A double album (or double record) is an audio album which spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically records and compact discs. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording is longer than the capacity of the medium. Recording artists often think of double albums as a single piece artistically; however, there are exceptions such as Pink Floyd's ''Ummagumma'', one live album and one studio record packaged together, and OutKast's ''Speakerboxxx/The Love Below'', consisting of one practical solo album by each member of the hip-hop duo.

Since the advent of the compact disc, albums are sometimes released with a bonus disc featuring additional material as a supplement to the main album, with live tracks, studio out-takes, cut songs, or older unreleased material. A new innovation is the accompaniment of a CD with a DVD of related material, such as video related to the album or DVD-Audio versions of the same recordings. These could be regarded as a new form of double album; some such discs were also released on a two-sided format called DualDisc.

The same principles apply to the triple album, which comprises three units. Packages with more units than three are often packaged as boxed sets.

History

The first double album was Benny Goodman's ''Live at Carnegie Hall'', released by Columbia Records in 1950. The first rock double album, and first studio double album was Bob Dylan's ''Blonde on Blonde'' in 1966, also on Columbia, although at the same time the Mothers of Invention (featuring Frank Zappa) were preparing the double album ''Freak Out!'', released six weeks after ''Blonde on Blonde''.

The best-selling double album of all time is Pink Floyd's ''The Wall'' with over 30 million copies (60 million units) worldwide. The best-selling double album for a solo artist is Michael Jackson's ''HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I'', with over 20 million copies (40 million units) sold worldwide. Other best-selling double albums are The Beatles' ''White Album'' and Billy Joel's ''Greatest Hits I & II''. Also on that note, the best selling female original double album would be considered Christina Aguilera third studio album, Back to Basics beating Barbara Streisand's album according to Soundscans.

The double album has become less common since the decline of the vinyl LP and the advent of compact discs. A single LP had two sides, each of which had a capacity of up to 30 minutes (although shorter sides are more typical to avoid compromising sound quality), for a maximum of 30 to 60 minutes per record. A single CD has a capacity of 80 minutes (originally 74 minutes until the 1990s): accordingly, many old double albums on LP have been re-released as single albums on CD. However, other double albums on LP are re-released as double albums on CD, either because they are too large for a single CD, or simply to retain the structure of the original.

There are also double-LP albums, such as Mike Oldfield's ''Incantations'' and Chick Corea's ''My Spanish Heart'', for which some tracks were removed or shortened for a single 74-minute CD release, though both were later re-released in their entirety when 80-minute CDs were developed.

Though the average album length has increased since the days of LPs, it remains rare for an artist to produce more than 80 minutes of studio material for one album. Thus, the double album is now more commonly seen in formats other than studio albums. Live albums that either present all or most of a single concert, or material from several concerts, are commonly released as double albums. Compilations such as greatest hits records can also often comprise double albums. Soundtracks and scores are also commonly released on two CDs; particularly soundtracks to musicals, which typically last longer than 80 minutes, are commonly released in their entirety as double albums, occasionally offering a second single-disc version featuring the most notable songs. The double album format is also frequently used for concept albums.

The double album is not entirely obsolete when it comes to studio albums, however. Some artists still occasionally produce a large enough quantity of material to justify a double album. For example, Barenaked Ladies recorded 29 songs (initially intending more than 30) for their first original album following the completion of their contract with Reprise Records, including several songs that were cut from past albums under that contract. Without needing to get a label's approval, they were able to release a 25-track "deluxe edition" double album ''Barenaked Ladies Are Me'', as well as releasing the album as two separate single albums, as well as a variety of other formats. Nellie McKay reportedly fought with her label to get her debut album, ''Get Away from Me'' released as a double album, even though the material would have fit on a single disc. She has been said to be the first female artist to have a double album as a debut.

A recent development is the release of a double studio album in which the two discs contain different mixes of the same tracks. A notable example is Shania Twain's ''Up!'', which was sold with a pop-mix disc and a country-mix disc in North America, or a pop-mix disc and a filmi-mix disc internationally.

DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince were the first Hip hop artists to release a double album, 1988's He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper which at eighty-five minutes long warranted a double vinyl package but was edited by thirteen minutes to allow a single CD release. Esham was the first Hip hop artist to release a double CD album ("Judgement Day") where the two discs sold separately, Master P presented the Down South Hustlers Compilation, the first double CD album packaged together, later followed by 2Pac with ''All Eyez on Me'' and Notorious B.I.G. with ''Life after Death'', the latter becoming the first gangsta rap album to be certified diamond.

Many albums since the recent rise in popularity of vinyl records, while released as a single disc on the CD version have been released as double albums, typically because they may slightly exceed the limitations of a single record. Many of these releases stretch the album to cover four sides, while some only fill three sides and leave the last one for a bonus track(s), or occasionally an etching. These albums are usually released as two 12" records but occasionally as two 10" records.

Manual Sequence and Automatic Sequence

With regard to records, most double album sets have sides 1 and 2 back to back on the first disc, followed by sides 3 and 4 on the second disc, etc. The record industry term for this practice is "Manual Sequence." However, some double album LP sets have sides 1 and 4 pressed on one disc along with sides 2 and 3 on the other. This practice, known as "Automatic Sequence", began in the early 1960s and was intended to make it easier for listeners to play through the entire set in order on automatic record changers. The use of Automatic Sequence gradually declined during the 1970s as automatic record changers fell out of favor. High quality manual turntables became more affordable and are often preferred because they cause less record wear.

After a company decided on manual or automatic sequence, production of that title generally stayed in the same configuration indefinitely. Notable examples of albums using Automatic Sequence include the 1968 Reprise Records release, ''Electric Ladyland'', by Jimi Hendrix which was still sold in Automatic Sequence well into the late 1980s. Other common examples include ''Frampton Comes Alive'' by Peter Frampton, ''Songs in the Key of Life'' by Stevie Wonder, and ''Quadrophenia'' by The Who.

Sesquialbum

There are only a few examples of a sesquialbum (i.e. one and a half records). Johnny Winter released what would be the first three-sided rock album Second Winter on two 12-inch discs, with the flip side of the second disc being blank. Joe Jackson's 1986 release ''Big World'' is another example. In 1982, Todd Rundgren and his band released the self-titled album ''Utopia'' featuring one full LP of 10 songs and a second 12-inch disc with 5 bonus tracks and the same 5 tracks on the flip side. The Monty Python album ''Matching Tie and Handkerchief'' was originally issued with two concentric grooves with different programs on side B (this was done for comedic rather than practical reasons). Elvis Costello and The Clash (amongst other 1980s acts) would sometimes release early pressings of their albums with extra material on a 45 rpm single. Stevie Wonder's ''Songs in the Key of Life'' was released as two LPs and a 45rpm 7" disc. In 2005, The Mars Volta released their album ''Frances the Mute'', on which the vinyl pressing spans five sides of vinyl, the sixth is an etching of tree roots. In 1994, the Norwegian band Motorpsycho released their album ''Timothy's Monster'', where the vinyl edition contains three LPs - five sides with music, the sixth side has a drawing/etching. They used the same technique for ''Motorpsycho Presents The International Tussler Society'' and ''Heavy Metal Fruit'' (four sides of vinyl, three with music and one with a drawing/etching). ''The Sunlandic Twins'' by Of Montreal follows this same format (although the third side is officially called a "bonus EP").

