The Beatles were the very first band I got into back when I was like 10 years old (turning 24 the day after this video uploads so I'm considering this an early birthday present lol) and George Harrison was and still is my first major influence/guitar hero that I looked up to, his playing evolved so much over the years and the fact that he was only 20 years old when Please Please Me came out and came up with so many great parts before he even hit 30 is still amazing to me. He's also a big reason why I fell in love with Gretsch and Rickenbacker guitars (I have a 2019 4003S that I bought from my local guitar store during the summer of 2020 because of Paul McCartney and guys Geddy Lee, Cliff Burton, Lemmy, Chris Squire and Roger Waters and it's been my main bass since) and I'd still love to own one of those someday
George was a big influence on me too, it's always fun to see other young players with the same boomer influences as me. I'm 19, it's pretty crazy to think that I'm the same age as George was when Please Please Me was recorded.
@@clayh254 My first three major influences were Harrison, Eddie Van Halen (who was actually my first concert back in 2012 when I was just 13) and David Gilmour so I still have a massive love of classic rock as well a lot of modern bands as well but I'll always have an absolute love of The Beatles and I wouldn't be the musician I am without them
I'm 19 now and own a 70s Rickenbacker 3 quarter scale (Looks very similar to John's) and I absolutely love it. I remember hearing Hey Bulldog when I was younger and thinking it was the greatest thing since sliced bread and ever since then I've been a massive fan. George's early guitaring is so mature for his age always looking to embellish the song. Some of those awesome little lines based on Jazz chords or little triplets he adds are just so cool an unique
@@wookieezzz2551 Nice, and yeah it’s especially cool hearing his jazz influences on songs like Michelle and their cover of Till There Was You. Not a lot of people would’ve thought to play a part like that, but that’s also what made him a great guitarist in the he played what fit the song
George Harrison was my favourite right from the start. The first album I ever bought with my own money was Thirty Three and 1/3. It was 1976. I was 9 years old. He was fortunate to be in The Beatles. He was unfortunate to be working with two people who truly did not appreciate his gifts, nor encourage or truly support him in any way. And it's left history and people undervaluing this man whose contributions to society and culture were far greater than Yeah Yeah Yeah and being a Beatle. He's the Western Musician who dared to pick up an Eastern Instrument and learn it. Rather than the attitude Western musicians had towards most Eastern Music. They would "emulate" it. They would "simulate" it, but stay on their Western instruments and their 12 note scale. Coltrane, Beck, Davies, all stayed in the tourist sections of Delhi. Sending postcards back to the West saying wish you were here. George Harrison went to India, and learned its language. And he did this at a time in England where massive immigration was happening from India, as it went to the land that called itself Empire for opportunity. If you are unaware of the history between Great Britian and India, there's a lot of atrocity in it. A lot of hardship. A lot of Colonialism. There's Winston Churchill starving 4 million of them to death. George Harrison came and tried to rectify some of that past, by embracing Hindu / Indian culture, not only by learning its language, but its philosophy. And when he broke out of the Beatles, he turned the massive success he received from All Things Must Pass, which is the greatest thing any of them ever did, and turned it into a charitable cause, that still helps people to this day. He wasn't just a Beatle (Lennon and McCartney didn't even think he, OR Ringo mattered) he was the one of THE MOST IMPORTANT COMPOSERS in Music History. Classical composers like Stravinsky and Ravel braved going EXOTIC in their works, yet still, the attitudes at the time towards Eastern music and its microtones, was that it was the music of savages and primitives. IN 1965, that really hadn't changed all that much. Until George Harrison. Plus he was a kickass guitarist. That McCartney started telling him as early as 1965 that he was no good at the instrument, is a travesty. Especially coming from someone whose solos on Taxman and Good Morning Good Morning, repeat the same ideas and patterns, that didn't make him a great guitarist. The intro of Octopus's Garden is the mark of a great guitarist. Or the solo of Til There Was You.
Thank you for documenting the guitars of my favorite and most tasteful guitarist, as well as a superb songwriter. George Harrison is my biggest influence.
What a wonderful tribute to George Harrison❤. I was 8 years old watching that Ed Sullivan show and I was hooked. Nothing excited me more. I still remember it like it was yesterday. The pleas for a guitar to my parents never stopped after that.
Bass VI is tuned an entire *Octave lower (not a "step lower") than a regular guitar. Great video, Keith. I always look forward to see what you choose to make a short history on next.
Keith you are becoming a big part of my life, just as George Harrison has been since the Beatles came to the states in 1964. I was 10. Saw George on the Darkhorse tour a couple times and that’s when I found out who Robben Ford was. He was just a kid and he’s playing leads for George. Thanks for all the great content Keith. Best wishes sir. 👍🏻🤠🇺🇸 RIP Hari Georgeson 😘
Another great video, love your short histories! George is such an underrated guitarist. Like Ringo, he never overplayed, just gave the songs what was needed. He always had his own voice, especially his slide playing post-Beatles, truly unique.
I am such a Beatles fan that it defies logic at times. I was struck in "Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars" wherein he said that "George was an innovator," as Clapton is far and away my favorite guitarist. Constantly overshadowed by Lennon and McCartney, I'd never thought of Harrison in those terms, but in hearing it, it was obvious enough it was like someone turning on a light switch in my mind. Harrison is remembered maybe as just one of the Beatles, but he was clearly so much more than that. The Rosewood Tele was later given to Delaney Bramlett of Delaney and Bonnie. Thank you for this outstanding video, Keith. (I loved the line of how The Beatles "turned to the East.". As a Freemason, I will say that "Look to the East" is a common phrase therein.)
Thanks Keith, I was one of those millions of kids whose life forever changed after seeing the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show.I was 6 years old and can remember everything about that night like it was yesterday. I'm absolutely positive that's why I'm a guitarist as are many, many others. George was my guy. Can't tell you how much I enjoyed this video. I hope you never stop making them. Happy New Year my friend.
When i was in grade 2 my father showed me the ed Sullivan performance… you know THAT performance. It changed my life and sent me down this long road of musical discovery. I didn’t know it yet, but that one moment basically shaped my life as all my interests, hobbies, and passions slowly grew out of that moment. As i approach my 30s looking back i have so much to thank mr. Harrison for. Not only is he one of my biggest guitar inspirations but life inspirations.
I have a Gretsch G5122DC Eletromatic that is wine red colored. that I subconsciously purchased off of Reverb for just under $600.00 grand total shipping included. it's a beautiful guitar and is in excellent condition. probably because of George Harrison. he was the youngest yet most experienced member of the Beatles. even though George Harrison played many brands of guitars. but he would always return to his Gretsch guitars. he was my favorite member of the Beatles because not only being a fantastic guitarist. he was an incredible person. his concert for the starving people of Bangladesh. was the first concert of it's kind starting what is known as charity concerts. his time as a member of the Beatles and his Solo works. and he and Roy Orbison the founder's of the Traveling Wilburys. shows just what an incredible musician he was. he left us way too soon and he is definitely missed. (a side note) John Lennon had the recording studio in New York booked for a week. but while in a point where Beatles weren't really in the studio. John Lennon offered the studio to to the members of the group SLADE. so they could record their Christmas smash hit "Merry Christmas Everybody". and there's an interview with Dave Hill their lead guitarist. which by the way is very underrated guitarist. he talks about it in the interview and how people in the offices. would give them strange looks for having the Christmas spirit. in the middle of nearly 100° temperatures. John Lennon was also a really generous person also.
Thanks for another piece of history Keith. Harrison has been always criminally underrated as a player but I think he´s been hugely influential for many players. In the other hand, he didn´t care that much about the guitars but really the people involved with them and so his thing with Clapton, guitars and women is the stuff legends are made of. Really one one of a kind.
I'm pretty happy and feel blessed with the stuff I already have, but I love learning about the history of the musicians and their instruments that shaped the culture we know today. Nobody does a better job of researching and presenting this history than you. Thank you so much man!
The insights into George's character are as fascinating as the guitar stories. I fully get the spiritual connection he might have felt with his instruments. I've given away a few to close friends but the hardest one to part with was my old Ovation Balladeer Custom. It had been everywhere with me, including a very muddy Glastonbury festival in 1987, and I couldn't bear the thought of it being abused. So I gave it to a long-time musical partner on her 50th birthday. She'd always coveted that guitar but was never going to afford to buy one similar. I still see it occasionally and play it. An old friend that's happy in its new home (although 'new' is relative since it's been nearly seventeen years since it went). I can imagine George taking great joy in seeing his old guitars being loved and used by people he regarded as friends. Somewhere (pun intended) within each of those guitars a little part of Harrison's spirit lives on. Quietly, maybe, but enjoying the music being made all the same.
