra Città di Pisa. Three days later he was again invited to perform at "Pavarotti & Friends" in Modena and sang a medley of Neapolitan songs together with Pavarotti. In June he continued his ''Sentimento'' tour in Athens and Cyprus. In September he took part in a concert for the Justice ministers and Interior ministers of the European Union at the Parco della Musica in Rome. He then resumed his tour, accompanied by Maria Luigia Borsi, Ruth Rogers and Marcello Rota.

He won the "Favourite Specialist Performer" award at the UK National Music Awards in October 2003. In November he once again toured in the United States, this time accompanied by Ana Maria Martinez, Kallen Esperian and Steven Mercurio. In December he gave his first concert in China and at the end of the month sang Gounod's ''Ave Maria'' at Pavarotti's wedding in Modena.

In Bologna in January he performed as Werther in four performances of the opera of the same name. In April and May he toured Asia again, visiting Manila, Hong Kong and Singapore. In May he took part in a concert at Circo Massimo in Rome organised by Quincy Jones to launch the "We are the Future" project. In June his third complete opera ''Il trovatore'' was released. In July he played the part of Mario Cavaradossi in ''Tosca'' at the 50th Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago. And he took part in the International Olympic Committee (IOC) global campaign for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.

In September he performed his "Once in a Lifetime" tour in Australia with concerts in Sydney and Melbourne and one concert in Christchurch, New Zealand, where he was joined on stage by New Zealand soprano Hayley Westenra. On 15 October he performed at the People Conference Hall in Beijing, China, and on 17 October at the Great Hall in Shanghai.

During early 2005 Bocelli was on tour including performances in Madeira, Hungary, Norway, USA, UK, Italy and Germany. He also appeared in ''Sesame Street'' singing "Time to Say Goodnight" a parody of ''Time to Say Goodbye'' as a lullaby to Elmo. On 21 March he performed on the ''Music for Asia'' benefit concert in Rome, televised on Italia 1, in aid of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake appeal.

In June he performed at the Deutsche Opera in Berlin. On 2 July he performed at the Paris concert as part of the Live 8 event. Also during the second part of the year, he performed in Croatia, Serbia, Italy, the US, Dubai, Switzerland and finally in Scandinavia. On 28 August he performed at the Faenol Festival held in Vaynol, Wales and organised by Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel. In December his first contemporary music concert took place at a Lake Las Vegas village resort in Nevada, US, which was recorded for PBS and released as the ''Under the Desert Sky'' DVD. He also took part in the Royal Christmas Show, which took place in several cities in the USA in December. The album ''Werther'' was released in December. During 2005 he was invited by Pope Benedict XVI, George W. Bush and Queen Elizabeth II to perform at special events.

2006–07: ''Amore'' and ''Vivere, Greatest hits''

On 18 February he sang at the Toyota Center in Houston during the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2006 All-Star Weekend, and broadcast live on the TNT Cable television network.

On 26 February Bocelli sang "Because We Believe" from his ''Amore'' album in the Carnevale section of the closing ceremony of the Torino Olympics with a worldwide television audience. He also began another tour with a concert at the Piazza di Castello in Turin. In March he was honoured by the Italian state with a Grande Ufficiale Italian Order of Merit (Grand Officer of the Italian Republic), given to him by then President of the Italian Republic, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi for his worldwide work for his country as a singer. The award was presented to him at the Sanremo Festival where he performed a duet with American singer Christina Aguilera on 4 March. From 31 March to 2 April he took part in the Maggio Musicale in Florence where he sang the ''Canto di pace (Canto of peace)'' by Marco Tutino and the tenor part from Gioachino Rossini's ''Messa di Gloria'' and in Naples where he took part in Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle.

In April 2006, he featured as a guest coach on ''American Idol'' helping the finalists sing the week's themed songs, "Greatest Love Songs." He also performed on that week's results show. American Idol runner-up Katharine McPhee performed at three of Bocelli's concerts in California from 9 June to 11 June singing duets of ''Somos Novios'' and ''The Prayer'' with Bocelli. They also performed on '''J. C. Penney Jam: The Concert for America's Kids'' and recorded duet versions of ''Somos Novios'' for the resulting album, and also ''Can't Help Falling in Love'' on the CD of the Under the Desert Sky DVD.

In June he sang the Italian duet version of "Because We Believe", "Ama, credi e vai", with Gianna Nannini at the "großen Fan Party" at the opening of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, in Berlin in front of billions of worldwide television viewers.

On 1 July 2007, Bocelli performed "The Music of the Night" from Andrew Lloyd Webber's ''The Phantom of the Opera'', in a special musicals medley during the Concert for Diana at Wembley Stadium in London, England. Bocelli returned to his home town for a triumphant concert at the newly created Teatro del Silenzio in Lajatico on 5 July 2007, with guest appearance by Kenny G, Heather Headley, Lang Lang, Elisa, Sarah Brightman and Laura Pausini. The concert was later released as Vivere Live in Tuscany. In September he debuted at the Avery Fisher Hall, in New York, with four concerts. October saw the release of the opera album of Ruggero Leoncavallo's ''Pagliacci'' with Bocelli singing the role of Canio. In November he won the "Best Italian Artist" and "World's Best-selling Classical Artist" awards at the World Music Awards. In December he finished his 2006 tour with more concerts in North America and Europe.

Bocelli and Sarah Brightman's duet version of "Con te partirò" was used in the 2007 film ''Blades of Glory'', as an ice skating song. K-1 mixed martial arts fighter, Akiyama Yoshihiro started using "Con te partirò" as his ring entrance music. On 8 September Bocelli sang an arrangement of Mozart's ''Ave verum corpus'' at the funeral of Luciano Pavarotti in Modena, Italy.