Triple album

Among the first successful triple albums (or triple records) were ''Woodstock: Music from the Original Soundtrack and More'', released 15 August 1970, and George Harrison's ''All Things Must Pass'' released 27 November 1970. A triple album may be live, such as Led Zeppelin's ''How the West Was Won'' and The Band's The Last Waltz; or a compilation of an artist's work, such as Stevie Wonder's retrospective anthology ''Looking Back''. Yes' live album ''Yessongs'' was made a triple-album due to it including many of the band's longer compositions. However, due to the extended space on CDs as opposed to LPs, many albums that once spanned across three discs have now been able to fit on two discs.

Triple albums are released across genres, including punk with The Clash's ''Sandinista!'', alternative rock with Pearl Jam's ''11/6/00 – Seattle, Washington'', and mainstream pop with Prince's ''Emancipation''.

The first triple hip-hop album was ''American Hunger'' by New York rap artist MF Grimm which was released in 2006. It contains 20 songs on each disc.

American hip hop artist Lupe Fiasco's canceled third studio album release ''LupEND'' would have been a triple-album, composed of discs titled "Everywhere," "Nowhere," and "Down Here." Joanna Newsom's 2010 album ''Have One On Me'' is a triple album; due to the unusual length of the songs, there are only six tracks on each disc.

''Escalator over the Hill'', Carla Bley's jazz opera (lyrics by Paul Haines), was originally released in 1971 as a triple album in a box which also contained a booklet with lyrics, photos and profiles of the musicians.

Box set

When albums exceed the triple album format they are generally referred to as box sets. Normally, albums consisting of four or more discs are compilations or live recordings, such as ''In a Word: Yes (1969–)'' and ''Chicago at Carnegie Hall'', respectively. In a very rare move, Pan sonic released a four-disc studio album named ''Kesto (234.48:4)'', as did avant-garde guitarist Buckethead with his 13-disc set ''In Search of The'' in 2007. Esham made a box set of Judgement Day in 2006 which contained Vol. 3, Vol. 4 and Matyr City.

Simultaneous releases

Some performers have released two or more distinct but related albums simultaneously which could be seen together as a double album. Examples include:

Simple Minds' ''Sons and Fascination/Sister Feelings Call'' (1981)

Guns 'N Roses' ''Use Your Illusion I'' and ''II'' (1991)

Bruce Springsteen's ''Lucky Town'' and ''Human Touch'' (1992)

Insane Clown Posse's ''Bizaar'' and ''Bizzar'' (2000)

maudlin of the Well's ''Bath'' and ''Leaving Your Body Map'' (2001)

Tom Waits' ''Blood Money'' and ''Alice'' (2002)

Nelly's ''Suit'' and ''Sweat'' (2004)

Bright Eyes' ''I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning'' and ''Digital Ash in a Digital Urn'' (2005)

Barenaked Ladies' ''Barenaked Ladies Are Me'' and ''Barenaked Ladies Are Men'' (2006-2007)

Metallica's Load (1996) and ReLoad (1997)

See also

Double EP

List of double albums

List of triple albums

References

Notes

Bibliography

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External links

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Category:Album types Category:Audio storage

da:Dobbeltalbum de:Doppelalbum es:Álbum doble fr:Double album nl:Dubbelalbum ru:Двойной альбом sv:Dubbelalbum

Coordinates	34°03′″N118°15′″N
name	Susan Boyle
birth name	Susan Magdalane Boyle
background	solo_singer
born	April 01, 1961
origin	Blackburn, West Lothian, Scotland
instrument	Vocals
genre	Pop
occupation	Singer
years active	2009–present
label	Syco, Columbia
website	}}

Susan Magdalane Boyle (born 1 April 1961) is a Scottish singer who came to international public attention when she appeared as a contestant on reality TV programme ''Britain's Got Talent'' on 11 April 2009, singing "I Dreamed a Dream" from ''''. Her first album was released in November 2009 and debuted as the number one best-selling CD on charts around the globe.

Global interest in Boyle was triggered by the contrast between her powerful mezzo-soprano voice and her plain appearance on stage. The juxtaposition of the audience's first impression of her, with the standing ovation she received during and after her performance, led to an international media and internet response. Within nine days of the audition, videos of Boyle—from the show, various interviews and her 1999 rendition of "Cry Me a River" – had been watched over 100 million times. Her audition video has been viewed on the internet several hundred million times. Despite the sustained media interest she later finished in second place in the final of the show behind dance troupe Diversity.

Boyle's first album, ''I Dreamed a Dream'', was released on 23 November 2009 and became Amazon's best-selling album in pre-sales. According to ''Billboard'', "The arrival of ''I Dreamed a Dream'' ... marks the best opening week for a female artist's debut album since SoundScan began tracking sales in 1991." In only six weeks of sales, it became the biggest selling album in the world for 2009, selling 9 million copies. In September 2010, Boyle was officially recognised by Guinness World Records as having had the fastest selling debut album by a female artist in the UK, the most successful first week sales of a debut album in the UK, and was also awarded the record for being the oldest person to reach number one with a debut album in the UK.

Biography

Boyle was born in Blackburn, West Lothian, Scotland, to Patrick Boyle, a miner, World War II veteran and singer at the Bishop's Blaize, and Bridget, a shorthand typist, who were both immigrants from County Donegal, Ireland. She was the youngest of four brothers and six sisters. Born when her mother was 47, Boyle was briefly deprived of oxygen during the difficult birth and was later diagnosed as having learning difficulties. Boyle says she was bullied as a child and was nicknamed "Susie Simple" at school.

After leaving school with few qualifications, she was employed for the only time in her life as a trainee cook in the kitchen of West Lothian College for six months, took part in government training programmes, and performed at a number of local venues.

Boyle still lives in the family home, a four-bedroom council house, with her 10-year-old cat, Pebbles. Her father died in the 1990s, and her siblings had left home. Boyle never married, and she dedicated herself to care for her ageing mother until she died in 2007 at the age of 91. Boyle has a reputation for modesty and propriety, admitting during her first appearance on ''Britain's Got Talent'' that she had "never been married, never been kissed". A neighbour reported that when Bridget Boyle died, her daughter "wouldn't come out for three or four days or answer the door or phone."

Boyle is a practising Roman Catholic and sang in her church choir at her church in Blackburn. Boyle remains active as a volunteer at her church, visiting elderly members of the congregation in their homes. On a 2010 episode of the ''Oprah Winfrey Show'', Boyle summarised that her daily life was "mundane" and "routine" prior to stardom.

Early singing

Boyle took singing lessons from voice coach Fred O'Neil. She attended Edinburgh Acting School and took part in the Edinburgh Fringe. Prior to ''Britain's Got Talent'', her main experience had come from singing in her local Catholic church, Our Lady of Lourdes; in local choirs; and in karaoke performances at pubs in and around her village. She had also auditioned several times for ''My Kind of People''. She also has long participated in her parish church's pilgrimages to the Knock Shrine, County Mayo, Ireland, and has sung there at the Marian basilica.

Her repertoire through the years has included songs such as "The Way We Were" and "I Don't Know How to Love Him." British tabloids claimed "exclusives" of video clips of some early performances. In 1995, her audition for Michael Barrymore's ''My Kind of People'' at the Olympia Shopping Centre in East Kilbride was filmedthe amateur video shows Barrymore was more interested in mocking her than in her ability to sing.

In 1999, she recorded a track for a charity CD to commemorate the Millennium produced at a West Lothian school. Only 1,000 copies of the CD, ''Music for a Millennium Celebration, Sounds of West Lothian'', were pressed. An early review in the ''West Lothian Herald & Post'' said Boyle's rendition of "Cry Me a River" was "heartbreaking" and "had been on repeat in my CD player ever since I got this CD..." The recording found its way onto the internet following her first televised appearance and the ''New York Post'' said it showed that Boyle was "not a one trick pony." ''Hello!'' said the recording "cement[ed] her status" as a singing star.