Just like a million other guys, I saw the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show and switched from the accordion to the electric guitar soon afterwards. George was a brilliant songwriter and guitarist. Excellent video K!
George Formby was also a huge influence on Harrison, with George becoming a member of the George Formby Society in the 90’s. He even made an impromptu appearance at one of the meetings in Blackpool and had an impressive collection of vintage ukuleles (including two of Formby’s instruments).
Years ago I fell in love with Gretsch Guitars.. Recently I had the opportunity to purchase a reissued 1962 Gretsch G6122. It looks acts and plays exactly like the one pictured in the video. It will never ever leave my hands !!!!! It doesn't hurt that I was along time admirer of George's ability as both a musician and song writer.
Beautiful work, Keith and team. Something wonderful about Mr Harrison’s donation to the guitar community. This fine summary is fittingly well done to shine new light on a fine soul. Thanks guys!
As a little kid when our father bought the 1st Beatle album, my three brothers and I would imitate the Fab Four and I was told to be George which has stuck to me today 60 years ago!!
Thanks Keith! George Harrison always played the right notes, the appropriate solos and in the right mood. Great talent! In the Beatles "Real Love" video we can see George playing a green Tele style guitar. It's a Hamburguitar made by luthier Bernie Hamburger...Yes, that's his name!
My very favorite, and IMO the best song in the Beatles catalog is not a Lennon-McCartney song but a Harrison song, _Something._ And when you strum the 1st few C chord variants on _any_ guitar, you know immediately how beautiful a song it is. It was Frank Sinatra's favorite Beatles song too, and covered it often; but I imagine it irked Harrison a bit because Frank always credited Lennon-McCartney. As time goes by, it seems George's songs withstand the test of time better than the Lennon-McCartney ones, they sound less dated. John's songs made it OK to be sad. Paul's songs made it OK to be happy. George's songs made it OK to _be._ And Ringo's songs.......well, Ringo is a great drummer. I think maybe George was a bit underused, underappreciated, and undervalued.
Thank you Keith for this video. Harrison is my favourite Beatle. The spiritual act of giving and receiving guitars - this is something that Johnny Marr does as well. Another lovely person. The song “something” always makes me cry because it is just so beautiful. Thanks again.
Thanks for shining a gentle light on the quiet one, Keith. I gave away a guitar last week, to one of my band mates. He wasnt happy with his strat sound for our old man cover band. I wondered if a jazzmaster might be a good fit. I purchased a classic vibe, dressed the frets and the nut, installed CTS and switchcraft bits, and brought it to rehearsal. He liked it, and i gave it to him.
As always, incredibly informative Keith! As a Beatles nerd, I wanted to make one correction- George got his 63 Tennessean in December of 1963, not Jan 64. You see him playing it in some of the Xmas shows in December Also, their fender blue Strats were acquired in early 1965 for Help, not Rubber Soul
I lived in Manchester England in the very early 1960's and as a 15 year old schoolboy was a regular visitor to Barratt's music store. I saw the Beatles live at The Ardwick Apollo on 20th. December 1963 when George had borrowed the Australian guitar from Barratt's . The store manager had been called out from home before the evening performance to find a replacement machine head for George's Country Gentleman . The broken one was retained by the store manager after it had been repaired and he told this story for many years afterwards.
Interesting piece of trivia: the guitar Francis Hall is holding in his photo is the very one John Lennon bought in Hamburg. It was one of two 1958 325s modified by Rickenbacker from two control knobs to four.
Guitar player off and on for over 60 years, since I was 12, yes I'm a product of the 60's, and bought any new Beatles record 45 or LP the day they were released. I don't make many comments on TH-cam but here I have to. This is the first video I've seen from five watt world and it absolutely blew me away. First rate presentation, thank you.
Well done Keith, you left us with a healthy dose of Harrison spiritualism beyond just the guitars he played. Both were educational and helpful, I feel we've lost something both with his passing and with the modern music industry, there's so little of that camaraderie left and it is sorely missed.
George wasn’t the quiet Beatle it’s just Paul and John sucked up the attention and one time at an interview he couldn’t talk so he was then the quiet Beatle.
Another great video, Keith! I’ve always loved the Gretsch Country Gentleman, and could finally afford one about 25 years ago. And I became acquainted with Fred Gretsch III in the process. Nice guy! And when the Gretsch “Slimliners” came out, I was able to order one through my friendly, local music store, Boulevard Music. They didn’t even CARRY Gretsch at the time, but since I’m a regular there (and they carry a decent selection of Fender gear) I told Gary, the store owner, “Why don’t you talk to your Fender rep? He can get one.” If you didn’t know, Fender Japan makes the high-end Gretsches, like the Country Gent). And even though the Slimliner is made in Indonesia, the Fender guy was able to get one for me in exactly the color I wanted (blue) and equipped with a Bigsby. It’s a well-made guitar and it sounds GREAT! My other “George” guitar is a ‘63 Rickenbacker 360-12, exactly like the one you saw in this video. The color? Rickenbacker’s “Fireglo Red”, which ALL of that model were painted at the beginning, including George’s. It’s a great-playing guitar, and is the easiest-playing 12-string I’ve ever tried. Thanks, Keith, for this video. It was quite enjoyable, just like all the rest of them you’ve done.
This has got to be the best channel on YT and this video just proves why. I always learn something amazing about guitar gear, both its history and its science, and it all helps me truly, as the moto goes, "get the most music from the least gear." Amazing job to Keith and the team!
"I Wanna Hold Your Hand" stopped me in my tracks... I was 10 years old (1966 circa 1956), riding my bike... with a tiny AM radio dangling from my handlebars, in a small town in Louisiana (Benton, LA) .. My little buddies stopped and said, "Come on!" but I couldn't move. I had never heard anything like it! My dad was a guitar player/country singer, friends with Glen (George) Jones, ...playing in clubs n bars...n union meetings (LOL!) I went with him and sat in. Picking up guitar at a young age. Played drums, trumpet, baritone, french horn, flugelhorn, ... bass guitar and always 6 string. I am now 67... soon to be 68. I still love the Beatles and Paul's later ventures.. And, yes, I Still love old-school country. If the music is good.. (?) .. I Love All of It!
I got to touch the Rosewood Tele in 2002 (didn't dare ask to play it) at Delaney Bramlett's house. George had given the guitar to Delaney for teaching him slide. It eventually found its way back to Olivia and Dhani 🙏
That was excellent, George was my favorite Beatle. He had such a Spiritual quality about him, if chivalry was alive today, George would truly be a guitar Knight of Excalibur!!
8:05 This is incorrect. The 1962 version had dial mutes. The 1963 version had flip up mutes. It’s different nowadays but back then, George’s 1962 Gretsch had dial mutes, not the flip up mutes.
the end made me cry a bit, with George giving away ukuleles and being generally awesome. I'll never forget seeing Paul live and speak the sweetest words of appreciation about George before playing "Something" on a ukulele...
A fantastic post as usual Keith!!! Another great axe George used post-Beatles was the Fritz Brothers made Roy Buchanan Tele that George played on his tour of Japan with EC.
Great video, thanks! George was my first guitar hero, and definitely an inspiration. Though I don’t play in his style he has kept being a big influence.
He was my guitar hero too! The Beatles were the first band I really started listening to and when I started looking at them playing live I was always looking at how george was playing and how cool he looked. He was the main reason I started playing guitar
My uncle was in a guitar store in the LA area around 1970 trying out about the 20 or so 335s they had in stock. George was also there trying out the 335s. My uncle took one home that belongs to my dad to this day that George had played.
A thing of beauty, a thing of joy. Thank you, Keith. This brought welcome warmth to this cold Northeast Ohio Saturday morning. Despite living a mere 30 miles or so from the R&R HOF, I've only visited twice, in the same 2000-2001 time period during a massive Lennon exhibit. Two of George's guitars were there at the time, the little Egmond and the 425 Ric, which was displayed in a rectangular glass case similar to the type used to display jewelry. Visitors could go nose first to the top of the case and examine the guitar in close up detail, which, of course, I did. It was apparent that the new pickguard made to house the added pickup had not been professionally made.
