While My Guitar Gently Births

If cancer wasn't such a dick, George Harrison would be 66 years young today. I say, just because he is no longer with us, that's no reason to not recall his legacy, and celebrate his majesty. I've often considered Harrison the most under rated Beatle, in spite of the fact that he did receive a good amount of well-deserved praise towards the end of his life. He was certainly the most musically gifted of the Fab Four. Like many of the greats, Harrison taught himself to play by ear just through listening to his favorite tunes on the radio. As his guitar prowess grew, he ventured out to other string instruments, learning to play sitar from the instrument's indisputable master, Ravi Shankar. He was instrumental (no pun intended) in the Beatles involvement in eastern religion and philosophy during the last part of the 1960's, and was actually the first to attempt to leave the band, as early as January of 1968, pre-dating the supergroup's 'official' breakup by almost two years. There is more to Harrison than just the Beatles though, and some of it is quite interesting.

- He was the only Beatle (to date) to write an autobiography entitled I Me Mine after the track of the same name on Let It Be.

- His first wife Pattie Boyd was stolen from him by best friend Eric Clapton. In spite of this the two remained close, living the 'bros before hos' code...

- George Harrison financed early Monty Python performances, and is credited by the comic group as the reason they managed to gain international fame and fortune on the tales of dead parrots and cross-dressing lumberjacks. This, more than any of the music, is reason enough to celebrate George's work...

- Two years prior to his death, Harrison was caught in a home invasion attack by a deranged man who felt he was possessed by the spirit of Harrison and was sent on a mission from god to kill him. Despite stabbing the aged rocker multiple times and puncturing one of his lungs, Harrison survived the attack due to the ass-kicking ability of his wife, Olivia Trinidad Arias. I highly doubt Patti Boyd would have been able to save George's life, so props to Eric Clapton for the cock-block...

There's oh so much more Harrison lore out there, but for now let's just sit an listen to the man and his guitar. Happy Birthday, George...