In 1999, Boyle used all her savings to pay for a professionally cut demo, copies of which she later sent to record companies, radio talent competitions, local and national TV. The demo consisted of her versions of "Cry Me a River" and "Killing Me Softly with His Song"; the songs were uploaded to the Internet after her ''BGT'' audition.

After Boyle won several local singing competitions, her mother urged her to enter ''Britain's Got Talent'' and take the risk of singing in front of an audience larger than her parish church. Former coach O'Neil said Boyle abandoned an audition for ''The X Factor'' because she believed people were being chosen for their looks. She almost abandoned her plan to enter ''Britain's Got Talent'' believing she was too old, but O'Neil persuaded her to audition nevertheless. Boyle said that she was motivated to seek a musical career to pay tribute to her mother. Her performance on the show was the first time she had sung in public since her mother died.

Music career

''Britain's Got Talent'' (2009)

In August 2008, Boyle applied for an audition for the third series of ''Britain's Got Talent'' (as contestant number 43212) and was accepted after a preliminary audition in Glasgow. When Boyle first appeared on ''Britain's Got Talent'' at the city's Clyde Auditorium, she said that she aspired to become a professional singer "as successful as Elaine Paige". Boyle sang "I Dreamed a Dream" from ''Les Misérables'' in the first round of the third series of ''Britain's Got Talent'', which was watched by over 10 million viewers when it aired on 11 April 2009. Programme judge Amanda Holden remarked upon the audience's initially cynical attitude, and the subsequent "biggest wake-up call ever" upon hearing her performance.

This performance was widely reported and tens of millions of people viewed the video on YouTube. Boyle was "absolutely gobsmacked" by the strength of this reaction. Boyle is aware that the audience on ''Britain's Got Talent'' was initially hostile to her because of her appearance, but she has refused to change her image. Since the appearance, Paige has expressed interest in singing a duet with Boyle, and has called her "a role model for everyone who has a dream". Boyle's rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream" has been credited with causing a surge in ticket sales in the Vancouver production of ''Les Misérables''. Cameron Mackintosh, the producer of the ''Les Misérables'' musical, also praised the performance, as thrilling and uplifting".

She was one of 40 acts that were put through to the semi-finals. She appeared last on the first semi-final on 24 May 2009, performing "Memory" from the musical ''Cats''. In the public vote she was the act to receive the highest number of votes and go through to the final. She was the clear favourite to win the final, but ended up in second place to Diversity; the UK TV audience was a record of 17.3 million viewers.

The Press Complaints Commission (PCC) became concerned by press reports about Boyle's erratic behaviour and speculation about her mental condition and wrote to remind editors about clause 3 (privacy) of their code of press conduct. The day after the final, Boyle was admitted to The Priory, a private psychiatric clinic in London, TalkbackThames explained "Following Saturday night's show, Susan is exhausted and emotionally drained." Her stay in hospital attracted widespread attention, with Prime Minister Gordon Brown wishing her well. Cowell offered to waive Boyle's contractual obligation to take part in the BGT tour. Her family said "she's been battered non-stop for the last seven weeks and it has taken its toll [...but...] her dream is very much alive," as she had been invited to the Independence Day celebrations at the White House.

Boyle left the clinic five days after her admission and said she would participate in the BGT tour. Despite health worries, she appeared in 20 of the 24 dates of the tour, and was well received in cities such as Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Dublin, Sheffield, Coventry, Birmingham and London. The ''Belfast Telegraph'' said "Despite reports of crumbling under the pressure..., she exuded a confidence resembling that of a veteran who has been performing for years".

''I Dreamed a Dream'' and tour (2009–2010)

Boyle's first album, ''I Dreamed a Dream'', was released on 23 November 2009. The album includes covers of "Wild Horses" and "You'll See" as well as "I Dreamed a Dream", and "Cry Me a River". ''I Dreamed a Dream'' became Amazon.com's best-selling album in pre-sales on 4 September 2009, three months before the scheduled release. In Britain, Boyle's debut album was recognised as the fastest selling UK debut album of all time selling 411,820 copies, beating the previous fastest selling debut of all time, ''Spirit'' by Leona Lewis. ''I Dreamed a Dream'' also outsold the rest of the top 5 albums combined in its first week.

In the U.S., the album sold 701,000 copies in its first week, the best opening week for a debut artist in over a decade. It topped the ''Billboard'' chart for six straight weeks and although it narrowly failed to become the best-selling album of 2009, with sales of 3,104,000 compared to 3,217,000 for Taylor Swift's ''Fearless'', it was one of only two albums to sell over 3 million copies in the U.S., and was also the top selling "physical" album of 2009, with only 86,000 of its sales coming from digital downloads. This has in turn garnered more media attention, as mentioned by ''People'' magazine.

In Italy, it was the first album of the month in the Italian #1 Account by a non-Italian artist ever. In only a week, it sold more than 2 million copies worldwide, becoming the fastest selling global female debut album.

Boyle gave a U.S. concert tour in November as a lead-up to the album release. On 13 December 2009 she appeared in her own television special "I Dreamed a Dream: the Susan Boyle Story", featuring a duet with Elaine Paige. It got ratings of 10 million viewers in the United Kingdom and in America was the TV Guide Network's highest rated television special in its history.

In November 2009 it was reported that Boyle's rendition of 'I Dreamed a Dream' would be the theme song of the anime movie ''Eagle Talon The Movie 3'', that was released in Japan on 16 January 2010. Boyle performed for Pope Benedict XVI on his tour of Britain in 2010. In May 2010, Susan Boyle was voted by ''Time'' magazine as the seventh most influential person in the world.

''The Gift'' (2010–2011)

On 9 July 2010, Boyle announced that her second album would be a Christmas album entitled ''The Gift''. As part of the lead up to the album, she will be holding a competition 'Susan's Search', the winner of which would get to sing a duet with her on her new CD. The album was released on 8 November 2010.

Produced by Steve Mac, who says "Now Susan's used to the studio and the recording process, this time round we might go even further down a traditional route of recording by getting a band together and rehearsing songs before we go into the studio to see what works, how she reacts with certain parts, and so we can change the arrangements that way. I think that’s going to work much better....With Susan it’s very important she connects with the public and the public connect with her. She doesn’t want to sing anything that hasn’t happened to her or she can’t relate to." Boyle has suggested the album will include some jazz numbers now she's "a bit more content" within herself. "My next album has to have an element of surprise in it again. I'm hoping to make it better and a bit extra special."

In August 2010, British tabloid, ''News of the World'', reported that Boyle was experiencing financial woes as Boyle was unable to access her fortune, which was being controlled by her management team – consisting of Andy Stephens, Ossie Killkenny, and Susan's lawyer niece Kirsty Foy. Boyle's brother Gerry said his sister was fearful of losing her contract and of returning to her previous financial situation, and that she has been unable to move into her £300,000 five-bedroom house in Blackburn because she does not have the cash to furnish it. He said "[Susan's] millions are ring-fenced but Susan has no concept of money," and was "extremely distressed" at having to live off £300 a week, after being banned from withdrawing money from the bank or owning a credit card. This story was contradicted the following day though by the news that she had bought two houses. It was also reported that she had recently been on a spending spree, where she had bought a grand piano, iPhone, and five dresses made by Stewart Parvin, the Queen's dressmaker. The press had previously stated that Susan Boyle was suing her brother Gerry for other stories he'd sold to the newspapers.