Have you ever noticed that the greatest music ever made was made with off the rack guitars and amps? And that includes The Beatles...George's modified Ric notwithstanding. Today's players agonize over over the number of pickup windings, saddle and nut material, fretboard wood and on and on.
@@JackTheSkunk In the interview in the August '95 issue of "Bass Player" magazine Paul is asked "What strings do you use?" His reply, "Long shiny ones." He goes on to explain that the minutia of gear never concerned him.
George seemed to have a heart of gold ❤ unfortunately, he had to leave the earth for a better place called heaven... Not to mention he was a great musician!!!🎉🎉
Way to go , Keith. My studio is replete with Harrison guitars and memorabilia. What a great human being this man was. One minor correction, you mention the Fender VI is one step down from a guitar when, as you well know, it's one octave down. Very minor but worth the mention. Again WTG with another bit of GREAT content.
George cared more about the musicians than the guitars he was playing. It is better to give than receive - what a concept! Another great short history. I love the Beatles and Andy Babiuk’s book!
As always, a perfect presentation. I was born the year the Beatles broke up, but the influence they have on me, and my eleven year old son are as strong as those Baby Boomers who first saw them on television 60 years ago.
Great job as always but I'd love to see you do a deep dive on Pignose amps. Most musicians I know consider them a must-have. Whether as a practice amp or in the studio, everybody could use one.
Thanks for sharing. I fell in love with the Club 40. Oh, the Bass VI is tuned an octave lower than standard, not just a step; mine is a Squire and is a rascal. Ü ♫
Yeah, aside from the E strings sliding off( maybe poor technique), solid and sounds great. And the twang bar hits the strings it's going between, but I don't use it anyway. Thanks for reply. @@borismatesin
Absolutely FAB! A lot there I didn't know about, the Maton, the Czech guitar . . . wonderful walk thru of our George's guitars. I would love to get my hands on a Fender Rosewood Tele - one day maybe! I was 7 when I heard All My Loving and decided then and there I wanted to be a Beatle . . . they provided the soundtrack for my childhood and I still listen to the records - kept the original 7" singles, sadly I sold the 12" albums to help cover the rent when our band was banging away promoting our album in the late 70s in NZ. George still definitely my No. 1 Guitarist! 😃
Great video! I was born in 1955 and had 2 older sisters. Thank God they played the Beatles. My oldest sister would play 45's over & over. Like most kids during that time we knew every Beatles song that came out. It was a great time to grow up and music just got better & better. Does this mean that maybe John & Paul will be up next? Hope so! Thank you for all you do.
The Hofner President acoustic model shown at 2:36 is a different (maybe earlier) model than the electric President at 2:41 with the factory pickups and added middle pickup. Also, he had the first Rickenbacker bought in the US repainted black from the origianal red color.
The Beatles brought rockmusic in my life when I was 8, I love them since then. When I was a young I loved them only as a band. It took me a long time to realize how good each of them was as a musician. It took me even longer to find out what kind of a genius guitar player George was. Imagine Yngwie Malmsteen had played the "Come together" solo.
George Harrison, it seemed to me anyway, always had more respect for the sound he was producing than the instrument it was coming from. While he may have loved the Gretches and Rickenbacker's, his goal was always the music. I see both Harrison and Lennon as the spiritual voices and writers of the group, and Harrison, more so, in his musicality. From a creative standpoint, George Harrison loved what he did, and his choice of guitars reflected that creative sense in his music. I was nine when much of this hit the United States, The Beetles turned the music scene on its head almost overnight. I owned, thanks to my parents, many of the albums at that time, but my love for Harrison's music went beyond the breakup of the Beetles, when I purchased his "All Things Must Pass" album. When we speak about Guitar Ledgen's, Harrison's name has a rightful spot in those ranks, he is not to be ignored. Thank you for another well executed and research bit of history, nobody does it better.
What does that even mean? His goal was the music? That's the goal of every musician. George admitted that he never practiced, and it sure sounded like it.
Amazing presentation. I love the multitude of photos, each one showing the guitar you're talking about at the moment you are describing the guitar and when and where it was used. The photos bring your stories alive. In the 60s and 70s I stared at the gear and tried to copy the chords that guitarists played. I was almost 12 when I saw the Beatles on Ed Sullivan. I wanted to copy everything about them. I sang lead and would put my microphone up high so my head would be tilted back like John Lennon. I was John. Well, in my teenage mind anyway. Thanks for the great work you do on these videos. I'm a fan.
Keith, I really enjoyed this segment, I encourage everybody who hasn’t seen it yet to watch the George Harrison tribute concert led by Eric Clapton with an All-Star cast, including at the end Paul McCartney on ukulele, playing the intro to Something… I bought a Gretsch and put on a Bigsby so that I would have a George Harrison inspired guitar for my collection. Long live George and long live 5 W world.
You get me every time Keith - I just came for the Duo Jet and then I go back to the beginning for the whole piece. Your historical accounts are so engaging and, I might say, important to the ongoing history of the guitars and the players that used them. Cheers.
The "quiet" Beatle was definitely a generous and special person. I had only learned a few years ago about all the session work he had done for other artists. I didn't know about how many guitars he gifted, but it started with George's idol generously gifting him a guitar when the Beatles were on the rise.
This is my favorite of your videos so far. The coda in the end about Harrison's spiritual relationship to giving (and getting) his guitars was perfect, great, and I don't think I'd consciously thought of that yet myself. The ukelele story was revelatory and really brought that to light. Peace.
2:24 Toledo! I had these two friends that both had these guitars with unbelievable action and they were Toledos! A student guitar. Going thru a Heathkit amp. I never knew guitars could have such amazing action! So, I got my dad to take me to Long&McQuade on Yonge St and got a Telecaster. (1970) And so it began…lol
One cannot overestimate the extent and breadth of impact the Feb. 9,1964 Ed Sullivan appearance had on the youth of North America. I watched that show, where we were "twice entertained" by them, in addition to the subsequent appearances a week and two weeks later. It cemented my own lifelong dedication to guitar, and that of millions of other boys my age. Around 1971=72, I was playing in a band whose bass player owned much of the equipment, making us rather lenient about his tone-deaf qualities. I played his rosewood Telecaster in that band. Tough on the back, but a great sound. VERY solid bottom end.
The Beatles were my first favorite band as well. I don't recall when I first recognized that, but I was turned on to Led Zeppelin during junior high school, and immediately the Fab Four had to take second spot among my favorite bands 😁 George Harrison was a large contributing factor in my decision to add an ES-335 style guitar to my life. I'll never play anywhere near as fantastically as he did, but what all is recorded of him is most inspiring.
I've loved George Harrison for a long time. He's my favorite Beatle and somebody I look up to a lot. This video was fittingly beautiful. Thanks. I have a theory. Viewing footage of George's tour of Japan in the 90's, you can see him playing a Fender Electric XII for "If I Needed Someone". This video answers my question for why he didn't just play his Rickenbacker for that number, which he still had, but that still leaves us with a George and a guitar not documented. So we know: 1. George had a Fender Electric XII in the 90's. 2. The Fender Electric XII was only produced, at that point, in the 60's. 3. Fender sent the Beatles a care package in the 60's. 4. An unidentified 12-string guitar can be heard on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps". 5. By the time they recorded "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", one of George's Rickenbackers had been destroyed, and the other was in rough shape. My theory, therefore, is that George was given a Fender Electric XII in that care package, since Fender knew George was well-known for playing an electric 12-string, and they had an electric 12-string that wasn't doing well, so they wanted to get it into his hands and boost sales. If that was their plan, it didn't work, since I don't recall ever seeing George with the guitar besides that tour. Of course, I have absolutely no proof at all of this theory, and it's probably more likely that George borrowed a 12-string from John for "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and borrowed the Fender for his 90's tour, knowing he'd need a 12-string for one song and not having one. But it's just a fun little theory I have and I don't know where else I'm gonna put it, so right here feels like a good place.
Although born in Liverpool during the Beatles era, I've just learned more about them by watching your excellent video than ever before. Great video, many thanks for posting.
I saw the Jimi Hendrix rosewood Strat a few years back at Songbirds Museum in Chattanooga. I was told that it was going to be a gift for Hendrix but that he died 2 weeks prior to it's completion. I don't know how accurate that is but it's the story I heard. Beautiful guitar no matter the story.
12:28. George Harrison's Rickenbacker 360/12 is one of the few guitars in the world that I regard as being "Priceless". A historical relic that is a work art. It should remain in the Harrison Family Estate never to be sold. It now belongs to the entire Human Race. An artifact that forever ties human ingenuity and innovation with the greatest contemporary popular music quartet of the twentieth century.
