Until Mark Lewisohn came out with his massive and magnificent tome, All The Years: Volume 1 – Tune In in 2013, Philip Norman held the title for best Beatles biography with Shout! The Beatles In Their Generation – way back in 1981.
Lewisohn’s book is a must-read for all Beatle fanatics, but Norman is a Beatles scholar too. In addition to Shout! and his new George Harrison biography, he has also written separate books about the lives of John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Is Ringo Starr next?
George Harrison: The Reluctant Beatle starts off slowly for anyone who has read earlier, more detailed histories of the world’s most famous band. To me, the first half is mostly a collection of warmed-over facts that are only marginally pointed in Harrison’s direction. If you’ve never read a Beatles biography before, this book serves as a good introduction to their story. For a full dose of Fab Four history, however, you’d be better off reading Lewisohn’s book first – or Shout!, if you prefer something shorter.
The Beatles’ break-up enabled George Harrison to lead a more private life, and that is exactly what he wanted. He was never an anti-social recluse. Harrison just never sought out the media that hounded his daily existence for so long.
Unfortunately, Philip Norman spends less time on George’s post-Beatles life and career presumably under the assumption that his group’s formative years and the crazy decade of superstardom that followed are what readers are mostly interested in – even though his later years are far less documented.
The Reluctant Beatle covers Harrison’s hardscrabble early years when he lived with both parents, two brothers, and a sister in a home that did not include an indoor bathroom. Even though he grew up the poorest of four future legends, he had the most stable home life. His mother, Louise Harrison, was the antithesis of John’s Aunt Mimi. She actually embraced his Beatledom and encouraged his career. Louise even helped promote the band when she could.
Post-Beatles, Harrison acquired a varied list of accomplishments including All Things Must Pass; his famous charity event, the Concert For Bangladesh; and organizing the Traveling Wilburys. He became a movie producer who worked with Monty Python and Madonna. He also loved Formula One and Grand Prix auto racing and actually got behind the wheel of a fast car to drive a few high speed laps.
George Harrison’s dark side is not glossed over. We learn that despite his devotion to Hinduism he was a “serial philanderer.” Among his conquests were Ringo Starr’s first wife, Maureen, yet the two ex-Beatles remained steadfast friends. He meditated but partook in copious amounts of illicit drugs. He also suffered from bouts of moodiness that appeared to increase the more he meditated.
One of the recurring themes throughout the book is Harrison’s relationship with the other Beatles. During most of their conjoined lives a warm friendship existed. Like the Three Musketeers, they were “one for all and all for one.” At the same time, however, the youngest of the group often felt he was treated like a little brother, a seemingly condescending term Paul McCartney actually used to describe their friendship.
It wasn’t just his bandmates. Others close to the foursome also gave Harrison less respect than he deserved. Even producer George Martin later admitted that he was rather “beastly” to Harrison.
To further prove how underappreciated Harrison was, Frank Sinatra recorded “Something” in 1970 and often performed it live. He said it was “the greatest love song of the last 50 years” but he mistakenly credited it to Lennon-McCartney. It took Ol’ Blue Eyes until 1978 to rectify his mistake.
Sadly, The Reluctant Beatle inevitably ends with Harrison’s depressing last few years that saw declining health and a sickening, murderous attempt on his life.
Philip Norman never asked for the cooperation of Harrison’s immediate family – his widow, Olivia, or their son, Dhani – because of a scathingly negative obituary he wrote in the Sunday Times of London after Harrison’s passing in 2001. Norman willingly discusses the item at the end of The Reluctant Beatle, and he now very much regrets it. However, many other important figures – including Harrison’s first wife, an unselfishly cooperative Pattie Boyd – gave the author their time.
George Harrison: The Reluctant Beatle is a fine book, even if it’s not the best Beatles biography ever written: There are numerous typographical errors that editors never corrected – but if you want to dig deeper into the life of the man who wrote the magnificent “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” and other Beatles classics like “Something” and “Here Comes the Sun,” you may want to pick up Philip Norman’s new book.