On 21 October 2007, he sang "Con te partirò" with Katherine Jenkins on the UK television series ''Strictly Come Dancing'' results show, and on 30 October, he sang "The Prayer" with Céline Dion during an ITV Special ''An Audience with Céline Dion''. The show was broadcast on 23 December. Alongside fellow Italian singer Laura Pausini, he sang ''Vive Ya'' during the 2007 Latin Grammy Awards. The song, originally released in 1997 as a duet in Italian between Bocelli and Italian singer-songwriter Trovatto on Bocelli's ''Romanza'', was also released in English on his 2007 album, ''The Best of Andrea Bocelli: Vivere'', as ''Dare to Live''. The album, ''Vivere'', sold over 3 million copies.

2008: ''Incanto'' and ''Carmen''

On 20 January 2008, Bocelli received the Italian TV award Telegatto in platinum for ''Italian music in the world'', in Rome. He sang "La voce del silenzio" -- "The voice of silence" -- and "Dare to Live" during the ceremony. To promote the album, he performed ''"Canto della Terra"'' at The Alan Titchmarsh Show on the BBC in London on 1 February; was interviewed by Fabio Fazio on the Italian talk show ''Che tempo che fa'' on RAI 3 in Italy; and performed ''"Canto della terra"'', ''"A te"'' and ''"Besame mucho"'' from the album, as well as ''"My way"'' on 2 February; and made an appearance on The South Bank Show in London, where he sang the French aria "Pour mon âme" on 3 February. Then on 10 February, he performed "The Prayer" at the 50th Grammy Awards, held in Los Angeles, with Josh Groban in a tribute to Luciano Pavarotti, and sang ''"Dare to live"'' with Heather Headley the following day on ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno''.

In April he toured in Asia with performances in Tokyo, Taichung, Taiwan, and Seoul. Each concert was attended by over 15,000 people.

On 7 May 2008, he sang at Steel Aréna in Košice, Slovakia, in front of 8,000 people. Then 13 May he sang at the ''"Teatro delle Muse"'' in Ancona, Italy, for a charity concert for "Francesca Rava – N.P.H. Italia Onlus", a foundation that helps poor and disabled children around the world.

On 23 May 2008 he sang ''The Prayer'' with Katharine McPhee in a Las Vegas tribute concert for Canadian producer and songwriter David Foster. Bocelli later praised Filipina teen-aged singer Charice, whom he had first heard perform at that concert.

On 2 June 2008 he performed at the Piazza del Duomo, Milan in front of 80,000 people during a concert celebrating the anniversary of the Republic of Italy's formation.

From June 17 to June 28, Bocelli played the role of Don José on stage, opposite Hungarian mezzo-soprano Ildiko Komlosi as Carmen, in Georges Bizet's opera at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, in Rome, for four nights. Bocelli released the complete opera recording of ''Carmen'' in Italy in the same year, which he recorded in 2005. Myung-whun Chung conducted the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and the Chœur de Radio France for the recording, and Welsh Bass-baritone Bryn Terfel, was part of the Ensemble. The recording was not released internationally, until March 2010. ''Carmen: Duets & Arias'', a single-disc collection of some of the arias and duets of the recording, was also released in 2010.

On 20 July, Bocelli held his third concert at the Teatro del Silenzio in Lajatico, his hometown. The concert was a tribute to the cinema of Italy. Its performers included Italian composer and musician Nicola Piovani, Italian ballet dancer Roberto Bolle, Israeli singer Noa, and Charice. Then on 31 July, he performed at a concert in Vingis Park in Vilnius, Lithuania, in front of more than 18,000 people. Australian singer Tina Arena performed two duets with Bocelli -- ''"Canto Della Terra"'' and ''"The Prayer"'' -- at the closing stages of the concert.

On 7 August 2008, he held a benefit concert at Medjugorje, Bosnia Herzegovina, and was accompanied by Czech National Symphony Orchestra. Then, during the rest of August, he was on tour in Australia and New Zealand—for the third time—with performances at Vector Arena, Auckland, on the 20th; Entertainment Centre, Brisbane on the 22nd; Acer Arena, Sydney, on the 24th, Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, on the 27th; and Burswood Dome, Perth, on the 30th. His fiancée and both of his sons accompanied him on the tour. Tina Arena performed again with him in all 5 concerts during the tour.

On 26 September 2008, during the 2008 Veneto Festival, he held a concert in the Church of the Eremitani in Padova, Italy, in front of about 1000 people. He was accompanied by the I Solisti Veneti orchestra, celebrating its 50th birthday and conducted by Claudio Scimone, and by the Wiener Singakademie choir. The concert was a celebration of Giacomo Puccini's 150th birthday.

On 10 October and 11 he performed at Petra, singing ''"Dare to live"'' with Laura Pausini, as well as performing ''E Lucevan le Stelle'' from ''Tosca''. On 19 October he sang ''"O Surdato 'Nnamurato"'' and a duet of ''"Non Ti Scordar Di Me"'' with Cecilia Bartoli, both from the ''Incanto'' album, during the ECHO Awards in Germany; and later presented the soprano with an ECHO award. On 24 October, he performed at ''Piazza del Plebiscito'' in Naples, as a tribute to the city, where he celebrated the Italian release of ''Incanto''. Performing with him were flautist Andrea Griminelli, Italian pop singer Massimo Ranieri and soprano Cecilia Bartoli, with Steven Mercurio conducting the Czech National Symphony Orchestra. On 31 October, he performed a solo version of "The Prayer", as well as "Because", a song from ''Incanto'', live on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

On 21 November and 22, Bocelli was amongst a quartet of soloists (soprano Sabina Cvilak, mezzo-soprano Kate Aldrich and bass Alexander Vinogradov) to sing Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle, conducted by Plácido Domingo, at the Washington National Opera in Washington, D.C.. Bocelli sang twice in the piece and later the two famous tenors sang The Pearl Fishers duet which would be the first aria they had ever sang together. On 25 November and 26 he starred alongside soprano Verónica Villarroel in an opera in concert of Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana at the ''"Municipal Auditorium"'' in San Antonio, Texas. He later held a concert at ''"Atrio de la Catedral"'' in Campeche, Mexico, on 28 November, where he sang songs from ''Incanto'' as well as some of his Spanish hits, including ''Besame Mucho'', ''Somos Novios'', ''Amapola'' and ''Por ti Volare'' -- the Spanish version of ''Con te Partiro''.