22:10 2 Rosewood Telecaster,was sent to the UK,the number 1 was for George and the number 2 Is owned by Keef Riffhard,which is played on Hampton coliseum, 18/12/1981 ,on keef's birthday. Greetings from Argentina
3:18 note the zero fret on the Club 40. This is actually something you’ll find even on Spanish-style guitars, what we now call classical guitars, by the late German luthier Hermann Hauser.
While my parents’ generation was the one that got to see the famous Ed Sullivan performance, it was the birthday gift of a Beatles calendar some 25 years later that had a similar effect upon me, cementing the image of a young George with a Gretsch as the iconic pairing. And it was a worn and tattered Beatles piano songbook from 1965, held on to by my mother since her teen years, that I learned my first guitar chords from later that same year. Fast forward another three decades, and mom-now grandma-rebound the old songbook, long since deteriorated into a disorganized collection of loose-leaf pages, and passed it on to my daughter as she was just picking up the guitar. So many lives enriched by those boys from Liverpool.
Wow, I really enjoyed that...! Having a life-long aversion to anything Beatles, I almost skipped this one, but I'm glad I didn't ;) Thanks to this work, I am now growing an appreciation for George Harrison. Maybe I'm getting softer in my old age :D Thanks Keith!
@@joshuagibson2520 This question is for both of you (including monahantp3767)... I'm just curious - but why would anyone "have a lifelong aversion to anything Beatles"? Also, what are your ages? And, who are a couple of your favorite musicians?
I also was 10 years old in 1970, but also started playing drums at the ripe old age of 8 in 1968. But this is interesting to me on many levels. Though I have been playing drums for 50+ years, and keyboards for 15 or so. I am also a big fan of the guitar as well as a student, and I couldn't help but start a collection of guitars. I have a candy apple red Stratocaster, a black beauty Les Paul Custom, an Ovation, and a 12 string Martin acoustic (and a Yamaha bass). But this is particularly interesting to me because my sister, whop passed away way too young, played on several Indian music albums, and was good friends with Ravi Shankar, and George. She and her 3 kids stayed at his castle for a week. I also used to had a signed personalized copy of 33 1/3 that was stolen from me in the late 70's. Interestingly however, I wasn't aware of all those guitars, and that many were used because they couldn't get Fenders, or American guitars for the most part Very interesting.
I really enjoyed this one, thx for making it mate :) I’ve seen quite a few of your episodes now as i’m a guitarocentric myself and i love how into guitar and guitar lore you are. When i was a lad i lived in London, in the 60s and i remember riding around in my mom’s friend’s Beatle car and listening to Obla di Obla da and stuff like that, Love Rita Meter Maid, etc. Much later i apprenticed in film with the fellow who made the first Beatles short film, which was Lovely Rita Meter Maid. That was Phil Pendry and Phil actually knew Yoko BEFORE John Lennon even met her because he had rented her flat in Tokyo as he was BBC’s ‘man in Tokyo’ or maybe it was Pathe News service, something like that. One of my first ever acid trips, as a teenager we listened to the White Album in it’s entirety and that really blew my mind, after which i went back to Beatles discography and fortunately my father was an audiophile so it all sounded great to my young ears. Never really liked their earlier stuff like Love Me Do, that was for little girls to make them scream and wet their knickers. I loved Sergeant😂 Peppers, Revolver, Rubber Soul and above all the White Album. Abbey Road was excellent also of course. another footnote; i did see Segovia live, he was 90 years old, in Toronto, Canada at Massey Hall, which is an excellent place to see a show, intimate and classy, they don’t build them like that any more. I never did discover how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall though, as we had emigrated to Canada when i was still pretty young. I also saw Narcisso Yepes while in Toronto, at the Royal Conservatory of Music, and also of note is that I saw Joe Pass play a solo gig at the Royal York hotel one night. That was some of the most skillful guitar playing I’ve ever seen, just masterful and we were two of four people in the audience, it’s just a little bar but pretty high class venue. Also got to see Pat Metheny is an outdoor concert in a geodesic dome, also a masterful player. I hate that guy ‘cause he plays the most complicated jazz and never seems to hit a bad note; he’s impossibly good at guitar. Also of note, when i was 21 years old i got to sit in at a Cafe gig with Long John Baldry and a guy who went by the name of Papa John King who combined folk blues fingerstyle with jazzy licks. He was very good but the crowd dug me for my hot licks and youthful enthusiasm. The was also my first date with a woman who I later married, also a musician. After the gig Baldry came and sat with us at our table so that was kind of neat, he was lanky and confident with an odd smile. He’s also a better guitarist than i thought, in the folky blues department mainly. By that time I was into a lot of other stuff, Fripp, various world musics, indian, middle eastern modal stuff, African, etc so i threw a bit of that into my playing. I was only 21 and not a very sophisticated player but had a natural talent for it and a lot of energy to inject into my sound. 10 years later i played with a really great band called HP Lovesauce and another one called The Subtonic Monks which was a music and performance are collective, until the singer/songwriter fell in love with a girl from the states and moved down there to live in a cabin in the forests of Vermont, never to be seen again. He was really brilliant artist/songwriter, wonder what became of him. Sorry to be journaling on your page, sometimes i start writing and reminiscing and it just pours out. Music has been the bridge for me, my whole life, it’s how i meet people and make friends and it’s also my daily meditation, helping to keep me young. Cheers ❤
I am the proud owner of a 2017 Maton MS2000 DLX in burgundy with gold hardware. I had to order the guitar and was told it while it was being built it would be the last one out of Maton as the electrics were not selling like their very famous and popular acoustic guitars. They are still on their web site but none have been made since 2017.
Not appearing to be disrespectful, (I'm from the U.K.) how is it that virtually the entire TH-cam and all MSM appear to be polluted with content producers from across the Big Pond (America) I grew up with the Beatles, read every snippet and gossip on a daily basis through the entirety of the '60s, Bought every record, E.P, and L.P every Magazine, listened to every Radio broadcast, watched every documentary, I was a newspaper delivery boy until the day I left School (1969) and read the front page headlines of their Break-up, and continued to follow their journey beyond the Beatles era, there are similar people here that visited the Casbah, and the original Cavern along with all their other venues from the earliest days until stardom came. why haven't a great many people from the UK produced content that would accentuate a more Authentic timeline from our doorstep, rather than a remote area of 6,000 miles away from people who have no concept of that age or period as it evolved?? was just wondering 🤔
Inspiring video! Something about George Harrison always makes me want to pick up the first guitar that I can find and write something completely different from anything I’ve ever written before. Don’t know why, but I embrace it. Thanks Keith ❤
GEORGE is my favorite player of any genre, any time. He's an enigma. Thanks for doing this. It's been long needed.
The Beatles were the very first band I got into back when I was like 10 years old (turning 24 the day after this video uploads so I'm considering this an early birthday present lol) and George Harrison was and still is my first major influence/guitar hero that I looked up to, his playing evolved so much over the years and the fact that he was only 20 years old when Please Please Me came out and came up with so many great parts before he even hit 30 is still amazing to me. He's also a big reason why I fell in love with Gretsch and Rickenbacker guitars (I have a 2019 4003S that I bought from my local guitar store during the summer of 2020 because of Paul McCartney and guys Geddy Lee, Cliff Burton, Lemmy, Chris Squire and Roger Waters and it's been my main bass since) and I'd still love to own one of those someday
George was a big influence on me too, it's always fun to see other young players with the same boomer influences as me. I'm 19, it's pretty crazy to think that I'm the same age as George was when Please Please Me was recorded.
@@clayh254 My first three major influences were Harrison, Eddie Van Halen (who was actually my first concert back in 2012 when I was just 13) and David Gilmour so I still have a massive love of classic rock as well a lot of modern bands as well but I'll always have an absolute love of The Beatles and I wouldn't be the musician I am without them
I'm 19 now and own a 70s Rickenbacker 3 quarter scale (Looks very similar to John's) and I absolutely love it. I remember hearing Hey Bulldog when I was younger and thinking it was the greatest thing since sliced bread and ever since then I've been a massive fan. George's early guitaring is so mature for his age always looking to embellish the song. Some of those awesome little lines based on Jazz chords or little triplets he adds are just so cool an unique
@@wookieezzz2551 Nice, and yeah it’s especially cool hearing his jazz influences on songs like Michelle and their cover of Till There Was You. Not a lot of people would’ve thought to play a part like that, but that’s also what made him a great guitarist in the he played what fit the song
George Harrison was my favourite right from the start. The first album I ever bought with my own money was Thirty Three and 1/3. It was 1976. I was 9 years old.
