The youngest Beatle, George Harrison was born Februrary 25, 1943 in Liverpool, England to a working class family. He was given a guitar at the age of 13, and he never let go of it. He developed quickly, and began playing in a band called the Rebels with his elder brother Peter. As he turned 14, he was allowed to join the local skiffle band Quarrymen, led by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. The band then became the Beatles and the rest is history.

After the Beatles broke up in 1970, Harrison wasted no time in launching his solo career. He released his full-length solo debut, 'All Things Must Pass' (except the soundtracks 'Wonderwall' and 'Electric Sound') later that year. The album spawned a worldwide hit, 'My Sweet Lord', which topped the charts on both sides of the Atlantic. Although Harrison was later years sued for allegedly plagiarizing the Chiffons' 1964 hit, 'She's So Fine' for 'My Sweet Lord' and lost the case, his credibillity as a songwriter was not in doubt. 'All Things Must Pass' was highly acclaimed both commercially and critically, and followed up by the subsequent hit album, 'Living In The Material World' (1973), which produced another U.S. number one hit, 'Give Me Love'.

So fascinated with Hinduism since late '60s, Harrison organized a benefit concert, 'Bangla-Desh' in the summer of '71 at the Madison Square Garden, N.Y., to help the country of his sitar instructor and famed composer Ravi Shankar. A host of top musicians including Ringo Starr, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton and Leon Russell participated in the event, which later was released as the triple LP 'Concert For Bangladesh'.

In 1974, Harrison established his own imprint, Dark Horse Records and released his third album of the same name, which was followed by his first North American solo tour. He finished his recording contract with the Apple Records, with his 1975 'Extra Texture'. His next two albums, '33 1/3' (1976) and 'George Harrison' (1979) was released via his own Dark Horse label. During this period, Harrison's personal life was troubled. His marriage with Patty Boid was over and she soon married his close friend Eric Clapton. In 1976, the court ruled that Harrison pay $1.6 million in damages for the aforementioned plagiarism case.

After issuing his autobiography, 'I, Me, Mine' in 1980, he attempted a small comeback with the album, 'Somewhere In England', but its initial edition was rejected by his parent label, Warner Brothers Records. He reworked on the album and wrote some new songs including 'All Those Years Go By' to celebrate the late John Lennon, who was murdered in December of the year. The song featured Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, and 'Somewhere In England' was at last released in the summer of 1981. After the commercial failure 'Gone Ttoppo' in 1982, Harrison took a recording hiatus for much of the '80s and became involved with movies. His Handmade Films company produced a string of hits including 'Monty Python's Life Of Brian' (1979), 'Time Bandits' (1980), 'A Private Function' (1985) and 'Shanghai Surprise' (1986).

After appearing at the Price Trust benefit concert in 1987, Harrison began his comeback. He entered the studio with ELO's Jeff Lynne to record 'Cloud Nine' (1987). The album spawned the 1988 No. 1 single 'Got My Mind Set On You', which renewed Harrison's status as a rock star. The following year, Harrison formed the supergroup Travelling Wilburys, along with Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne and Roy Orbison. Despite Orbison's death, the band released three excellent albums, including its 1988 debut 'Volume 1', which gave the group the Grammy for best rock group. For the next few years, he kept busy collaborating with such artists as Bob Dylan, Gary Moore and Eric Clapton. His concert with Clapton, held in Tokyo in the end of 1991, was later released as 'Live In Japan' album. In 1995, fifteen years after the death of John Lennon, the surviving members of the Beatles reunited for the Anthology project, which included two new songs, 'Free As A Bird' and 'Real Love'.

In his last few years, Harrison faced a string of personal challenges. He had the operation for throat cancer in 1997, and two years later he was stabbed several times by a burglar who broke into his mansion outside of London. He regained enough to release a 30th anniversary edition of 'All Things Must Pass' and went on to record a new album with an eye on its 2001 release. Unfortunately, he was soon diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. In his final months, he summoned the energy to complete a last album, 'Brainwashed', released posthumously in 2002. Harrison died peacefully in his friend's house in L.A. on November 30, 2001. He was 58. One year later, his memorial concert was held at the Royal Albert Hall, London, directed by his closest friend Eric Clapton. The concert, which featured Ravi Shankar, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, Billy Preston, Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney among others, resulted in live CD and DVD, released in 2003. In addition, Harrison's Dark Horse albums such as '33 & 1/3', 'Somewhere In England' and 'Live In Japan' are expected to be reissued early in the next year.