50 years ago today

"With all the problems in the world, why did you focus on this one?"

"I was asked by a friend to help, that's all."

    50 years ago today, the landmark benefit concerts, the Concert For Bangladesh, were held in Madison Square Garden in New York City.  A recent flood and terrible living conditions were seriously affecting the people, so sitar player Ravi Shankar asked former Beatles member George Harrison to help.  George responded by organizing two events on August 1st, 1971 to raise money for the people and help save some lives, as well as releasing a charity single.

    The show was recorded for both video and audio release and began with Ravi Shankar playing the sitar.  He and his backing musicians tuned their instruments first for about a minute and the audience, thinking that was a performance, applauded.  Ravi responded "If you like the tuning, we hope you'll like the actual performance."  After the sitar performance, George Harrison's all-star band began playing a set, opening with "Wah Wah," a song George had written in January 1969 in response to Paul McCartney telling him how to play on early versions of "Two of Us."  Billy Preston played keyboards and sang "That's the Way God planned it," and Ringo Starr was on drums, getting a vocal spotlight with his new single "It Don't Come Easy."  Eric Clapton and Jesse Ed Davis were both on guitar and Leon Russell was on piano, singing a verse of George's "Beware of Darkness," a song which has recently been released in studio and live form by Sheryl Crow with Brandi Carlile.

    George's band introductions featured Billy Preston and Leon Russell jamming an instrumental of "Yellow Submarine" after Ringo Starr's introduction and George forgot to mention Preston until last.  The band then played "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," Eric Clapton performing the solo on a hollow body Gibson Byrdland guitar, a decision he regretted due to hollow bodies being harder to play than Stratocasters or Gibson Les Pauls.  Leon Russell then did a medley of the Rolling Stones' "Jumpin' Jack Flash" with the 50s standard "Young Blood."  Most of the band then went offstage in the video release, George then introducing Bob Dylan, who sang and played harmonica and guitar as George Harrison, Leon Russell and Ringo Starr backed him on guitar, bass and tambourine, respectively.  Classics such as "Blowin' in the Wind," "Mr. Tambourine Man," "Just Like A Woman" and at one of the shows "Love Minus Zero/No Limit" were played in the folksy, stripped down set.  The band then returned for George's Beatles classic "Something," ending with a performance of the "Bangla Desh" single.

    This show set the standard for many benefit concerts and shows to come, with its festival arrangement of different artists of different genres performing one after the other, giving a special spotlight to guests onstage.  Examples include concerts following Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, the memorial concert for George Harrison one year after his death, the COVID streams for Seattle, the world and Save our Stages, and Eric Clapton's Crossroads Blues events.  This event made rock music capable of raising awareness and funds to help the less fortunate, which continues today and is an important part of the legacy of George Harrison.