He was fortunate to be in The Beatles.
He was unfortunate to be working with two people who truly did not appreciate his gifts, nor encourage or truly support him in any way. And it's left history and people undervaluing this man whose contributions to society and culture were far greater than Yeah Yeah Yeah and being a Beatle.
He's the Western Musician who dared to pick up an Eastern Instrument and learn it. Rather than the attitude Western musicians had towards most Eastern Music. They would "emulate" it. They would "simulate" it, but stay on their Western instruments and their 12 note scale. Coltrane, Beck, Davies, all stayed in the tourist sections of Delhi. Sending postcards back to the West saying wish you were here.
George Harrison went to India, and learned its language. And he did this at a time in England where massive immigration was happening from India, as it went to the land that called itself Empire for opportunity. If you are unaware of the history between Great Britian and India, there's a lot of atrocity in it. A lot of hardship. A lot of Colonialism. There's Winston Churchill starving 4 million of them to death.
George Harrison came and tried to rectify some of that past, by embracing Hindu / Indian culture, not only by learning its language, but its philosophy. And when he broke out of the Beatles, he turned the massive success he received from All Things Must Pass, which is the greatest thing any of them ever did, and turned it into a charitable cause, that still helps people to this day.
He wasn't just a Beatle (Lennon and McCartney didn't even think he, OR Ringo mattered) he was the one of THE MOST IMPORTANT COMPOSERS in Music History. Classical composers like Stravinsky and Ravel braved going EXOTIC in their works, yet still, the attitudes at the time towards Eastern music and its microtones, was that it was the music of savages and primitives. IN 1965, that really hadn't changed all that much.
Until George Harrison.
Plus he was a kickass guitarist. That McCartney started telling him as early as 1965 that he was no good at the instrument, is a travesty. Especially coming from someone whose solos on Taxman and Good Morning Good Morning, repeat the same ideas and patterns, that didn't make him a great guitarist.
The intro of Octopus's Garden is the mark of a great guitarist. Or the solo of Til There Was You.
Who had the hits as soon as they broke up? And you know that signature slide tone?It's the sweetest thing in the world, him and billy gibbons...
You told yourself years ago
You'd never let your feeling show
The obligation that you made
For the title that they gave
Thank you for documenting the guitars of my favorite and most tasteful guitarist, as well as a superb songwriter. George Harrison is my biggest influence.
What a wonderful tribute to George Harrison❤. I was 8 years old watching that Ed Sullivan show and I was hooked. Nothing excited me more. I still remember it like it was yesterday. The pleas for a guitar to my parents never stopped after that.
Bass VI is tuned an entire *Octave lower (not a "step lower") than a regular guitar. Great video, Keith. I always look forward to see what you choose to make a short history on next.
Keith you are becoming a big part of my life, just as George Harrison has been since the Beatles came to the states in 1964. I was 10. Saw George on the Darkhorse tour a couple times and that’s when I found out who Robben Ford was. He was just a kid and he’s playing leads for George. Thanks for all the great content Keith. Best wishes sir. 👍🏻🤠🇺🇸 RIP Hari Georgeson 😘
I own vintage SG copy
Another great video, love your short histories! George is such an underrated guitarist. Like Ringo, he never overplayed, just gave the songs what was needed. He always had his own voice, especially his slide playing post-Beatles, truly unique.
I am such a Beatles fan that it defies logic at times. I was struck in "Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars" wherein he said that "George was an innovator," as Clapton is far and away my favorite guitarist. Constantly overshadowed by Lennon and McCartney, I'd never thought of Harrison in those terms, but in hearing it, it was obvious enough it was like someone turning on a light switch in my mind. Harrison is remembered maybe as just one of the Beatles, but he was clearly so much more than that. The Rosewood Tele was later given to Delaney Bramlett of Delaney and Bonnie. Thank you for this outstanding video, Keith. (I loved the line of how The Beatles "turned to the East.". As a Freemason, I will say that "Look to the East" is a common phrase therein.)
Thanks Keith, I was one of those millions of kids whose life forever changed after seeing the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show.I was 6 years old and can remember everything about that night like it was yesterday. I'm absolutely positive that's why I'm a guitarist as are many, many others. George was my guy. Can't tell you how much I enjoyed this video. I hope you never stop making them. Happy New Year my friend.
When i was in grade 2 my father showed me the ed Sullivan performance… you know THAT performance. It changed my life and sent me down this long road of musical discovery. I didn’t know it yet, but that one moment basically shaped my life as all my interests, hobbies, and passions slowly grew out of that moment. As i approach my 30s looking back i have so much to thank mr. Harrison for. Not only is he one of my biggest guitar inspirations but life inspirations.
I have a Gretsch G5122DC Eletromatic that is wine red colored. that I subconsciously purchased off of Reverb for just under $600.00 grand total shipping included. it's a beautiful guitar and is in excellent condition. probably because of George Harrison. he was the youngest yet most experienced member of the Beatles. even though George Harrison played many brands of guitars. but he would always return to his Gretsch guitars. he was my favorite member of the Beatles because not only being a fantastic guitarist. he was an incredible person. his concert for the starving people of Bangladesh. was the first concert of it's kind starting what is known as charity concerts. his time as a member of the Beatles and his Solo works. and he and Roy Orbison the founder's of the Traveling Wilburys. shows just what an incredible musician he was. he left us way too soon and he is definitely missed.
(a side note) John Lennon had the recording studio in New York booked for a week. but while in a point where Beatles weren't really in the studio. John Lennon offered the studio to to the members of the group SLADE. so they could record their Christmas smash hit "Merry Christmas Everybody". and there's an interview with Dave Hill their lead guitarist. which by the way is very underrated guitarist. he talks about it in the interview and how people in the offices. would give them strange looks for having the Christmas spirit. in the middle of nearly 100° temperatures. John Lennon was also a really generous person also.
Thanks for another piece of history Keith. Harrison has been always criminally underrated as a player but I think he´s been hugely influential for many players. In the other hand, he didn´t care that much about the guitars but really the people involved with them and so his thing with Clapton, guitars and women is the stuff legends are made of. Really one one of a kind.
I'm pretty happy and feel blessed with the stuff I already have, but I love learning about the history of the musicians and their instruments that shaped the culture we know today. Nobody does a better job of researching and presenting this history than you. Thank you so much man!
The insights into George's character are as fascinating as the guitar stories. I fully get the spiritual connection he might have felt with his instruments. I've given away a few to close friends but the hardest one to part with was my old Ovation Balladeer Custom. It had been everywhere with me, including a very muddy Glastonbury festival in 1987, and I couldn't bear the thought of it being abused. So I gave it to a long-time musical partner on her 50th birthday. She'd always coveted that guitar but was never going to afford to buy one similar. I still see it occasionally and play it. An old friend that's happy in its new home (although 'new' is relative since it's been nearly seventeen years since it went). I can imagine George taking great joy in seeing his old guitars being loved and used by people he regarded as friends. Somewhere (pun intended) within each of those guitars a little part of Harrison's spirit lives on. Quietly, maybe, but enjoying the music being made all the same.
Just like a million other guys, I saw the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show and switched from the accordion to the electric guitar soon afterwards. George was a brilliant songwriter and guitarist. Excellent video K!
George Formby was also a huge influence on Harrison, with George becoming a member of the George Formby Society in the 90’s. He even made an impromptu appearance at one of the meetings in Blackpool and had an impressive collection of vintage ukuleles (including two of Formby’s instruments).
Years ago I fell in love with Gretsch Guitars.. Recently I had the opportunity to purchase a reissued 1962 Gretsch G6122. It looks acts and plays exactly like the one pictured in the video. It will never ever leave my hands !!!!! It doesn't hurt that I was along time admirer of George's ability as both a musician and song writer.
Now there made overseas in china I think if so I wouldn’t buy one.
Another masterpiece, Mr Keith. Thank you so much to you and your team for all their hard work. ✌️😌🎸
Thank you Keith! George was such a gem of human being. It's nice to see him and his gear highlighted.
Beautiful work, Keith and team.
Something wonderful about Mr Harrison’s donation to the guitar community. This fine summary is fittingly well done to shine new light on a fine soul.
