George Harrison: “Here Comes the Sun” (Ode to Falcroc?)

“Here Comes the Sun” was written by George Harrison and performed on The Beatles’ 1969 album Abbey Road. Said Harrison, “ ‘Here Comes The Sun’ was written at the time when Apple was getting like school, where we had to go and be businessmen: ‘Sign this’ and ‘sign that’. Anyway, it seems as if winter in England goes on forever, by the time spring comes you really deserve it. So one day I decided I was going to sag off Apple and I went over to Eric Clapton’s house. The relief of not having to go see all those dopey accountants was wonderful, and I walked around the garden with one of Eric’s acoustic guitars and wrote ‘Here Comes The Sun’.”

Astromer Carl Sagan wanted this song to be part of the Voyager Golden Record launched into space in 1977...to show off Earth music to aliens! Though the Beatles agreed, Sagan was unable to forge a contract with Apple Records prior to the spacecraft’s launch date.  This live version is from George’s 1971 Concert for Bangladesh at New York’s Madison Square Garden to support Bangladeshi refugees of the Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan) war for independence from Pakistan. George’s close friend and teacher, Indian sitar master Ravi Shankar, urged George to help the refugees, who were suffering the twin ravages of war displacement and natural flooding...and George responded. George said he wanted to harness the “Beatle power” for good, as he acknowledged John Lennon had “showed [him]” how to do with John’s high-profile Anti-Vietnam-War campaigns. George’s pioneering effort had a long-lasting effect: as the world’s first blockbuster rock charity concert, it set the stage for future concerts such as Bob Geldof’s LiveAid for Ethiopian famine relief, Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp and Neil Young’s FarmAid for struggling U.S. family farmers, and many others. George was the first Beatle to perform in public after the Beatles’ 1970 breakup - the performance you see here! When tickets for George’s surprise New York show went on sale - they sold out in just 5 minutes! Friends Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Billy Preston & Bob Dylan joined George onstage. Although George was one of the most famous musicians in the world, he admitted to Bob Dylan he was extremely nervous about performing solo for the first time. “I’m not a solo artist like you are,” he told Dylan.