In November 2010, Boyle became only one of three to ever top both the UK and US album charts twice in the same year. On 30 November 2010, Susan performed both on ABC"s ''The View'' and sang "O Holy Night", and later on NBC's ''Christmas at Rockefeller Center'', where she performed "Perfect Day" and "Away in a Manger". During her appearance on ''The View'' she was unable to finish her song, stating she had a "frog in her throat"; she wanted to start the song over but wasn't allowed to. The audience applauded her anyway, and she later performed an unaired version of the song, which was uploaded to The View's YouTube account.

''Someone to Watch Over Me'' (2011–present)

Emeli Sande is reported to be helping Susan write songs for her third studio album, which is due this autumn. The album is also reported to be an R&B; styled album. Susan performed on the second semi-final results show of the sixth season of ''America's Got Talent'', which aired on August 31, 2011.

Legacy

Media impact

Web sites such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter have been crucial in facilitating Boyle's rapid rise to fame: The most popular YouTube video submission of her audition garnered nearly 2.5 million views in the first 72 hours. On the day following the performance, the YouTube video was the most popular article on Digg and made the front page of Reddit. Within a week, the audition performance had been viewed more than 66 million times, setting an online record, while on Wikipedia her biographical article attracted nearly half a million page views. A total of 103 million video views on 20 different Web sites was reached within nine days. The ''Los Angeles Times'' wrote that her popularity on YouTube may in part be due to the broad range of emotion packed into a short clip which was "perfect for the Internet". In December 2009 her audition was named the most watched YouTube video of the year with over 120 million viewings, more than three times higher than the second most popular video.

Additionally, Boyle’s first on camera interview with Scots journalist Richard Mooney for her local newspaper the West Lothian Courier, was named as YouTube’s Most Memorable Video of 2009. The video went viral after being uploaded to YouTube on 14 April 2009.

Many newspapers around the world (including China, Brazil and the Middle East) carried articles on Boyle's performance. British tabloid ''The Sun'' gave her the nickname "Paula Potts" in reference to the first series' winner Paul Potts. Later, the British press took to referring to her by a short-form of her name, 'SuBo'. In the U.S., several commentators also drew parallels between Boyle's performance and that of Potts. ''ABC News'' hailed "Britain's newest pop sensation", and its Entertainment section headlined Boyle as "The Woman Who Shut Up Simon Cowell".

Within the week following her performance on ''Britain's Got Talent'', Boyle was a guest on STV's ''The Five Thirty Show''. She was interviewed via satellite on CBS's ''Early Show'', ''Good Morning America'', NBC's Today, FOX's ''America's Newsroom''. and ''The Oprah Winfrey Show''. Via satellite on ''Larry King Live'', Boyle performed an a cappella verse of "My Heart Will Go On". She was also portrayed in drag by Jay Leno, who joked that they were related through his mother's Scottish heritage.

At the invitation of NHK, a major Japanese broadcaster, Boyle appeared as a guest singer for the 2009 edition of Kōhaku Uta Gassen, annual songfest on 31 December in Tokyo. She was introduced as the by the MCs and appeared on the stage escorted by Takuya Kimura, and sang "I Dreamed a Dream".

Although Boyle was not eligible for the 2010 Grammy Awards, its host Stephen Colbert paid tribute to Boyle at the ceremony, telling its audience "you may be the coolest people in the world, but this year your industry was saved by a 48-year-old Scottish cat lady in sensible shoes." There was also earlier controversy, when Boyle was not nominated in any of the categories for the 2010 Brit Awards.

Musical biography

It was originally planned that Boyle would appear as herself in a musical about her life. She was quoted as saying "having to sit watching people up there" who are actors. However it was later announced actress Elaine C Smith would be portraying her. The musical will "tell the singer's entire life story, including her years living with her moggy back in Blackburn before her world-famous telly audition." The show may play in the West End before touring the United Kingdom.

Social analyses

Judging by appearance

''The Huffington Post'' noted that the producers of the show would have anticipated the potential of this story arc, by deliberately presenting Boyle in a manner that would enhance this initial reaction. ''The Herald'' described Boyle's story as a modern parable and a rebuke to people's tendency to judge others based on their physical appearance. Similarly, ''Entertainment Weekly'' said that Boyle's performance was a victory for talent and artistry in a culture obsessed with physical attractiveness and presentation. ''The Washington Post'' believed that her initial demeanour and homely appearance caused the judges and audience to be "waiting for her to squawk like a duck". New York's ''Daily News'' said that an underdog being ridiculed or humiliated but then enjoying an unexpected triumph is a common trope in literature, and the stark contrast between the audience's low expectations and the quality of her singing made Boyle's performance such an engaging piece of television.

Feminist view

R.M. Campbell, music critic for ''The Gathering Note'' compared her to Ella Fitzgerald, in that "[... it is] really, really hard to make a career if a woman isn't attractive." In another ''Huffington Post'' article, Letty Cottin Pogrebin wrote that although people may "weep for the years of wasted talent", Boyle's performance was a triumph for "women of a certain age" over a youth culture that often dismisses middle-aged women. Tanya Gold wrote in ''The Guardian'' that the difference between Boyle's hostile reception and the more neutral response to Paul Potts in his first audition reflected society's expectation that women be both good-looking and talented, with no such expectation existing for men. Los Angeles vocal coach Eric Vetro stated, "She's an Everywoman as opposed to an untouchable fantasy goddess, so maybe that's why people react to her."

'American Dream'

Several media sources have commented that Boyle's success seemed to have particular resonance in the United States. An American entertainment correspondent was quoted in ''The Scotsman'' comparing Boyle's story to the American Dream, as representing talent overcoming adversity and poverty. The Associated Press described this as Boyle's "hardscrabble story", dwelling on her modest lifestyle and what they characterised as urban deprivation in her home town. Similarly, ''The Independent'''s New York correspondent David Usborne wrote that the United States will always respond to "the fairy tale where the apparently unprepossessing suddenly becomes pretty, from ''Shrek'' to ''My Fair Lady''".

Cultural references

The American cartoon show ''South Park'' made a reference to the Susan Boyle craze in the episode "Fatbeard", which aired on 22 April 2009; the ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' show aired a comedy sketch showing the "feel good" effect that Susan Boyle's performance has had on people; ''The Simpsons'' aired a new commercial for its 20th-anniversary show "Springfield's Got Talent", in which Homer Simpson talks about his dreams "to be a great singer like Boyle". A European trailer for the video game ''The Sims 3'' includes a character mocked up as Boyle. In June 2009, BBC Radio 4 broadcast a short story called "I Dreamed a Dream" that was based on a combination of Boyle's appearances on ''Britain's Got Talent'' and the political difficulties of Gordon Brown. The 5 November 2009 episode of the show ''30 Rock'' showed recurring character Kathy Geiss (Marceline Hugot) – who has a dowdy appearance – singing in the style of Susan Boyle as Liz Lemon and Jack Donaghy teared up. In a Season 35 sketch on ''Saturday Night Live'', an accountant (Andy Samberg) doing Boyle's taxes, notes that her income for 2008 was $1, $900,000,000 for 2009, and projected to be $1 for 2010. Bobby Moynihan played Boyle in the sketch.

In the ''Futurama'' episode "Attack of the Killer App", Leela has a boil named Susan ("Susan Boil") that can sing show tunes.