Thanks guys!
As a little kid when our father bought the 1st Beatle album, my three brothers and I would imitate the Fab Four and I was told to be George which has stuck to me today 60 years ago!!
Thanks Keith! George Harrison always played the right notes, the appropriate solos and in the right mood. Great talent! In the Beatles "Real Love" video we can see George playing a green Tele style guitar. It's a Hamburguitar made by luthier Bernie Hamburger...Yes, that's his name!
My very favorite, and IMO the best song in the Beatles catalog is not a Lennon-McCartney song but a Harrison song, _Something._
And when you strum the 1st few C chord variants on _any_ guitar, you know immediately how beautiful a song it is.
It was Frank Sinatra's favorite Beatles song too, and covered it often; but I imagine it irked Harrison a bit because Frank always credited Lennon-McCartney.
As time goes by, it seems George's songs withstand the test of time better than the Lennon-McCartney ones, they sound less dated.
John's songs made it OK to be sad.
Paul's songs made it OK to be happy.
George's songs made it OK to _be._
And Ringo's songs.......well, Ringo is a great drummer.
I think maybe George was a bit underused, underappreciated, and undervalued.
Thank you Keith for this video. Harrison is my favourite Beatle. The spiritual act of giving and receiving guitars - this is something that Johnny Marr does as well. Another lovely person.
The song “something” always makes me cry because it is just so beautiful. Thanks again.
Thanks for shining a gentle light on the quiet one, Keith. I gave away a guitar last week, to one of my band mates. He wasnt happy with his strat sound for our old man cover band. I wondered if a jazzmaster might be a good fit. I purchased a classic vibe, dressed the frets and the nut, installed CTS and switchcraft bits, and brought it to rehearsal. He liked it, and i gave it to him.
As always, incredibly informative Keith! As a Beatles nerd, I wanted to make one correction- George got his 63 Tennessean in December of 1963, not Jan 64. You see him playing it in some of the Xmas shows in December
Also, their fender blue Strats were acquired in early 1965 for Help, not Rubber Soul
Another great installment of Five Watt World! Love all of this information about Harrison. Always loved his work with and without the Beatles.
I lived in Manchester England in the very early 1960's and as a 15 year old schoolboy was a regular visitor to Barratt's music store. I saw the Beatles live at The Ardwick Apollo on 20th. December 1963 when George had borrowed the Australian guitar from Barratt's . The store manager had been called out from home before the evening performance to find a replacement machine head for George's Country Gentleman . The broken one was retained by the store manager after it had been repaired and he told this story for many years afterwards.
These ‘The Guitars of…” videos are always absolutely outstanding! Best time I’ll spend on the internet today.
Interesting piece of trivia: the guitar Francis Hall is holding in his photo is the very one John Lennon bought in Hamburg. It was one of two 1958 325s modified by Rickenbacker from two control knobs to four.
Guitar player off and on for over 60 years, since I was 12, yes I'm a product of the 60's, and bought any new Beatles record 45 or LP the day they were released. I don't make many comments on TH-cam but here I have to. This is the first video I've seen from five watt world and it absolutely blew me away. First rate presentation, thank you.
Well done Keith, you left us with a healthy dose of Harrison spiritualism beyond just the guitars he played. Both were educational and helpful, I feel we've lost something both with his passing and with the modern music industry, there's so little of that camaraderie left and it is sorely missed.
George wasn’t the quiet Beatle it’s just Paul and John sucked up the attention and one time at an interview he couldn’t talk so he was then the quiet Beatle.
If you watch the old footage, when George talked they listened.
Another great video, Keith! I’ve always loved the Gretsch Country Gentleman, and could finally afford one about 25 years ago. And I became acquainted with Fred Gretsch III in the process. Nice guy! And when the Gretsch “Slimliners” came out, I was able to order one through my friendly, local music store, Boulevard Music. They didn’t even CARRY Gretsch at the time, but since I’m a regular there (and they carry a decent selection of Fender gear) I told Gary, the store owner, “Why don’t you talk to your Fender rep? He can get one.” If you didn’t know, Fender Japan makes the high-end Gretsches, like the Country Gent). And even though the Slimliner is made in Indonesia, the Fender guy was able to get one for me in exactly the color I wanted (blue) and equipped with a Bigsby. It’s a well-made guitar and it sounds GREAT!
My other “George” guitar is a ‘63 Rickenbacker 360-12, exactly like the one you saw in this video. The color? Rickenbacker’s “Fireglo Red”, which ALL of that model were painted at the beginning, including George’s. It’s a great-playing guitar, and is the easiest-playing 12-string I’ve ever tried.
Thanks, Keith, for this video. It was quite enjoyable, just like all the rest of them you’ve done.
I have always been drawn to George’s music. Thank you for the video.
This has got to be the best channel on YT and this video just proves why. I always learn something amazing about guitar gear, both its history and its science, and it all helps me truly, as the moto goes, "get the most music from the least gear." Amazing job to Keith and the team!
"I Wanna Hold Your Hand" stopped me in my tracks... I was 10 years old (1966 circa 1956), riding my bike... with a tiny AM radio dangling from my handlebars, in a small town in Louisiana (Benton, LA) .. My little buddies stopped and said, "Come on!" but I couldn't move. I had never heard anything like it! My dad was a guitar player/country singer, friends with Glen (George) Jones, ...playing in clubs n bars...n union meetings (LOL!) I went with him and sat in. Picking up guitar at a young age. Played drums, trumpet, baritone, french horn, flugelhorn, ... bass guitar and always 6 string. I am now 67... soon to be 68. I still love the Beatles and Paul's later ventures.. And, yes, I Still love old-school country. If the music is good.. (?) .. I Love All of It!
I got to touch the Rosewood Tele in 2002 (didn't dare ask to play it) at Delaney Bramlett's house. George had given the guitar to Delaney for teaching him slide. It eventually found its way back to Olivia and Dhani 🙏
That was excellent, George was my favorite Beatle. He had such a Spiritual quality about him, if chivalry was alive today, George would truly be a guitar Knight of Excalibur!!
Well Done!
Your research and production values are "award-worthy."
Thanks for sharing
8:05 This is incorrect. The 1962 version had dial mutes. The 1963 version had flip up mutes. It’s different nowadays but back then, George’s 1962 Gretsch had dial mutes, not the flip up mutes.
the end made me cry a bit, with George giving away ukuleles and being generally awesome. I'll never forget seeing Paul live and speak the sweetest words of appreciation about George before playing "Something" on a ukulele...
The 5 Watt presentations are excellent. The best documentaries in the U tube format with regards to musical instruments
A fantastic post as usual Keith!!! Another great axe George used post-Beatles was the Fritz Brothers made Roy Buchanan Tele that George played on his tour of Japan with EC.
Great video, thanks! George was my first guitar hero, and definitely an inspiration. Though I don’t play in his style he has kept being a big influence.
He was my guitar hero too! The Beatles were the first band I really started listening to and when I started looking at them playing live I was always looking at how george was playing and how cool he looked. He was the main reason I started playing guitar
My uncle was in a guitar store in the LA area around 1970 trying out about the 20 or so 335s they had in stock. George was also there trying out the 335s. My uncle took one home that belongs to my dad to this day that George had played.
A thing of beauty, a thing of joy. Thank you, Keith. This brought welcome warmth to this cold Northeast Ohio Saturday morning. Despite living a mere 30 miles or so from the R&R HOF, I've only visited twice, in the same 2000-2001 time period during a massive Lennon exhibit. Two of George's guitars were there at the time, the little Egmond and the 425 Ric, which was displayed in a rectangular glass case similar to the type used to display jewelry. Visitors could go nose first to the top of the case and examine the guitar in close up detail, which, of course, I did. It was apparent that the new pickguard made to house the added pickup had not been professionally made.
Have you ever noticed that the greatest music ever made was made with off the rack guitars and amps? And that includes The Beatles...George's modified Ric notwithstanding.
Today's players agonize over over the number of pickup windings, saddle and nut material, fretboard wood and on and on.
@@JackTheSkunk In the interview in the August '95 issue of "Bass Player" magazine Paul is asked "What strings do you use?" His reply, "Long shiny ones." He goes on to explain that the minutia of gear never concerned him.
George seemed to have a heart of gold ❤ unfortunately, he had to leave the earth for a better place called heaven...
Not to mention he was a great musician!!!🎉🎉
Way to go , Keith. My studio is replete with Harrison guitars and memorabilia. What a great human being this man was.
