Former Beatles lead guitarist who emerged as a major artist in the early 70s with his Phil Spector-style wall-of-sound production and a brace of great songs he'd been saving up. From 1974 onward his music has seemed excessively didactic and strained, except when he works with the Traveling Wilburys. His most recent solo work recaptured some of the Beatles's good humor. ~ Bruce Eder,
As lead guitarist for the Beatles, George Harrison provided the band with a lyrical style of playing in which every note really mattered. Unlike Clapton, or many of his other English guitar peers, Harrison's style that wasn't steeped in American blues but often delivered a very real soulfulness. Harrison also developed a uniquely silky slide guitar sound during his last Beatles days.,Harrison has always been a rather weak singer, but as a songwriter he wrote some classics, both as a Beatle and as a solo artist. His greatest moment of artistic triumph was the triple album ALL THINGS MUST PASS (#1), which Harrison coproduced with the legendary Phil Spector. Both that album and the single "My Sweet Lord" gave Harrison the distinction of being the first Beatle to top the charts after their breakup. In 1971 Bright Songs, publisher of the Chiffons hit "He's So Fine," sued Harrison for plagiarism and won. More hits followed, but Harrison's albums increasingly sounded like afterthoughts. The 1979 album GEORGE HARRISON (#14) and 1987's comeback CLOUD NINE (#10) were worthwhile exceptions.,In 1988 Harrison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, and Roy Orbison formed the Traveling Wilburys, who have since released two very successful albums. Harrison has also enjoyed success in financing films such as MONTY PYTHON'S LIFE OF BRIAN, TIME BANDITS, and BRAZIL.,Harrison hits include "My Sweet Lord/Isn't It a Pity" (#1), "What Is Life" (#10), "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)" (#1), "All Those Years" (#2), "Blow Away" (#16), "Crackerbox Palace" (#19), "Dark Horse" (#15), "Got My Mind Set on You" (#1), and a #23 ode to the Beatles, "When We Was Fab." ~ Rick Clark,