Discography

Studio albums

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Album details

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* Release date: 23 November 2009

* Label: Syco, Columbia Records

Music download>digital download

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British Phonographic Industry>UK: 7× Platinum

Australian Recording Industry Association>AUS: 9× Platinum

Canadian Recording Industry Association>CAN: 5× Platinum

Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique>FRA: Platinum

Oricon>JPN: Platinum

Recording Industry Association of New Zealand>NZ: 11× Platinum

Recording Industry Association of America>US: 4× Platinum

wikt:worldwide>WW: 9,000,000

scope="row">''The Gift (Susan Boyle album)

The Gift''

* Release date: 8 November 2010

* Label: Syco, Columbia Records

* Format: CD, digital download

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* AUS: 3× Platinum<

* CAN: 2× Platinum

Irish Recorded Music Association>IRL: 2× Platinum

* NZ: 4× Platinum

* US: 3× Platinum

* UK: 600,000

Nielsen SoundScan>US: 1,850,000

scope="row">''Someone to Watch Over Me (Susan Boyle album)

Someone to Watch Over Me''

* Release date: 7 November 2011

* Label: Syco, Columbia Records

* Format: CD, digital download

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Singles

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scope="col" rowspan="2"	Year	Single	Peak chart positions									Album
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rowspan="2"	2009	! scope="row"	9	93	|	95	11	31	99	—	98	rowspan="2"	''I Dreamed a Dream''
scope="row">"I Dreamed a Dream#Susan Boyle version	I Dreamed a Dream"	37	66	|	65	20	37	—	43	62
2010	scope="row"	"Perfect Day"	124	—	|	—	—	—	—	—	—	''The Gift''
2011	scope="row"	"I Know Him So Well" (with Peter Kay for Comic Relief)	11	—	|	—	—	—	—	—	—	Non-album single

Featured singles

scope="col" rowspan="2"	Year	Single	Peak chart positions			Album
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2010	"Everybody Hurts" (with Helping Haiti)	1	28	1	Non-album single

Awards and nominations

! Year	! Association	! Category	! Result
2011	53rd Grammy Awards

References

External links

Category:1961 births Category:Britain's Got Talent contestants Category:Columbia Records artists Category:Internet memes Category:Living people Category:People from Blackburn, West Lothian Category:Scottish female singers Category:Scottish mezzo-sopranos Category:Scottish people of Irish descent Category:Scottish pop singers Category:Scottish Roman Catholics Category:Torch singers

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Coordinates	34°03′″N118°15′″N
name	Joanna Newsom
partner	Andy Samberg (2010-present)
background	solo_singer
born	Joanna Caroline Newsom January 18, 1982 in Nevada City, California, United States
instrument	VoiceHarpPiano Harpsichord
genre	Indie folk
label	Drag City
notable instruments	}}

Joanna Newsom (born January 18, 1982) is an American harpist, pianist and singer-songwriter from Nevada City, California.

Early life

Newsom grew up in the small town of Nevada City, California. As a child, Newsom was not allowed to watch television or listen to the radio because she was raised by doctors who were "kind of idealists when it came to hoping they could protect us from bad influences, like violent movies, or stupid stuff". She was exposed to music from a young age. Her father played the guitar and her mother was a classically trained pianist who played the hammered dulcimer, the autoharp and conga drums. She attended a Waldorf school where she studied theater and learned to memorize and recite long poems. This skill helps her to remember lyrics while on tour.

At the age of 5, Newsom asked her parents if she could play the harp. Her parents eventually agreed to sign her up for harp lessons, but the local harp teacher did not want to take on such a young student and suggested she learn to play the piano first. Starting at the age of four, she began playing the piano and later the harp, which she "loved from the first lesson onward." From her instructor, Joanna learned composition and improvisation. She learned to play on smaller Celtic harps until her parents bought her a full-size pedal harp in the seventh grade. During her teens, she and the instrument became inseparable, and she describes her relationship with the harp as similar to "an artificial limb or a wheelchair. It’s almost part of me, but more to the point, it serves a purpose, and if it wasn’t there I would wonder what was supposed to fit in its place."

She studied composition and creative writing at Mills College in Oakland, California. While at Mills, she played keyboards in The Pleased. She dropped out of the school in order to focus on her music.

Career

In 2002 and 2003, Newsom recorded two EPs, ''Walnut Whales'' and ''Yarn and Glue''. These homemade recordings were intended to serve as a document of her early work; she recorded them on a Fisher-Price tape recorder. These EPs were not intended for public distribution. At the suggestion of Noah Georgeson, her boyfriend at the time and the EPs' recorder, she burned several copies to sell at her early shows. John Fellman, co-producer of Mission Creek Music and Arts Festival, claims to be the first to have booked a show for her.

A friend of Newsom's passed one of these CDs on to Will Oldham at a show in Nevada City. Oldham was impressed with Newsom's music and asked her to tour with him. He also gave a copy of the CD to the owner of Drag City, his record label. Drag City signed Newsom and released her debut album ''The Milk-Eyed Mender'' in 2004. Shortly thereafter, Newsom toured with Devendra Banhart and Vetiver and made an early UK appearance at the Green Man Festival in Wales, returning to headline in 2005, 2007 and 2010.

Newsom's work has become prominent on the indie scene. Her profile has risen, in part, due to a number of live shows and appearances on shows like ''Jimmy Kimmel Live'' on ABC.

Her second album ''Ys'' was released in November 2006. The album features orchestrations and arrangements by Van Dyke Parks, engineering from Steve Albini and mixing by Drag City label-mate Jim O'Rourke. On a road trip, Bill Callahan recommended she listen to the album ''Song Cycle'' by Parks, which led to his being chosen to arrange her work on ''Ys''.

Joanna is known to debut songs impromptu at her concerts. On March 28, 2009, she performed over two hours of new material at a 'secret' concert in Big Sur, California with fellow Nevada City singer-songwriter Mariee Sioux under the pseudonym 'The Beatles's'. Those in attendance reported that about one-third of her new material was played primarily on piano, with a backing arrangement of banjo, violin, guitar and drums.

Since late 2006, Joanna has performed a solo harp version of the Robert Burns poem "Ca the Yowes Tae the Knowes".

Several of the songs on ''The Milk-Eyed Mender'' have been covered by her peers. "Bridges and Balloons" was covered by The Decemberists on their 2005 EP ''Picaresqueties''. "Sprout and the Bean" has been covered by The Moscow Coup Attempt and Sholi. "Peach, Plum, Pear" has been covered by Final Fantasy (Owen Pallett) on the 2006 EP ''Young Canadian Mothers'', as well as by Straylight Run. M Ward has played "Sadie" at some of his live shows.

In 2009, she appeared in the music video for the song "Kids" by the group MGMT.

On January 12, 2010, an entry cryptically entitled "@!?*(%$#!!" was posted on the Drag City website. It contained a link which led to a short comic strip titled "Joanna Newsom 'Have One on Me'" with a date of February 23, 2010. Later that day, it was confirmed by Spunk, Newsom's Australian label, that the title and date represented the title of Newsom's upcoming album and its release date. P-Vine Records in Japan announced that ''Have One on Me'', which was recorded in Tokyo in 2009, would be released in Japan on March 3, 2010, as a 3-disc CD set, with a total of approximately three hours of new recordings. Newsom was chosen by Matt Groening to perform at the edition of the All Tomorrow's Parties festival he curated in May 2010 in Minehead, England.

On February 11, 2010, Pitchfork Media reported that Newsom would be the subject of a tribute book titled ''Visions of Joanna Newsom'' which has now been published by Roan Press. She toured throughout Europe and America in 2010 to promote her latest record, supported by a five-man band. In December 2010, a tribute album of Newsom covers was released as a digital download. Artists involved include M. Ward, Billy Bragg and Owen Pallett, with all proceeds going to Oxfam America's Pakistan Flood Relief Efforts.