One minor correction, you mention the Fender VI is one step down from a guitar when, as you well know, it's one octave down. Very minor but worth the mention. Again WTG with another bit of GREAT content.
George cared more about the musicians than the guitars he was playing. It is better to give than receive - what a concept! Another great short history. I love the Beatles and Andy Babiuk’s book!
As always, a perfect presentation. I was born the year the Beatles broke up, but the influence they have on me, and my eleven year old son are as strong as those Baby Boomers who first saw them on television 60 years ago.
Nobody comes near you for making these videos. Gear heads will be watching them for a hundred years. Rock on!
Great job as always but I'd love to see you do a deep dive on Pignose amps. Most musicians I know consider them a must-have. Whether as a practice amp or in the studio, everybody could use one.
I remember the Gretsch sound , loved George , got one later. lol , and a few others !
Another terrific vid. Wondering if the "Shining Blue Jeans" weren't the "Swinging Blue Jeans" I remember.
Yes, he meant the Swinging Blue Jeans. Ray Ennis was a founding member and long-time leader of the group.
"Oh for goodness' sake.....
. do the hippy hippy shake
Most outstanding. Thank you, dedicated to those, who didn't see/here experience the spirit of George. Om......
Thanks for sharing. I fell in love with the Club 40. Oh, the Bass VI is tuned an octave lower than standard, not just a step; mine is a Squire and is a rascal. Ü ♫
The Squire Bass VIs from the last decade are really, really well built.
Yeah, aside from the E strings sliding off( maybe poor technique), solid and sounds great. And the twang bar hits the strings it's going between, but I don't use it anyway. Thanks for reply. @@borismatesin
I love the presentation and editing of this video. Great job 👍
Great documentary. I am George fan and love his guitar. Very sorry that he is gone but happy for the music that he left.
Absolutely FAB! A lot there I didn't know about, the Maton, the Czech guitar . . . wonderful walk thru of our George's guitars. I would love to get my hands on a Fender Rosewood Tele - one day maybe! I was 7 when I heard All My Loving and decided then and there I wanted to be a Beatle . . . they provided the soundtrack for my childhood and I still listen to the records - kept the original 7" singles, sadly I sold the 12" albums to help cover the rent when our band was banging away promoting our album in the late 70s in NZ. George still definitely my No. 1 Guitarist! 😃
Great video! I was born in 1955 and had 2 older sisters. Thank God they played the Beatles. My oldest sister would play 45's over & over. Like most kids during that time we knew every Beatles song that came out. It was a great time to grow up and music just got better & better. Does this mean that maybe John & Paul will be up next? Hope so!
Thank you for all you do.
This video reminded of the first videos from Five Watt World. Super detailed and almost 30 minutes long. I hope you keep going with this format.
The Hofner President acoustic model shown at 2:36 is a different (maybe earlier) model than the electric President at 2:41 with the factory pickups and added middle pickup. Also, he had the first Rickenbacker bought in the US repainted black from the origianal red color.
Beautiful informative Video of Beatles guitars with pictures and Videos of both. Certainly Well Done. Thank-you.....
The Beatles brought rockmusic in my life when I was 8, I love them since then. When I was a young I loved them only as a band. It took me a long time to realize how good each of them was as a musician. It took me even longer to find out what kind of a genius guitar player George was. Imagine Yngwie Malmsteen had played the "Come together" solo.
George Harrison, it seemed to me anyway, always had more respect for the sound he was producing than the instrument it was coming from. While he may have loved the Gretches and Rickenbacker's, his goal was always the music. I see both Harrison and Lennon as the spiritual voices and writers of the group, and Harrison, more so, in his musicality. From a creative standpoint, George Harrison loved what he did, and his choice of guitars reflected that creative sense in his music. I was nine when much of this hit the United States, The Beetles turned the music scene on its head almost overnight. I owned, thanks to my parents, many of the albums at that time, but my love for Harrison's music went beyond the breakup of the Beetles, when I purchased his "All Things Must Pass" album. When we speak about Guitar Ledgen's, Harrison's name has a rightful spot in those ranks, he is not to be ignored. Thank you for another well executed and research bit of history, nobody does it better.
What does that even mean? His goal was the music? That's the goal of every musician. George admitted that he never practiced, and it sure sounded like it.
Just beautiful. Thanks Keith. As always, really enjoyable.
Amazing presentation. I love the multitude of photos, each one showing the guitar you're talking about at the moment you are describing the guitar and when and where it was used. The photos bring your stories alive. In the 60s and 70s I stared at the gear and tried to copy the chords that guitarists played. I was almost 12 when I saw the Beatles on Ed Sullivan. I wanted to copy everything about them. I sang lead and would put my microphone up high so my head would be tilted back like John Lennon. I was John. Well, in my teenage mind anyway. Thanks for the great work you do on these videos. I'm a fan.
Keith, I really enjoyed this segment, I encourage everybody who hasn’t seen it yet to watch the George Harrison tribute concert led by Eric Clapton with an All-Star cast, including at the end Paul McCartney on ukulele, playing the intro to Something… I bought a Gretsch and put on a Bigsby so that I would have a George Harrison inspired guitar for my collection. Long live George and long live 5 W world.
You get me every time Keith - I just came for the Duo Jet and then I go back to the beginning for the whole piece. Your historical accounts are so engaging and, I might say, important to the ongoing history of the guitars and the players that used them. Cheers.
Amazing how limited the access to instruments was for the Beatles considering the selection and availability we have today.
The first 30 seconds sounds amazingly like George love it. I could listen to that all day, very nice into!
The "quiet" Beatle was definitely a generous and special person. I had only learned a few years ago about all the session work he had done for other artists. I didn't know about how many guitars he gifted, but it started with George's idol generously gifting him a guitar when the Beatles were on the rise.
This is my favorite of your videos so far. The coda in the end about Harrison's spiritual relationship to giving (and getting) his guitars was perfect, great, and I don't think I'd consciously thought of that yet myself. The ukelele story was revelatory and really brought that to light. Peace.
2:24 Toledo! I had these two friends that both had these guitars with unbelievable action and they were Toledos! A student guitar. Going thru a Heathkit amp. I never knew guitars could have such amazing action! So, I got my dad to take me to Long&McQuade on Yonge St and got a Telecaster. (1970) And so it began…lol
Painted on F holes is just...werid
Gibson EB-1 who?
Paul Gilbert would like a word
Couldn’t agree more, and I’m a Gretsch lover. I own a Jet and a 2021 G2655 semi-hollow with P90s.
Big star! Nice
I mean…Josh farro from paramore has a Tele that has a fake F hole but it’s not painted so is that weirder?
Your videos are just on another level fella. Thanks for all the research and work man.
One cannot overestimate the extent and breadth of impact the Feb. 9,1964 Ed Sullivan appearance had on the youth of North America. I watched that show, where we were "twice entertained" by them, in addition to the subsequent appearances a week and two weeks later. It cemented my own lifelong dedication to guitar, and that of millions of other boys my age.
Around 1971=72, I was playing in a band whose bass player owned much of the equipment, making us rather lenient about his tone-deaf qualities. I played his rosewood Telecaster in that band. Tough on the back, but a great sound. VERY solid bottom end.
Love that guitar!!
The Beatles were my first favorite band as well. I don't recall when I first recognized that, but I was turned on to Led Zeppelin during junior high school, and immediately the Fab Four had to take second spot among my favorite bands 😁 George Harrison was a large contributing factor in my decision to add an ES-335 style guitar to my life. I'll never play anywhere near as fantastically as he did, but what all is recorded of him is most inspiring.
I've loved George Harrison for a long time. He's my favorite Beatle and somebody I look up to a lot.
This video was fittingly beautiful. Thanks.
I have a theory. Viewing footage of George's tour of Japan in the 90's, you can see him playing a Fender Electric XII for "If I Needed Someone".
This video answers my question for why he didn't just play his Rickenbacker for that number, which he still had, but that still leaves us with a George and a guitar not documented.
So we know:
1. George had a Fender Electric XII in the 90's.
2. The Fender Electric XII was only produced, at that point, in the 60's.
3. Fender sent the Beatles a care package in the 60's.
4. An unidentified 12-string guitar can be heard on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps".
5. By the time they recorded "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", one of George's Rickenbackers had been destroyed, and the other was in rough shape.
