Pick a Day

George Harrison Hosts First Major Charity Concert

George Harrison hosts the Concert For Bangladesh, the first major charity concert and the precursor to Live Aid. Guests include Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Billy Preston and Ringo Starr.

Harrison was producing the Badfinger album Straight Up when his good friend, Ravi Shankar, asked him to help out with a concert he was working on to aid refugees from Bangladesh who had fled to India, Shankar's homeland. Shankar had many friends and relatives in the region who were affected. Bangladesh was known as Eastern Pakistan before declaring independence in March 1971. It had long been at odds with the government of Pakistan and was still reeling from a cyclone that hit in November 1970. The refugee crisis and plight of the war-torn nation wasn't a major news event outside the region, and Harrison only learned about it through Shankar, who was hoping to raise maybe $25,000 and wanted George to simply make an appearance. Harrison took it a lot further, proposing a star-powered concert in a major venue with a live album and film to go along with it, all going to help the cause. The ex-Beatle got on the phone, booked Madison Square Garden in New York City, and started lining up his famous friends to participate. Among them: Eric Clapton, a good friend from Harrison's days with The Beatles who played on their song "While My Guitar Gently Weeps." His drinking had become a problem, so his appearance was no sure thing. Phil Spector, who produced Harrison's first album after The Beatles broke up: All Things Must Pass. He's in charge of producing the live album. Ringo Starr, Harrison's Beatles bandmate. Leon Russell, a renown keyboard player Harrison was using on the Badfinger album. Billy Preston, another Beatles associate who played piano on "Get Back." Bob Dylan, who hadn't toured since his motorcycle accident in 1966 but was good friends with Harrison. He's a long shot. The whole thing came together in about six weeks. The show sold out quickly, so another show with the same lineup - billed as "George Harrison and Friends" - was added, which gives them more material for the album and film. The show opens with a set of Indian music by Ravi Shankar. Harrison then takes the stage and joins his guests for a mix of his own songs and ones they made famous, including "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" with Clapton, "It Don't Come Easy" with Ringo, and "That's the Way God Planned It" with Preston. After doing the Beatles favorite "Here Comes the Sun," he looks over his shoulder to see if Bob Dylan has arrived. He has, and Dylan delights the crowd with a five-song set that includes his most famous songs, "Blowin' In The Wind" and "Mr. Tambourine Man." It would be his last performance until 1974. Harrison closes the show with a song called "Bangla Desh," which he wrote for the occasion and released three days earlier. The concerts raise about $250,000, but the album and film earn a lot more, bringing the total to about $11 million, which is given to UNICEF after a long accounting delay. The effort provides a template for Live Aid, which is done on a much larger scale but with the same concept, including an accompanying album and film and a spirit of giving.

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