On July 19, 2011, Newsom's second single, ''What We Have Known'', was be released on 12" vinyl. The single was originally the b-side to her first single, ''Sprout and the Bean''. In June 2011, she filmed her second music video (for the song "Good Intentions Paving Company") with directors Karni & Saul.

Style

Newsom's earlier work was strongly influenced by polyrhythms. Her harp teacher, Diana Stork, taught her the basic pattern of four beats against three which creates an interlocking, shifting pattern that can be heard on ''Ys'', particularly in the middle section of "Sawdust & Diamonds." After ''Ys'', Newsom said she had lost interest in polyrhythms. They "stopped being fascinating to me and started feeling wanky."

The media have sometimes labeled her as one of the most prominent members of the modern psych folk movement. Joanna, however, makes no ties to any particular music scene. Her songwriting incorporates elements of Appalachian music and avant-garde modernism.

Newsom's vocal style (in the November 2006 issue of ''The Wire'' she described her voice as "untrainable") has shadings of folk and Appalachian shaped-note timbres. Newsom has, however, expressed disappointment at comments that her singing is "child-like."

Critics noticed a change in Newsom's voice on her latest album. In the spring of 2009, Newsom developed vocal cord nodules and could not speak or sing for two months. The recovery from the nodules and further "vocal modifications" changed her voice.

Collaborations

In addition to her solo work, Newsom has played on records by Smog, Vetiver, Nervous Cop, The Year Zero, Vashti Bunyan, Moore Brothers, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Golden Shoulders and The Roots and played keyboards for The Pleased.

Personal life

Newsom's family includes her brother Pete, a fellow musician, and sister Emily, who inspired her song "Emily" (and contributed backing vocals). She is the second cousin, twice removed, of Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom of California. She has dated Noah Georgeson, Bill Callahan and is dating Andy Samberg.

Discography

;Albums

''The Milk-Eyed Mender'' (Drag City, 2004)

''Ys'' (Drag City, 2006) US #134, UK #41

''Have One on Me'' (Drag City, 2010) US #75, UK #28

;Early unofficial recordings

''Walnut Whales'' (self-released, 2002)

''Yarn and Glue'' (self-released, 2003)

;EPs ''Joanna Newsom and the Ys Street Band'' (Drag City, 2007) UK #135

;Singles

"Sprout and the Bean" (Drag City, 2004)

"What We Have Known" (Drag City, 2011)

Licensing of songs

In 2004, "Peach, Plum, Pear" played over the credits of the animated short ''City Paradise''.

In 2004, "This Side of the Blue" was used on a British television commercial for Orange SA.

In 2006, "Sprout and the Bean" was used in a tourism ad for Melbourne, Australia.

In 2007, "Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie" was used in the PBS documentary ''Following Sean''.

In 2007, "Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie" was sung by an aspiring musician in the film ''Great World of Sound''.

In 2008, "Sprout and the Bean" was featured in the film ''The Strangers''.

In 2008, "Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie" was used in a television commercial for HSBC.

In 2008, "The Book of Right-On" was used in an MTV ad for sexual care and education.

In 2009, "The Book of Right-On" was licensed for the end credits of the Mexican/Italian film The Best of Feelings

In 2009, "Sprout and the Bean" was used in a Victoria's Secret Bra commercial.

In 2009, the harp intro of "Cosmia" was used in the Louis Theroux documentary "A Place for Paedophiles."

In 2009, "Sprout and the Bean" was used again in a tourism ad for Melbourne, Australia.

In 2009, a shorter edit of "Inflammatory Writ" was used in ads for the Spanish TV channel La Sexta In 2010, "Bridges & Balloons" was used in an LG commercial.

References

Interviews

Tiny Mix Tapes (September 2004)

KCRW (February 2005)

The Guardian (October 15, 2006)

The Wire (November 2006)

Pitchfork (November 20, 2006)

The Times (February 20, 2010)

External links

Drag City

Category:American harpists Category:American pianists Category:American female singers Category:American singer-songwriters Category:American folk singers Category:Harpists Category:Psych folk musicians Category:Musicians from California Category:Drag City artists Category:New Weird America Category:Mills College alumni Category:People from San Francisco, California Category:People from Nevada City, California Category:1982 births Category:Living people

da:Joanna Newsom de:Joanna Newsom es:Joanna Newsom fr:Joanna Newsom it:Joanna Newsom he:ג'ואנה ניוסום la:Ioanna Newsom nl:Joanna Newsom ja:ジョアンナ・ニューサム pl:Joanna Newsom pt:Joanna Newsom ru:Ньюсом, Джоанна simple:Joanna Newsom sk:Joanna Newsomová fi:Joanna Newsom sv:Joanna Newsom

Coordinates	34°03′″N118°15′″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

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Coordinates	34°03′″N118°15′″N
Name	John Popper
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	John Popper
Birth date	March 29, 1967
Origin	Cleveland, Ohio
Instrument	Vocals, harmonica, guitar
Genre	Blues rock, Alternative rock, Jam band
Occupation(s)	musician, songwriter, promoter
Years active	1987–present
Label	A&M;, Relix
Associated acts	Blues Traveler The John Popper Project Frogwings The Duskray Troubadors
Website	}}

John Popper (born March 29, 1967) is an American musician and songwriter.

He is most famous for his role as frontman of rock band Blues Traveler performing harmonica, guitar and vocals. He is widely considered a harmonica virtuoso, and is listed by harmonica manufacturer Hohner as a "Featured Artist", an accolade reserved for only the best and most successful harmonica players.

Early life

John Popper was born in Cleveland, Ohio. His father was a Hungarian immigrant who escaped Budapest in the 1950s. Through him, Popper is related to David Popper, a 19th-century European cellist whose many solo works for the cello are staples of the instrument's repertoire. John's mother and brother are lawyers.

Popper was raised in Stamford, Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey. He attended Davenport Ridge School, Stamford Catholic High School (now Trinity Catholic High School) and Princeton High School (New Jersey). He took lessons on the piano, the cello, and the guitar, but none of those instruments appealed to him and he hated being forced to practice.

He originally wanted to become a comedian, finding he could use humor to make friends and avoid bullies, but when he and a friend performed a routine as The Blues Brothers, he found that he enjoyed musical performance. From there, he took up the harmonica. Popper played trumpet in the Princeton High School Studio Jazz Band, and convinced the teacher to let him play harmonica instead, after an in-class solo on the song "She Blinded Me With Science".

He formed several garage bands with friends in Princeton, New Jersey, one of which evolved into Blues Traveler in 1987. After graduating from high school, the group's members all moved to New York City, where Popper enrolled in The New School for Social Research along with two of his bandmates and high school friend Chris Barron. Popper attended for three years but devoted himself to the band full-time once they signed a record contract in 1990.

Career

Blues Traveler

Popper is a founding member of Blues Traveler, serving as the band's front man with lead vocals and harmonica. For some songs, he forgoes the harmonica in favor of guitar, most often a 12-string acoustic. In addition, Popper has played the tin whistle on some recordings.

A prolific songwriter, he has composed the majority of the lyrics and music of Blues Traveler's songs.

The band grew a following with its extensive touring, sometimes with over 300 dates a year, and gained a reputation in the jam band scene of the 1990s. Blues Traveler crossed over into mainstream pop/rock radio success with their 1994 album ''four'', which garnered the group extensive media exposure. The Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in 1996 was awarded to "Run-Around", a song which Popper composed.

Solo work

In 1990, Popper began to perform occasional solo concerts in addition to touring with Blues Traveler. Several songs which originated as Popper's solo pieces have become part of Blues Traveler's repertoire, and vice versa.

