The Beatle Blog

Paul McCartney during an interview at Chicago International Amphitheatre Office

August 12th, 1966

April 5, 1946. Happy birthday Jane!

"My first impression was of Jane was how beautiful and finely featured she was. Her mass of Titian-colored hair cascaded around her face and shoulders, her pale complexion contrasting strongly with dark clothes and shining hair" -Cynthia Powell

“Jane had a wonderful ability to put people at ease. She had an air of seriousness and self-assurance rare in someone so young, combined with the energy of a teenager. She was outgoing, but her enthusiastic conversation was informed by a fine education and years of experience as an actress, making her far more sophisticated than the average seventeen year old. She was also extremely pretty.”-Barry Miles

“I met Jane Asher when she was sent by the Radio Times to cover a concert we were in at the Royal Albert Hall - we had a photo taken with her for the magazine and we all fancied her. We’d thought she was blonde, because we had only ever seen her on black-and-white telly doing Juke Box Jury, but she turned out to be a redhead. So it was: ‘Wow, you’re a redhead!’ I tried pulling her, succeeded, and we were boyfriend and girlfriend for quite a long time." - Paul McCartney

“Jane Asher was the warmest, most emotionally open of any of the ‘famous folks’ who spent parts of each day sitting outside at the table overlooking the Ganges and the town of Rishikesh, far below. She had been an actress from the age of 6, and while actors and actresses can be notorious for their inflated egos, she had a grounded humility that shone forth.” - Paul Salzman

George Harrison (1943-2001).

British musician and lead guitarist of the Beatles.

.

He was an English musician, singer, songwriter, and music and film producer who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian culture and helped broaden the scope of popular music through his incorporation of Indian instrumentation and Hindu-aligned spirituality in the Beatles' work. Although the majority of the band's songs were written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, most Beatles albums from 1965 onwards contained at least two Harrison compositions.

.

By 1965, he had begun to lead the Beatles into folk rock through his interest in Bob Dylan and the Byrds, and towards Indian classical music through his use of the sitar on "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)". Having initiated the band's embracing of Transcendental Meditation in 1967, he subsequently developed an association with the Hare Krishna movement.

.

After the band's break-up in 1970, Harrison released the triple album All Things Must Pass, a critically acclaimed work and introduced his signature sound as a solo artist, the slide guitar. He also organised the 1971 Concert for Bangladesh with Indian musician Ravi Shankar, a precursor to later benefit concerts such as Live Aid. In his role as a music and film producer, Harrison produced acts signed to the Beatles' Apple record label before founding Dark Horse Records in 1974 and co-founding HandMade Films in 1978.

Harrison released several best-selling singles and albums as a solo performer. In 1988, he co-founded the platinum-selling supergroup the Traveling Wilburys.

.

Harrison's first marriage, to model Pattie Boyd in 1966, ended in divorce in 1977. The following year he married Olivia Arias, with whom he had a son, Dhani. Harrison died from lung cancer in 2001 at the age of 58, two years after surviving a knife attack by an intruder at his Friar Park home.

.

Famous songs with The Beatles:

Something

Here Comes the Sun

While my Guitar Gently Weeps

.

Famous solo songs:

My Sweet Lord

What Is Life

All Things Must Pass