2009: ''My Christmas'', first holiday album

On May 27, 2009, Bocelli sang "Il Gladiatore", from the Gladiator soundtrack, followed by the UEFA Champions League Anthem, which is based on "Zadok the Priest" by G.F. Handel, during the opening ceremony of the 2009 UEFA Champions League Final, in the Stadio Olimpico, in Rome.

On November 3, ''My Christmas'', his first Holiday album, produced by David Foster, was released and went on to become the best-selling Holiday album of the year.

The ''Andrea Bocelli & David Foster Christmas Special'', the PBS special of the album, first aired on Thanksgiving night in the United States, and continued to be broadcast in the United States and Canada throughout the month of December. In late November, the program was broadcast in Mexico and in the UK; it later aired, December 15 and 25, on Italia 1, in Italy, December 19, on TVE2 and TROS, in Spain and the Netherlands, and Christmas Eve, on vtm and RTL-TVI, in Belgium and Luxembourg.

On November 3, during the World Premiere of Disney's ''A Christmas Carol'', in Leicester Square, London, following the switching on of the annual Oxford Street and Regent Street Christmas lights, Bocelli led the St Paul's Cathedral Choir, and more than 14,000 people across the capital, as they broke the Official Guinness World Record for the biggest ever Christmas Carol sing-along, singing "Silent Night". He completed his performance in Leicester Square with, "God Bless Us Everyone", the closing song of the movie, which he provided the vocals for in English, Italian and Spanish. He returned to the United Kingdom, December 16, for an appearance on ''The One Show'', broadcast live by BBC One, and on ''The Alan Titchmarsh Show'' which aired December 18, on ITV1.

On November 21, a segment of ''Leute Heute'', a German tabloid-program on ZDF, was about ''My Christmas'' and Bocelli's meeting in Rome with Pope Benedict XVI and 250 other artists, an event which was broadcasted live earlier that day in Italy, by Rai Uno. Bocelli was also joined by the Piccolo Coro dell'Antoniano, in his home in Forte dei Marmi, where they sang "Caro Gesù Bambino", a song from ''My Christmas'' which was originally recorded by the choir in 1960. Rai Uno also broadcast the performance later that day, during the Zecchino d'Oro Festival. The following day, Bocelli was among Fabio Fazio's guests, on his popular Italian talk-show, Che tempo che fa, broadcast on Rai Tre. During the program Bocelli talked about his album and performed "The Lord's Prayer", "White Christmas", and "Silent Night". It was also announced that Bocelli would return to the show on December 20 and give a live concert of ''My Christmas''. Bocelli also took part in the annual 2009 ''José Carreras Gala'', on December 17, where he sang Adeste Fideles, before singing "White Christmas" with José Carreras for the very first time; this was broadcast live, by Das Erste, in Germany. He then returning to Italy, for a concert in the Upper Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi, on December 19, which was broadcast directly after the ''Urbi et Orbi'' blessing of Pope Benedict XVI, December 25, on Rai Uno.

In North America, Bocelli gave 6 concerts. On November 28, he performed in the Bank Atlantic Center, in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. He later performed in the Air Canada Centre, in Toronto, Canada, in the Izod Center, in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in the William Saroyan Theatre, in Fresno, California (changed from the much larger Save Mart Center due to scheduling conflicts), in the MGM Grand, in Las Vegas, and finally in the Honda Center, in Anaheim, California, on December 3, 5, 8, 12, and 13. His last three arena concerts alone grossed a total of over 5,6 million dollars, placing him third on Billboard Magazine's week's Hot Tours ranking, behind the Trans-Siberian Orchestra and Il Divo, who both held over 5 times more concerts worldwide, compared to Bocelli's three in the United States, explaining their better showings.

In the United States, Bocelli made a number of high profile TV appearances. He first performed "White Christmas" at the 83rd annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, broadcast live on NBC, November 26. He performed the song again on November 30 during ''The Today Show'' also live. His appearance on ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' during her ''Holiday Music Extravaganza'', where he sang "What Child Is This", with Mary J. Blige, and later closed the show with Adeste Fideles, was also aired the same day, and was later rebroadcast on December 23. Bocelli also sang "Adeste Fideles" and was interviewed by Barbara Walters and Joy Behar on ''The View'', which aired December 2, on ABC. On December 8, he performed "Jingle Bells" with The Muppets on NBC's ''The Jay Leno Show''. He also performed a number of songs from the album, including "The Christmas Song" with Natalie Cole, during a dinner at David Foster's mansion in Malibu, which was featured on ''The Dr. Phil Show'', on December 10. Bocelli also performed "White Christmas" and "Silent Night", on the ''Larry King Live'' and ''Fox & Friends'' holiday-specials, broadcast December 23, on CNN, and December 19, 24 and 25, on Fox News.

In Brasil, following the success of the South American leg of the ''Incanto tour'', were over 100,000 people attended his free concert at the São Paulo's "Parque Indipendencia", earlier in the year, it was announced that Bocelli would hold another Open-Air, entrance free, concert in Florianópolis, on December 28, where a crowd of about a million people was expected to attend. However, due to financial and political reasons, the concert was later canceled on short notice, along with all the other events scheduled for Christmas in the city.