Bolstered by Blues Traveler's mainstream success, Popper released a solo album, ''Zygote'', in 1999 and toured in support of it with his own John Popper Band. The album was produced by Terry Manning, and the backing band consisted of longtime friends Dave Ares, Crugie Riccio, and Rob Clores of Cycomotogoat, with drummer Carter Beauford of Dave Matthews Band. The album's release came less than three months after his heart surgery, and only days after the death of Bobby Sheehan, Popper's band mate and best friend. The subsequent tour was canceled midway due to poor ticket sales, and Popper instead took the time to focus on his health.

Popper has co-written songs with Trey Anastasio, Warren Haynes, Chris Barron, and Jonny Lang. He also frequently appears as a guest performer with musicians both famous and obscure, from a diverse variety of genres. He has performed with, among others, jam bands Spin Doctors, Dave Matthews Band, Phish and most recently, The Allman Brothers Band in 2009; bluesmen Eric Clapton and B.B. King; singer-songwriters Jason Mraz and John Mayer; saxophonist Karl Denson; San Francisco's Culann's Hounds; heavy metal band Metallica; rock trio ZO2 and even with the Hungarian Ambassador to the United States, András Simonyi. He sat in with The Smashing Pumpkins on the second day of their acoustic 1997 Bridge School Benefit appearance, contributing harmonica for their song "Porcelina of the Vast Oceans"; Popper's solo garnered major applause from the audience. He also performed with the Grateful Dead at a tribute to Bill Graham in 1991. Lastly, he was even the harmonica player in Hanson's album This Time Around back in the year 2000, the songs he played harmonica in were "If Only" and "In The City" -- that album reached #19 on The Billboard 200!

Side projects

In 1992, Popper conceived the HORDE Festival as a venue to gain exposure for up-and-coming independent musicians. It ran until 1998.

Popper was a part of a one-time studio band brought together in 1997 by New York drummer/songwriter Solomon Deniro. Other players included Trey Gunn, Bernie Worrell, Marc Ribot, and Vernon Reid. The group's only recordings were released as the album ''Gimme Gimme'' under the name The Devotees. The same recording was re-released by Deniro in 2001 with the title ''Solomon''.

Popper took over in 1998 as front man of jam-band supergroup Frogwings, which released the live album ''Croakin' at Toad's''. Frogwings was mainly active until 2000.

Recently, Popper formed a rock/jazz/hip-hop fusion group The John Popper Project with DJ Logic, which released an album in 2006 and performs occasionally. He also performs on the album Global Noize by Jason Miles and DJ Logic (2008).

Popper's latest side project is "John Popper & the Duskray Troubadours", which plays Americana roots music. The group's self-titled debut from 429 Records was released March 2011 and produced by band member Jono Manson who co-wrote much of the material. The first single, "Something Sweet", written by Manson and Bruce Donnola, was released February 7, 2011 on iTunes.

Acting and media appearances

Popper had a speaking guest role in an episode of the sitcom ''Roseanne'' as a musician similar to himself. Popper appeared on Episode 30 of Space Ghost Coast To Coast as a musical guest. Popper appeared as a guest on the IFC television comedy series ''Z Rock''. He plays a role as himself, and befriends the band ZO2, helping them get a record deal.

In film, Popper had a cameo role as a bowling tournament MC in ''Kingpin'' and also with Blues Traveler as the Ahmish band singing "But Anyway" at end of movie and an appearance in Howard Stern's ''Private Parts'' as himself. Another cameo followed in ''Blues Brothers 2000'', with Blues Traveler appearing on the soundtrack. Popper's first major role was in 2000 in ''Just for the Time Being'', an independent film starring Eva Herzigova.

Popper has provided narration for art projects produced by his friends, including ''Das Clown'', an award-winning short film in slideshow style that was screened at the Sundance Film Festival.

Popper served as host of the third annual Jammy awards in 2002.

He has been a recurring guest on Howard Stern's and Bill Maher's shows and sits in with The CBS Orchestra on ''The Late Show with David Letterman'' on occasion. In 2009, he sat in with The Roots on an episode of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Popper performed "Something Sweet" with the Duskray Troubadours on the TBS show "Lopez Tonight" on March 1, 2011. He also sat in with the house band for the closing number of the show.

Personal life

Since the success of Blues Traveler, Popper has lived in various locations, including rural Pennsylvania and New Orleans. He currently has a residence near Snohomish, Washington.

In October 1992 Popper was involved in a traffic accident on a motorcycle while traveling to a studio to record for Blues Traveler's third album. The accident put him in a wheelchair for several months, but Popper continued touring with the band despite the difficulties it created.

In 1999, he suffered a near-fatal heart attack brought on by years of compulsive overeating. (He had been diagnosed with diabetes a few years earlier.) Doctors at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center performed an emergency angioplasty which saved Popper's life: he had 95% arterial blockage. Popper later underwent gastric bypass surgery and lost a significant amount of weight.

Popper has a tattoo across his chest that says, "I WANT TO BE BRAVE", written backwards.

Weapons collecting

Popper is an avid collector of weaponry, including firearms, swords, and a working $10,000 American Civil War cannon. He cites a fascination with their aesthetic of being "life-savingly efficient" machines. Popper is a supporter of Second Amendment rights, and appeared on an MTV-sponsored roundtable discussion on gun control which included panelists from the Law Enforcement Alliance of America and Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government. He carries weapons in any state where it is allowed, even wearing them onstage. On his ''Daily Show'' appearance, he stated that he decided to move away from New Jersey because of the state's tight gun laws. He said that his Bucks County, Pennsylvania property had on which he built a private gun range.

Politics

Popper is a member of the Libertarian Party, and has previously expressed support for the Republican Party. He endorsed George W. Bush in the 2004 U.S. presidential election. Popper (with and without Blues Traveler) has played at conventions, fundraisers, and ceremonies for both Republican and Democratic politicians. He has stated that politics do not influence his choice of performance setting.

Popper has said, "I was a bleeding-heart liberal, until I got a job" and describes himself as "a libertarian who is a Republican when pushed". Popper summed up his political position by saying "I believe in freedom for markets and freedom for individuals, so I guess that makes me a libertarian".

Popper has toured with the USO, both with Blues Traveler and solo. His most recent tour was in the Middle East, performing with the Band of the Air Force Reserve and Jamie O'Neal at various military camps.

He has appeared with Rock the Vote and recorded "The Preamble" for the ''Schoolhouse Rocks the Vote!'' album.

In November 2008, Popper said, regarding Barack Obama, "this is the first time I've voted for a Democrat, ever."

Religion

Popper was raised Catholic--and for a time attended Stamford Catholic High School in Connecticut; however, he does not actively practice in his adult life. He has described himself as "a recovering Catholic". The song "Trina Magna" was written as an exploration of his religious views.

Legal trouble

In 2003, Popper was arrested for possession of marijuana. Popper was arrested again on March 6, 2007 near Ritzville, Washington by the Washington State Patrol. He was the passenger in his own vehicle, which was stopped for speeding, and was found to be in the possession of a small amount of marijuana and weapons. Popper was released the same night. The vehicle had a stash of hidden compartments which contained four rifles, nine handguns, a switchblade knife, a Taser, a set of brass knuckles, and night vision goggles. The vehicle was temporarily seized.

No charges were filed for the weapons, as they were all registered and securely locked away, and Popper was licensed to carry them, with the exception of the brass knuckles and switchblade knife which Popper agreed to surrender. A deal was reached that allowed the marijuana charge to be dropped if Popper remained free of further drug infractions for one year and attended eight hours of drug counseling. Popper and the driver had been driving back to Washington from Austin, Texas, and Popper likes to visit gun ranges during long trips.

