Thursday, December 06, 2001

I'm going to drop out of gonzo themes here for just a minute and take time to pay homage to George Harrison. He was a brilliant musician, and a thoughtful and caring person. I knew his wife, Olivia Arias, before she met George (or Jeffrey as he was called by family and close friends), and then George signed a band I was managing to his Dark Horse Records label. I got to meet half the Beatles because most of the parties were held at Ringo's house. George was more private and didn't have big bashes at his house much. I haven't had any contact with that circle of people for almost twenty years, but his passing has flooded my mind with memories, mostly of good times and laughter. Once, when he was being sued over the "My Sweet Lord" melody line he flew in from London and was bubbling over with excitement about a new song he had written on the airplane, so he sat us all down, grabbed a guitar and sang us the early version of "Sue Me, Sue You" blues. And he went through all that with a smile on his face despite being very annoyed at having to pay royalties for that brief snippet of notes that comprised the suit.

Farewell, Jeffrey... your music and your kindness will be with us forever! Jai Sat Chit Anand!

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