2010: Hollywood Walk of Fame and FIFA World Cup

On January 31, 2010, during the 52nd Grammy Awards, Bocelli, Mary J. Blige and David Foster joined forces again, singing "Bridge over Troubled Water" to raise awareness for the victims of the Haiti earthquake. The three had previously made an appearance on CNN's Larry King Live, January 28, 2010, to announce the performance.

On March 2, he was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contribution to Live Theater, at 7000 Hollywood Boulevard, in front of the Roosevelt Hotel.

On March 12, Bocelli made an appearance on Skavlan, in Oslo, Norway, to promote his upcoming Scandinavian tour, giving a rare interview to the show's host Fredrik Skavlan, and later performing "Voglio Vivere Cosi", from his 2008 album ''Incanto'', with Norwegian Boys' choir, Sølvguttene.

In April, he returned to Scandinavia, for a concert in Telenor Arena, in Oslo, Norway, on April 8, a concert in Forum Copenhagen, in Copenhagen, Denmark, on April 9, and finally a concert in the Ericsson Globe, in Stockholm, Sweden, on April 11. He was joined by Tony Award winner Heather Headley and 120 musicians from the Stockholm Concert Orchestra, in all three concerts, and by Swedish mezzo-soprano Malena Ernman in his Swedish concert.

On April 30, Bocelli sang "Nessun Dorma" during the opening ceremony of the Expo 2010, in Shanghai, China, in front of twenty heads of state and government, including Chinese President Hu Jintao, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso. The following day, on May 1, he held a concert, titled ''Charming China'', at Shanghai Stadium, in front of an audience of 80,000 people, along with Chinese singers Song Zuying and Jay Chou, and Chinese concert pianist Lang Lang; the China Philharmonic Orchestra accompanied them under the direction of its artistic director Yu Long. The concert was later broadcasted by Shanghai TV, and by CCTV channels throughout mainland China.

The two appearances coincided with Bocelli's Asian tour, consisting of a concert in Budokan, Tokyo, Japan, on April 28, a concert in Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul, South Korea, on May 2, a concert in Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, in Hong Kong, on May 4, a concert in Taipei Arena, Taipei, Taiwan, on May 6, The concert was later broadcasted, in its entirety, by Channel NewsAsia, on May 28 and 29, and by Okto, on May 30, in Singapore. An orchid in the Botanic Gardens' National Orchid Garden was also named after Bocelli in response to the concert. Australian pop singer Delta Goodrem performed again with Bocelli in all five concerts, after supporting him in his United States My Christmas 2009 winter tour.

On May 18, during the 2010 World Music Awards, Bocelli performed ""Un Amore Cosi Grande" from his 2008 album, ''Incanto'', and received his seventh World Music Award, for "Best Classical Artist".

On July 5, Bocelli gave a concert at the opening of the Khan Shatyry Entertainment Center, in Astana, on the occasion of Kazakhstan's president, Nursultan Nazarbayev's 70th birthday. Among the guests were, the President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, the President of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, the President of Turkey, Abdullah Gül, the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, the President of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, the President of Tajikistan, Emomalii Rahmon, the President of Kyrgyzstan, Roza Otunbayeva, the Crown prince of Abu Dhabi, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and the King of Jordan, Abdullah II.

On July 9, Bocelli headlined the "Celebrate Africa: The Grand Finale" Concert of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, at the Coca-Cola Dome, in Johannesburg, South Africa, to mark the end of the World Cup, two days before the World Cup final. During the concert, Bocelli was joined by Canadian rock star, Bryan Adams, Italian flautist, Andrea Griminelli, and South African singers, Nianell and Pretty Yende. FIFA president, Sepp Blatter, South Africain president, Jacob Zuma, and Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, were among the 12,000 in attendance.

On July 13, Montenegrin Statehood Day, Bocelli gave a concert at the seaside resort of Sveti Stefan, in western Montenegro, to mark the Golden Jubilee of the Sveti Stefan Hotel. During the hour-long show, on a stage right in front of the island-hotel's perimeter wall, Bocelli sang well-known arias, as well as some of his more popular hits, to the assembled dignitaries, including Montenegro's top officials, representatives of the diplomatic corps and many faces from cultural, political and public life, as well as many current and former tourist entrepreneurs who had contributed to the development of Montenegrin tourism.

On Juy 14, Bocelli gave a concert at the European Parliament's Espace Léopold, in Brussels, Belgium, during "Rome in the heart of the future", an event hosted by the Vice President of the European Parliament for the seventh parliament, MEP, Roberta Angelilli, "to highlight the city of Rome as the capital of international tourism through an important and ambitious project in Europe." A screening of the film ''Homage to Rome'', directed by Franco Zeffirelli, who was present during the event, and starring Bocelli, in his cinematographic debut, and Italian fashion model, Monica Bellucci, was shown prior to the special concert. The event was also attended by the President of the European Parliament, MEP, Jerzy Buzek, European Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship, Antonio Tajani, the Mayor of Rome, Gianni Alemanno, the President of Lazio, Renata Polverini.

On July 25, Bocelli held the fifth and final edition of the Teatro del Silenzio, in his hometown of Lajatico, Tuscany, to an audience of 10,000, double the amount of the first edition of the annual Festival, held in 2006. After performing with Spanish tenor, Plácido Domingo and Welsh Mezzo-soprano, Katherine Jenkins on the previous edition of the Festival, in 2009, Bocelli's guests included the only other surviving member of The Three Tenors, Spanish Catalan tenor, José Carreras, and Italian rock singer, Zucchero. Sculptures by Swiss artist Kurt Laurenz Metzler, who attended the concert, were exhibited during this year's edition. The Teatro del Silenzio has in past incorporated sculptures by artists such as Arnaldo Pomodoro and Igor Mitoraj. Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida, who was also in attendance, donated a Bronze statue she had made of Bocelli, to the city of Lajatico, in the afternoon just before the concert. Bocelli was also awarded the ''Pisano Doc'', during the dress rehearsal for the concert, on July 24, "in recognition for a great citizen, who with his extraordinary art and his humanity brings great prestige, honor and respect to the city of Pisa", and received, the 2010 ''Premio Lunezia nel mondo'', during a private ceremony held on July 21, for "the musical-literary quality of his songs."