Equipment

John Popper has expressed a preference for the Hohner Special 20 brand blues harp, calling them "the Porsche of harmonicas".

Popper uses Shure microphones and Mesa Boogie amplifiers, similar to bandmate Chan Kinchla. He also uses D'Addario strings.

Trademark equipment

Popper has developed some equipment innovations to accommodate his use of harmonicas during onstage performances. Because each individual diatonic harmonica is tuned to one particular key, he fashioned belts with enough pockets to hold harmonicas in all 12 keys (plus extras) and wore them as a bandolier, or slung over his neck. He frequently has to switch keys multiple times within one song, and this arrangement allowed him to quickly trade one harmonica for another without looking. In 2002, he stopped using the belts because they no longer fit him properly due to his weight loss; now he carries his harmonicas in a small black attaché case. He uses a special microphone with switches that change the audio effect of the harmonica as it is played through an amplifier, similar to a guitar effects pedal. Popper was inspired by Jimi Hendrix's guitar playing to make his instrument sound however he wanted. He has also fashioned a number of floppy-brimmed hats with flattened harmonica plates on the band, which he almost always wears during appearances with Blues Traveler.

Discography, performances and appearances

Discography

Solo

: ''Zygote'' (1999) : ''Go Outside and Drive (The Vestal Version)'' single (1999)

with Blues Traveler : See Blues Traveler discography with The Devotees : ''Gimme Gimme'' (1997) with Frogwings : ''Croakin' at Toad's'' (1999) with The John Popper Project : ''The John Popper Project with DJ Logic'' (2006) with The Duskray Troubadours : ''John Popper & the Duskray Troubadours'' (2011) : ''Something Sweet'' single (2011)

Featured music appearances

"Northbound Train" from Broadway musical soundtrack ''The Civil War: The Complete Work''

Duet with Eric Clapton on "Christmas Blues" from ''A Very Special Christmas Live''

Duet with BB King on "Back Door Santa" from ''A Very Special Christmas Vol. 5''

Solo instrumental track "Harmonica Musings" from the soundtrack of ''Blues Brothers 2000''

Harmonica solos of character Buster Blues in the Blues Brothers 2000 film

"Regarding Steven" from the 2000 compilation ''VH1 Storytellers Live''

"Alone" from ''Warren Haynes Presents: The Benefit Concert, Volume 2''

"Devil Got My Woman", "Alone", and "Sign on the Door" from ''Warren Haynes Presents: The Benefit Concert, Volume 3"

"The Preamble" from ''Schoolhouse Rocks The Vote!''

Guest music appearances

! Year	! Role	! Song	! Artist	! Album	! Notes
		"Just One of Those Things"	rowspan="2"
"Growing Up Under the RR"	Extra track on 1992 re-release
	Harmonica	"More Than She Knows"			Album reached #3 on Billboard 200
Backing vocals and 'Inspiration'	"Two Princes"	Reached #1 on Mainstream Rock; #7 on the Hot 100
Harmonica	"Off My Line"
		"You Can Leave Your Hat On"			Randy Newman cover
"My Problems Got Problems"
	Harmonica	"I Lost My Mule in Texas"	Aquarium Rescue Unit	''Mirrors of Embarrassment''
Harmonica	"Built for Comfort"	Merl Saunders	''It's In The Air''
	Harmonica	"What Would You Say"	Dave Matthews Band	''Under the Table and Dreaming''	Reached #9 Top 40 Mainstream; #11 Modern Rock Tracks
Harmonica	"Louisiana Blues"	Foghat	''Return of the Boogie Men''
Harmonica	"Communication Breakdown"	Jeff Healey	''Cover to Cover''	Led Zeppelin cover
1995	Harmonica	"Mule"	Gov't Mule
1996	Harmonica and Vocal duet	"Today I Started Loving You Again"	Dolly Parton		Merle Haggard cover
		"Feather"
"She Comes Up Softly"
1998	Harmonica	"Tuesday's Gone"		''Garage Inc.'' by Metallica	Live Lynyrd Skynyrd cover; album reached #2 on The Billboard 200 and #3 on Top Canadian Albums
	Harmonica	"She Caught the Katy"		''Blue Light Boogie''	live
Harmonica	"On the Other Side"	Leftover Salmon	''The Nashville Sessions''
	"Leave Me Alone"
"Twine Time"
			rowspan="2"	rowspan="2"	Album reached #19 on The Billboard 200
"In The City"
Harmonica	"Diana"	God Street Wine	''The Last of the Wine''
Harmonica	"Scarred But Smarter"		''The Flower and The Knife''
2001	Harmonica	"I'm Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town"	Chico Hamilton	''Foreststorn''
	Harmonica	"Country Love"	Cee-Lo	''Cee-Lo Green and His Perfect Imperfections''
Harmonica	"Our Greatest Year"	Bad Astronaut	''Houston: We Have a Drinking Problem''
Harmonica	"On the Run"	Todd Wolfe	''Wolfe''
2003	Harmonica and vocals	"I Saw a Bird Fly Away"	Dar Williams	''The Beauty of the Rain''
		"Curbside Prophet"		rowspan="2"
"Too Much Food"
Harmonica and vocals	"Invisible"	Buddahead	''Crossing the Invisible Line''
	"Stranger Blues"	rowspan="2"
"Tumblin' Down"
2005	Harmonica			''Soul Bones''
2007	Harmonica	"Tequila Mockingbird"	Stolen Ogre	''Tequila Mockingbird EP''
	Harmonica	"The Souk"	Global Noize	''Global Noize''
Harmonica	"Purifier"		''Live at the Paradiso - Amsterdam''
Harmonica	"Ghost Town"	John Oates	''1000 Miles of Life''
2009	Background vocals	"No Way Out"	ZO2	''Casino Logic''
	Harmonica	"Only the Tequila Talkin'"	Lisa Bouchelle	''Blue Room with a Red Vase''
Harmonica	"Last to Know"	Ron Noyes Band	''Dust Bowl Diary''
	"There Ya Go"	Beats Antique	''Blind Threshold''

Television appearances

Popper performed a duet with Dolly Parton on her ''Treasures'' television special in 1997

Appeared on a 1996 episode of ''The Late Show with David Letterman'' to surprise Manny the Hippie with a harmonica duel

Appeared as a guest on an episode of the Cartoon Network comedy talk show ''Space Ghost Coast to Coast''

Had speaking lines on an episode (#9509 "Of Mice and Dan") of the sitcom ''Roseanne'' as character Stingray Wilson, a musician similar to Popper himself (Popper later wrote lyrics for the show's bluesy theme song, which was performed by Blues Traveler in the final season of the show.)

An animated clay caricature of Popper fought a match in the MTV parody series Celebrity Deathmatch. Popper defeated singer Fiona Apple.

Popper appeared on Penn and Teller's ''Sin City Spectacular'', playing harmonica during a card trick performance

Was a guest on Comedy Central's ''The Daily Show'' in 2003 promoting Blues Traveler's album ''Truth Be Told''

Was a celebrity coach in the final round of ''America's Got Talent''

Other appearances

Popper has played his Jimi Hendrix-inspired harmonica rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at National Basketball Association, National Football League and Major League Baseball games, including the World Series.

Notes and references

External links

John Popper's biography at BluesTraveler.com

John Popper collection at the Internet Archive's live music archive

Category:1967 births Category:Musicians from Ohio Category:American harmonica players Category:American male singers Category:American rock musicians Category:Rock harmonica players Category:American libertarians Category:Living people Category:Blues Traveler members Category:Live Music Archive artists

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