My theory, therefore, is that George was given a Fender Electric XII in that care package, since Fender knew George was well-known for playing an electric 12-string, and they had an electric 12-string that wasn't doing well, so they wanted to get it into his hands and boost sales.
If that was their plan, it didn't work, since I don't recall ever seeing George with the guitar besides that tour. Of course, I have absolutely no proof at all of this theory, and it's probably more likely that George borrowed a 12-string from John for "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and borrowed the Fender for his 90's tour, knowing he'd need a 12-string for one song and not having one. But it's just a fun little theory I have and I don't know where else I'm gonna put it, so right here feels like a good place.
Although born in Liverpool during the Beatles era, I've just learned more about them by watching your excellent video than ever before. Great video, many thanks for posting.
Thank you, Keith! Appreciate your delivery, diligence and expertise. This was wonderful!
I saw the Jimi Hendrix rosewood Strat a few years back at Songbirds Museum in Chattanooga. I was told that it was going to be a gift for Hendrix but that he died 2 weeks prior to it's completion. I don't know how accurate that is but it's the story I heard. Beautiful guitar no matter the story.
12:28. George Harrison's Rickenbacker 360/12 is one of the few guitars in the world that I regard as being "Priceless". A historical relic that is a work art. It should remain in the Harrison Family Estate never to be sold. It now belongs to the entire Human Race. An artifact that forever ties human ingenuity and innovation with the greatest contemporary popular music quartet of the twentieth century.
Thanks for another excellent history of one of my all-time favorite artists, Keith! You have really found your niche with these!
22:10 2 Rosewood Telecaster,was sent to the UK,the number 1 was for George and the number 2 Is owned by Keef Riffhard,which is played on Hampton coliseum, 18/12/1981 ,on keef's birthday. Greetings from Argentina
3:18 note the zero fret on the Club 40. This is actually something you’ll find even on Spanish-style guitars, what we now call classical guitars, by the late German luthier Hermann Hauser.
The Sullivan show became the template for nearly everyone putting a band together at that time - me being one of the many.
While my parents’ generation was the one that got to see the famous Ed Sullivan performance, it was the birthday gift of a Beatles calendar some 25 years later that had a similar effect upon me, cementing the image of a young George with a Gretsch as the iconic pairing. And it was a worn and tattered Beatles piano songbook from 1965, held on to by my mother since her teen years, that I learned my first guitar chords from later that same year. Fast forward another three decades, and mom-now grandma-rebound the old songbook, long since deteriorated into a disorganized collection of loose-leaf pages, and passed it on to my daughter as she was just picking up the guitar. So many lives enriched by those boys from Liverpool.
Beautiful summary! I didn't expect this to be my favourite 5WW video but it definitely is now!
Wow, I really enjoyed that...! Having a life-long aversion to anything Beatles, I almost skipped this one, but I'm glad I didn't ;) Thanks to this work, I am now growing an appreciation for George Harrison. Maybe I'm getting softer in my old age :D Thanks Keith!
Lol. I thought I was the only one!
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This question is for both of you (including monahantp3767)... I'm just curious - but why would anyone "have a lifelong aversion to anything Beatles"? Also, what are your ages? And, who are a couple of your favorite musicians?
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I also was 10 years old in 1970, but also started playing drums at the ripe old age of 8 in 1968. But this is interesting to me on many levels. Though I have been playing drums for 50+ years, and keyboards for 15 or so. I am also a big fan of the guitar as well as a student, and I couldn't help but start a collection of guitars. I have a candy apple red Stratocaster, a black beauty Les Paul Custom, an Ovation, and a 12 string Martin acoustic (and a Yamaha bass). But this is particularly interesting to me because my sister, whop passed away way too young, played on several Indian music albums, and was good friends with Ravi Shankar, and George. She and her 3 kids stayed at his castle for a week. I also used to had a signed personalized copy of 33 1/3 that was stolen from me in the late 70's. Interestingly however, I wasn't aware of all those guitars, and that many were used because they couldn't get Fenders, or American guitars for the most part Very interesting.
Perfect ending. George was a respected man.
I really enjoyed this one, thx for making it mate :) I’ve seen quite a few of your episodes now as i’m a guitarocentric myself and i love how into guitar and guitar lore you are. When i was a lad i lived in London, in the 60s and i remember riding around in my mom’s friend’s Beatle car and listening to Obla di Obla da and stuff like that, Love Rita Meter Maid, etc. Much later i apprenticed in film with the fellow who made the first Beatles short film, which was Lovely Rita Meter Maid. That was Phil Pendry and Phil actually knew Yoko BEFORE John Lennon even met her because he had rented her flat in Tokyo as he was BBC’s ‘man in Tokyo’ or maybe it was Pathe News service, something like that. One of my first ever acid trips, as a teenager we listened to the White Album in it’s entirety and that really blew my mind, after which i went back to Beatles discography and fortunately my father was an audiophile so it all sounded great to my young ears. Never really liked their earlier stuff like Love Me Do, that was for little girls to make them scream and wet their knickers. I loved Sergeant😂 Peppers, Revolver, Rubber Soul and above all the White Album. Abbey Road was excellent also of course. another footnote; i did see Segovia live, he was 90 years old, in Toronto, Canada at Massey Hall, which is an excellent place to see a show, intimate and classy, they don’t build them like that any more. I never did discover how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall though, as we had emigrated to Canada when i was still pretty young. I also saw Narcisso Yepes while in Toronto, at the Royal Conservatory of Music, and also of note is that I saw Joe Pass play a solo gig at the Royal York hotel one night. That was some of the most skillful guitar playing I’ve ever seen, just masterful and we were two of four people in the audience, it’s just a little bar but pretty high class venue. Also got to see Pat Metheny is an outdoor concert in a geodesic dome, also a masterful player. I hate that guy ‘cause he plays the most complicated jazz and never seems to hit a bad note; he’s impossibly good at guitar. Also of note, when i was 21 years old i got to sit in at a Cafe gig with Long John Baldry and a guy who went by the name of Papa John King who combined folk blues fingerstyle with jazzy licks. He was very good but the crowd dug me for my hot licks and youthful enthusiasm. The was also my first date with a woman who I later married, also a musician. After the gig Baldry came and sat with us at our table so that was kind of neat, he was lanky and confident with an odd smile. He’s also a better guitarist than i thought, in the folky blues department mainly. By that time I was into a lot of other stuff, Fripp, various world musics, indian, middle eastern modal stuff, African, etc so i threw a bit of that into my playing. I was only 21 and not a very sophisticated player but had a natural talent for it and a lot of energy to inject into my sound. 10 years later i played with a really great band called HP Lovesauce and another one called The Subtonic Monks which was a music and performance are collective, until the singer/songwriter fell in love with a girl from the states and moved down there to live in a cabin in the forests of Vermont, never to be seen again. He was really brilliant artist/songwriter, wonder what became of him. Sorry to be journaling on your page, sometimes i start writing and reminiscing and it just pours out. Music has been the bridge for me, my whole life, it’s how i meet people and make friends and it’s also my daily meditation, helping to keep me young. Cheers ❤
Great job Keith, like most videos about the Beatles, as a band or individual, the videos end too soon, I could watch them forever!!
I am the proud owner of a 2017 Maton MS2000 DLX in burgundy with gold hardware. I had to order the guitar and was told it while it was being built it would be the last one out of Maton as the electrics were not selling like their very famous and popular acoustic guitars. They are still on their web site but none have been made since 2017.
Not appearing to be disrespectful, (I'm from the U.K.) how is it that virtually the entire TH-cam and all MSM appear to be polluted with content producers from across the Big Pond (America) I grew up with the Beatles, read every snippet and gossip on a daily basis through the entirety of the '60s, Bought every record, E.P, and L.P every Magazine, listened to every Radio broadcast, watched every documentary, I was a newspaper delivery boy until the day I left School (1969) and read the front page headlines of their Break-up, and continued to follow their journey beyond the Beatles era, there are similar people here that visited the Casbah, and the original Cavern along with all their other venues from the earliest days until stardom came. why haven't a great many people from the UK produced content that would accentuate a more Authentic timeline from our doorstep, rather than a remote area of 6,000 miles away from people who have no concept of that age or period as it evolved?? was just wondering 🤔
Inspiring video! Something about George Harrison always makes me want to pick up the first guitar that I can find and write something completely different from anything I’ve ever written before. Don’t know why, but I embrace it.
Thanks Keith ❤
Such a great vid. Made my morning! That SG blew my mind when I first saw the paperback writer video 30 years back.