In September 2010, Bocelli held a concert at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, in Athens, Greece. The concert was attended by George Papandreou, the prime minister of Greece and Archbishop Ieronymos II of Athens, among others. All proceeds were donated to help cure cancer. Bocelli also gave concerts in Cairo, Egypt, in front of the pyramids and the Great Sphinx of Giza, as well as a fundraising concert inside the famous Duomo di Milano to benefit victims of the 2010 Haiti Earthquake.

As part of the 2010 leg of the ''My Christmas Tour'', Bocelli gave two concerts in the two largest indoor arenas of the United Kingdom, The O2 Arena, in London, and The M.E.N Arena, in Manchester, and a concert in the largest indoor arena in Ireland, The O2, in Dublin, in late November 2010. His sold out concert at the O2 in London, was the most attended show in the venue's history, with 16,500 people attending the event. In early December, Bocelli gave 6 concerts in the United States. He performed in Madison Square Garden, in New York City, Prudential Center, in Newark, New Jersey, TD Garden, in Boston, Toyota Center, in Houston, Staples Center, in Los Angeles, and the MGM Grand's Garden Arena, in the Las Vegas Strip. The Toyota Center concert, in Houston, was attended by former president George Bush, Sr. and first lady Barbara Bush.

Bocelli also took part in the Christmas in Washington special on December 12, in the presence of president Barack Obama and the first lady. On December 19, Bocelli gave a concert, conducted by Claudio Scimone, in the Italian Senate. The concert was attended by Italy's top officials including Italy's president Giorgio Napolitano, Renato Schifani, the president of the Italian Senate, Gianfranco Fini, the president of the Italian Chamber of Deputies and Tarcisio Bertone, Cardinal Secretary of State of the Holy See.

2011: Notte Illuminata Tour and Metropolitan Opera debut

In January, Bocelli gave three concerts in Germany. The concerts in Munich, Berlin, and Hamburg were all part of the Notte Illuminata Tour, launched in Pisa, at the Teatro Verdi, December 2010. In February, Bocelli made his Metropolitan Opera debut, performing a recital, as part of the tour.

In late March, early April, as part of the 2011 Latin Leg of his Incanto Tour, Bocelli gave concerts in Buenos Aires, Bogotá, and Panama City.

In May 2011, Bocelli held 5 concerts in East and Southeast Asia, and was joined by New Zealand soprano Hayley Westenra during the Tour. He first gave a concert in Jakarta, Indonesia, his first visit to the country. The concert was attended by Indonesia's top political personalities, including Golkar Party chairman, billionaire Aburizal Bakrie, PDI-P chairwoman and daughter of former president's Sukarno, Megawati Sukarnoputri, herself a former president, and former president Suharto's second eldest daughter, Siti Hediyanti. Bocelli held two other concerts in Taipei, and two concerts in Beijing.

It was announced that Bocelli will give a free concert in September, on the Great Lawn of Central Park in New York City. He will be accompanied by the New York Philharmonic conducted by its music director, Alan Gilbert.

Voice

With the exception of the negative views of some Classical music critics, Bocelli is widely celebrated as a singer and is admired around the world. His voice's timbre is as recognisable as a signature, with a versatility ranging from the Bel canto to the furore of Verismo, from the sacred repertoire to popular ballads.

Franco Corelli, one of the greatest Spinto tenors of the twentieth century, praised Bocelli's voice after hearing it for the first time during a Master class in 1986, in Turin, and would later give him private lessons. Another great Italian tenor who championed Bocelli's singing from the very beginning was Luciano Pavarotti. Pavarotti publicly admired Bocelli's voice and played an early part in the younger man's career. He reportedly stated that "''There is no one finer,''" upon hearing his voice for the very first time. Bocelli would later sing during both his wedding ceremony, in 2003, and his funeral, in 2007.

After conducting Bocelli in the ''Verdi'' album, in 2000, Zubin Mehta commented that "''Andrea's voice is special in many ways. First of all, he has a complete control from forte to pianissimo on any note. The end of 'Celeste Aida,' he attacks the high B flat full voice and then pulls it down to nothing — hardly anybody can do that, it's also very risky on the stage at the opera. But it's not that we tried it 15 times and he got it once; he can do it every time. He can also, in the middle of a phrase, without breathing, change the color of a note, so it's a conductor's dream to ask and to get it because most people can't do that.''" The interview where Mehta made those comments was featured in a BBC documentary about Bocelli, entitled the "Story Behind the Voice". Mehta also compared Bocelli's voice to the old Italian style of singers, such as Tito Schipa.

The same documentary also featured an interview with Spanish Catalan tenor, José Carreras. He commented that "''The first time I had the possibility to listen to Andrea, he was a part of the Sanremo Festival. And I thought wow, that's a nice voice, very beautiful color, very tenor like.''" He proceeded by saying, "''I always thought that he has a wonderful instrument, that he knows very much how to use it.''"

Lorin Maazel, who conducted Bocelli's 2002 Classical album, ''Sentimento'', was also featured in the documentary. In the interview he says that "''Andrea Bocelli has amazing Tessitura, almost three Octaves, I would think two and a half, has excellent and very easy top notes; but he can also fill out the lower register very successfully.''" Maazel also praised Bocelli's Musical talent and knowledge of music, and compared his voice to that of celebrated Irish tenor John McCormack, during an interview with Charlie Rose, in 2002.

Similarly, during a 1999 interview on The Charlie Rose show, American soprano Renée Fleming praised Bocelli's voice, by saying "''first of all the sound is beautiful. There is something very soulful about the way he sings and it's captured the hearts of something like, the last I've heard eleven million fans.''" Grammy winning Puerto Rican soprano, Ana María Martínez, who regularly performs with Bocelli, also said that "''More than anything, Andrea has something that is unique in that he brings this light that is always around him. And this purity of heart and beauty of sound just touches the listener. It can’t be described.''"

French Canadian singer Celine Dion famously said while introducing him during her Christmas Special for ''These Are Special Times'', in 1998, that "''if God would have a singing voice, he must sound a lot like Andrea Bocelli''," and multiple Grammy Award winner David Foster, a producer of the album, often describes Bocelli's voice as the most beautiful in the world. Similarly, seven-time Grammy Award winning Jazz singer, Al Jarreau, who performed with Bocelli on the "Night of the Proms" tour in Europe, in 1995, described him as "''the most beautiful voice in the world,''" and American talk show host, Oprah Winfrey, commented on her talk show that, "''when I hear Andrea sing, I burst into tears''."

After attending Bocelli's concert at the Hollywood Bowl in 2009, the first time she'd been out "in months", legendary American actress Elizabeth Taylor said, "''My mind, my soul were transported by his beauty, his voice, his inner being. God has kissed this man and I thank God for it.''" Taylor had been a passionate fan of Bocelli's since the beginning of his music career in the mid-90's. Other fans include, Prince Albert of Monaco, who invited the tenor to sing at his wedding, as well as Sarah, Duchess of York, and actress Isabella Rossellini. Bocelli's voice was also a favorite of Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, and Pope John Paul II, for whom he sang on many occasions, and released ''Credo'', a ''DVD'' dedicated to his life, shortly after his death, in 2006.

Other world class artists from both the Pop and Opera worlds have also publicly expressed their admiration, including opera singers Plácido Domingo, and Cecilia Bartoli, who collaborated with Bocelli, and conductor Myung-whun Chung, who conducted Bocelli's 1999 album, ''Sacred Arias''. Some point to his "poor phrasing, uneven tone and lack of technique."

In 1999, ''The New York Times'' chief music critic Anthony Tommasini in his review of Bocelli's North American opera debut at the Detroit Opera House in the title role of Massenet's ''Werther'' commented, "The basic color of Mr. Bocelli's voice is warm and pleasant, but he lacks the technique to support and project his sound. His sustained notes wobble. His soft high notes are painfully weak. Inadequate breath control often forces him to clip off notes prematurely at the end of phrases." In December 2000 Tommasini again criticised Bocelli, this time for his ''La bohème'' album when he claimed that Bocelli "still has trouble with basic things, like breath support" and his voice had been "carefully recorded", "to help it match the trained voices of the other cast members in fullness and presence."

In describing Bocelli's singing, ''New York Times'' music critic Bernard Holland noted, "the tone is rasping, thin and, in general, poorly supported. Even the most modest upward movement thins it even more, signalling what appears to be the onset of strangulation. To his credit, Mr Bocelli sings mostly in tune. But his phrasing tends toward carelessness and rhythmic jumble... The diction is not clear." Furthermore, Holland observed that "The critic's duty is to report that Mr Bocelli is not a very good singer." The Associated Press reported "Passion? Yes. Power. No. Bocelli's voice – though robust in spirit and precisely in tune, even in the upper register – had a thin quality that never opened up." Similarly, classical music critic Andrew Clement found Bocelli's studio opera recordings consistently disappointing in quality: "Bocelli's profoundly unmusical contribution, with its unvaryingly coarse tone, wayward intonation and never a phrase properly shaped, fatally undermines all their contributions." Anne Midgette of ''The New York Times'' agreed, noting "a thinness of voice, oddly anemic phrasing (including shortchanging upper notes of phrases in a most untenorial manner), a curious lack of expression."

In 2008, in a live performance, Bocelli was described by Baltimore Sun music critic Tim Smith thus: "as unaided by electronics, he produced an undernourished, often under-pitch tone. Top notes were strained, phrases monochromatic. Bocelli's most loyal fans presumably didn't mind any of the weaknesses, but, frankly, I found most of his singing embarrassing."

During a 2009 performance in New York, the music critic Steve Smith wrote "For cognoscenti of vocal artistry the risks involved in Mr. Bocelli's undertakings, both then and now, need no explanation. Substantial technical shortcomings masked by amplification are laid bare in a more conventional classical setting. Mr. Bocelli's tone can be pleasant, and his pitch is generally secure. But his voice is small and not well supported; his phrasing, wayward and oddly inexpressive."

In 2010, Joe Banno of the ''Washington Post'' gave an unfavorable review of Bocelli's Carmen recording, describing the oft-noted failings in Bocelli's vocal resources on full display in this performance: "Bocelli, to be fair, possesses an essentially lovely tenor and knows his stuff when it comes to selling a pop ballad. And Decca's close miking of his puny voice inflates his sound to near-Franco Corelli-like dimensions. But his short-breathed, clumsily phrased, interpretively blank and often pinched and strained singing makes his Don Jose a tough listen."

An audio commentary by New York Times editor Anne Midgette providing a comparison of Bocelli's tone and technique with Luciano Pavarotti's appears below. According to the commentary, Bocelli's tone and technique is not as firm or full as Pavarotti's. And Bocelli's singing of the high note in the passage sounds "squeezed" as opposed to the "ringing" quality Pavarotti achieves when singing the same note in the passage.

In a 2011 review of an all-classical recital, Zachary Woolfe of the ''New York Times'' commented that Bocelli "seemed out of his element and ill at ease... listeners responded politely and pleasantly, as if fulfilling their duty, a bit puzzled by the gap between the cautious sounds they were hearing and the smooth polish of Mr. Bocelli's blockbuster recordings." Woolfe goes on to observe "If people don’t know the works on a program (and Sunday evening's selection was far from populist), the singer needs to make those works happen, to prove them. But Mr. Bocelli was too nervous and not a powerful enough artist to do that. Even the French songs that were seemingly the best fit for his delicate instrument fell flat. Demonstrating little responsiveness to text or emotional specificity — Fauré's "Lune Blanche" did have an aptly gauzy sheen — they passed in a blur. In Mr. Bocelli's conception of the canon there is little audible difference between Handel and Gounod, and little urgency to either, a bland homogeneity... Ringing Pavarotti-style high notes are difficult for Mr. Bocelli; his effect of choice is extended falsetto tones, with which he dramatically ended several numbers. The audience responded warmly to this easy tactic, keen for something, anything, it could recognize as charismatic, stylish singing."

Recognition

Honors

50px Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (''Grande Ufficiale Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana'') awarded in Rome, on March 4, 2006.

50px Made a Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of Duarte, Sanchez and Mella by the President of the Dominican Republic, Leonel Fernández in 2009, for his contributions to International art and culture.

50px Honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, for his contribution to live theater, at 7000 Hollywood Boulevard, in 2010.

ECHO music award for "Best Single of the Year", for ''Time to Say Goodbye'', in 1997.

ECHO Klassik "Best seller of the year" award for his album, ''Viaggio Italiano'' in 1997.

Bambi Award in 1997.

Two World Music Awards, one in the category "Best Italian Singer", and one for "Best Classical Interpretation" in 1998.

ECHO Klassik, for "Best selling classical album" with ''Aria - The Opera Album'' in 1998.

ECHO Klassik for "Bestseller of the year" for ''Sacred Arias'' in 2000.

Two 2000 Classical BRIT Awards for "Best selling classical album" and "Album of the year" for ''Sacred Arias'' in 2000.

Goldene Europa for classical music in 2000.

Goldene Kamera award in the "Music & Entertainment" category 2002.

Two World Music Awards, for "World best selling classical artist" and for "Best selling Italian artist" in 2002.

Telegatto award for the soundtrack of the series ''Cuore'' in 2002.

2002 Classical BRIT Award for "Outstanding Contribution to Music" in 2002.

Two 2003 Classical BRIT Awards for "Best selling classical album" and "Album of the year" for ''Sentimento'' in 2003.

Two World Music Awards for "Best Italian Artist" and "World's Best-selling Classical Artist" in 2006.

Telegatto award in platinum for ''Italian music in the world'' in 2008.

World Music Awards for "World's Best-selling Classical Artist" in 2010.

Personal life

Bocelli met his first wife, Enrica Cenzatti, while singing at piano bars early in his career. They were married on 27 June 1992, and had two children. Their first child, Amos, was born in February 1995. Their second son, Matteo was born in October 1997. The couple separated in 2002. Although not yet divorced, Bocelli lives with his girlfriend and manager, Veronica Berti. They met in 2002.

The couple live in a spacious villa, which used to be a hotel, in Forte dei Marmi on the Mediterranean, complete with recording studio. Meanwhile, Bocelli's estranged wife and two sons live in the couple's previous residence in the same comune, in Versilia.

On 30 April 2000, Bocelli's father, Sandro Bocelli, died. His mother encouraged him to honour his commitments, and so he sang for the Pope, in Rome, on May 1, and immediately returned home for the funeral. At his July 5 performance, filmed for PBS as ''American Dream—Andrea Bocelli's Statue of Liberty Concert'', Bocelli dedicated the encore ''Sogno'' (Dream), from his 1999 album ''Sogno'', to the memory of his father.

A section of the way along the beach in Jesolo, on the Italian Adriatic coast, was named after Bocelli on 11 August 2003.

Teatro del Silenzio

In 2006, Bocelli influenced the municipality of his hometown Lajatico to build an outdoor theatre, the "Teatro del Silenzio". Bocelli serves as its honorary president and performs for one night only, every July, the rest of the year, the theatre remains silent.

Since the opening in 2006, Bocelli has held 5 concerts, in every July, with guests ranging from opera singers Plácido Domingo and José Carreras to classical crossover artists Sarah Brightman and Katherine Jenkins, as well as Italian rock and pop stars Zucchero, Laura Pausini, and Elisa. Bocelli's guests have also included instrumentalists Lang Lang, Chris Botti, and Kenny G. The 2007 edition of the "Teatro del Silenzio" was released on ''DVD'' in 2008.

Discography

Albums

Studio albums

1994: ''Il Mare Calmo della Sera''

1995: ''Bocelli''

1996/1997: ''Viaggio Italiano''

1997: ''Aria – the opera album''

1999: ''Sogno''

1999: ''Sacred Arias''

2000: ''Verdi''

2001: ''Cieli di Toscana''

2002: ''Sentimento''

2004: ''Andrea''

2006: ''Amore''

2008: ''Incanto''

2009: ''My Christmas''

Compilation albums

1997: ''Romanza''

2007: ''The Best of Andrea Bocelli: Vivere''

Collaborative albums

1997: ''A Hymn for the World''

1998: ''A Hymn for the World 2'' (''Voices From Heaven'')

2000: ''Verdi's Requiem''

2010: ''Carmen: Duets & Arias''

Complete opera recordings

2000: ''La bohème''

2003: ''Tosca''

2004: ''Il trovatore''

2005: ''Werther''

2006: ''Pagliacci''

2007: ''Cavalleria rusticana''

2008/2010: ''Carmen''

2010: ''Andrea Chénier''

Digital albums

2011: ''Notte Illuminata''

Singles

Duet singles

1995: "Vivo per lei" (with Giorgia)

1996: "Vivo por ella" (with Marta Sánchez)

1996: "Vivo por ella" (with Sandy Leah)

1996: "Time to Say Goodbye" (with Sarah Brightman)

1997: "Ich lebe für sie" (with Judy Weiss)

1997: "Je vis pour elle" (with Helene Segara)

1999: "The Prayer" (with Celine Dion)

2001: "L'Abitudine" (with Helena Hellwig)

2006: "Somos Novios (It's Impossible)" (with Christina Aguilera)

2006: "Because we believe" (with Marco Borsato)

2006: "Ama credi e vai" (with Gianna Nannini)

2007: "Dare to live" (with Laura Pausini)

2008: "Vive Ya" (with Laura Pausini)

2009: "What Child Is This" (with Mary J. Blige)

2010: "Bridge over Troubled Water" (with Mary J. Blige)

Solo singles

1994: "Il mare calmo della sera"

1995: "Con te partirò"/"Vivere"

1995: "Macchine da guerra"

1995: "Per amore"

1999: "Ave Maria"

1999: "Canto della Terra"

2001: "Melodramma"

2001: "Mille Lune Mille Onde"

2004: "Dell'amore non si sa"

2004: "Un nuovo giorno"

2009: "White Christmas/Bianco Natale"

Live albums & videos

1998: ''A Night in Tuscany''

2000: ''Sacred Arias: The Home Video''

2002: ''Tuscan Skies (Cieli di Toscana)''

2006: ''Credo: John Paul II''

2006: ''Under the Desert Sky''

2008: ''Vivere Live in Tuscany''

2008: '' Incanto The Documentary''

2009: ''My Christmas Special''

Bibliography

2000: ''The Music of Silence: A Memoir'' (''La musica del silenzio'') - Autobiography

2010: ''The Music of Silence: A Memoir'' - Reworked autobiography

See also

Teatro del Silenzio

Andrea Bocelli discography

List of Popera artists

List of Easy Listening artists

List of Adult Contemporary artists

List of awards and nominations received by Andrea Bocelli

List of best-selling music artists

References

External links

Bocelli's official site

Official German fan site (English version)

Bocelli Community

Official forum

Bocelli on Myspace.com

Bocelli on Facebook.com

Bocelli on Youtube.com

Bocelli on discogs.com

Biography of Andrea Bocelli, from RAI International

Bocelli pages at Music City

Andrea Bocelli on Universal Classics and Jazz Website

Andrea Bocelli section on classicalx.com

C Music TV Profile of Andrea Bocelli

Bocelli lyrics

classical-crossover tenor

Category:1958 births Category:Blind musicians Category:BRIT Award winners Category:Converts to Roman Catholicism from atheism or agnosticism Category:Crooners Category:Decca Records artists Category:French-language singers Category:English-language singers Category:German-language singers Category:Italian drummers Category:Italian flautists Category:Italian guitarists Category:Italian harpists Category:Italian keyboardists Category:Italian lawyers Category:Italian-language singers Category:Italian male singers Category:Italian opera singers Category:Italian philanthropists Category:Italian pianists Category:Italian pop singers Category:Italian Roman Catholics Category:Italian saxophonists Category:Italian singers Category:Italian singer-songwriters Category:Italian tenors Category:Italian trombonists Category:Italian trumpeters Category:Living people Category:Multi-instrumentalists Category:Opera crossover singers Category:Operatic tenors Category:People from the Province of Pisa Category:Portuguese-language singers Category:Sanremo Music Festival winners Category:Spanish-language singers Category:Torch singers Category:Traditional pop music singers Category:Universal Music Group artists Category:University of Pisa alumni Category:World Music Awards winners

af:Andrea Bocelli ar:أندريا بوتشيلي an:Andrea Bocelli zh-min-nan:Andrea Bocelli be:Андрэа Бачэлі be-x-old:Андрэа Бачэльлі bs:Andrea Bocelli br:Andrea Bocelli bg:Андреа Бочели ca:Andrea Bocelli cs:Andrea Bocelli cy:Andrea Bocelli da:Andrea Bocelli de:Andrea Bocelli et:Andrea Bocelli el:Αντρέα Μποτσέλι eml:Andrea Bocelli es:Andrea Bocelli eo:Andrea Bocelli eu:Andrea Bocelli fa:آندریا بوچلی fr:Andrea Bocelli ga:Andrea Bocelli gl:Andrea Bocelli ko:안드레아 보첼리 hr:Andrea Bocelli io:Andrea Bocelli id:Andrea Bocelli is:Andrea Bocelli it:Andrea Bocelli he:אנדראה בוצ'לי ka:ანდრეა ბოჩელი ku:Andrea Bocelli la:Andreas Bocelli lv:Andrea Bočelli lb:Andrea Bocelli lt:Andrea Bocelli hu:Andrea Bocelli mk:Андреа Бочели ms:Andrea Bocelli mn:Андреа Бочелли nl:Andrea Bocelli ja:アンドレア・ボチェッリ no:Andrea Bocelli nn:Andrea Bocelli oc:Andrea Bocelli pl:Andrea Bocelli pt:Andrea Bocelli ro:Andrea Bocelli ru:Бочелли, Андреа sq:Andrea Bocelli scn:Andrea Bocelli simple:Andrea Bocelli sk:Andrea Bocelli sl:Andrea Bocelli sr:Andrea Bočeli sh:Andrea Bocelli fi:Andrea Bocelli sv:Andrea Bocelli th:อานเดรอา โบเชลลี tr:Andrea Bocelli uk:Андреа Бочеллі vi:Andrea Bocelli zh-yue:安德利亞波車利 zh:安德烈·波伽利