This is Love: The George Harrison Club for Fiendish Thingies | Page 89 | Fab Forum | The Beatles Bible

That’s great! I’m hearing a lot of new (to me) music today. I am totally unfamiliar with Alvin’s discography outside of Ten Years After.

This is the story of how teenage Judith finally tracked down George at the Plaza Hotel during the Beatles first visit to The US. I have skipped the first 53 chapters and moved directly to the “date”. She is being detained by security as the narrative begins. Their exchange on the last two pages is pretty sweet.

Happy 4th Day of Georgemas!!

^I tend to think its mostly true because the story is so simple. I love it when she asks George if he wants the soda back.

For those of us currently suffering from the cold spell in the northern hemisphere, here are some images of George at the beach.

Wallasey Beach 1950s (with brother Peter, father Harry and friends)

Miami Beach 1964

Honeymooning down by Barbados 1966

Golf in Pebble Beach, CA 1968

Car race in Long Beach 1982

Sailing to the beach (wish we were all on board)

On the 6th day of Georgemas, John sent Louise Harrison a letter from Hamburg to let her know her son George was doing ok.

I think my mom would have been confused by this funny letter, so I assume Mrs “Horminsoon” and John had a special understanding. 

I don’t know much about them but I did find this story that seems to be pretty well sourced.

Emma McKee for Celebrity CheatSheet

In 1958, John Lennon ’s mother, Julia , died, and George Harrison ’s mom wanted to ensure her son’s friend was OK. Though he put on a brave face in public, she overheard a conversation between Lennon and his friends in the months before his mother’s death. He said something that gave her cause for concern. Because of this, she forced Harrison to check up on Lennon.

Lennon’s parents separated when he was young, and his Aunt Mimi called Social Services on his mother twice. As a result, Mimi took custody of Lennon, and he had lessened contact with her as a child. When Lennon grew older, though, he began reconnecting with his mother over music. Mimi wouldn’t let him play music in the house, but Julia encouraged him.

“Music had been an important part of John’s relationship with his mother and when she died he used it to blot out the pain and anger he felt,” Lennon’s first wife Cynthia wrote in her book John. “Julia had bought him his first guitar, and she loved music. She played the piano and banjo, and sat with him patiently for hours, showing him over and over again how to play the chords. She had also introduced John to rock and roll. She would play Elvis Presley records at top volume, grabbing John’s hand to jive around the kitchen to them. She always encouraged John’s musical dreams.”

Lennon began staying with his mother more often as a teenager. In 1958, though, Julia was killed after being hit by a car. Lennon hid any grief he felt after his mother’s death from his friends. “He never showed it,” his friend Pete Shotton said, per the book The Beatles: The Authorized Biography by Hunter Davies. “It was like when masters beat him up. He never gave anything away. His exterior never showed his feelings.”

Despite this, Harrison’s mother, Louise, knew Lennon needed support. She’d overheard a conversation several months before Julia ’s death. “It was several months before John’s mother died and he was just getting really close to her,” Louise said. “I overheard him say to Paul, ‘I don’t know how you can sit there and act normal with your mother dead. If anything like that happened to me, I’d go off me head.’”

Having overheard, Louise made Harrison spend time with Lennon to make sure he wasn’t alone. “When John’s mother did die, he didn’t seem to go off his head, but he wouldn’t come out,” she explained. “I forced George to go round and see him, to make sure he still went off playing in their group and just didn’t sit and brood. They all went through a lot together, even in those early days, and they always helped each other.”

Julia ’s death sparked fear in Harrison about his own mother’s safety. “George was terrified that I was going to die next,” Louise said. “He’d watch me carefully all the time. I told him not to be so silly. I wasn’t going to die.” Louise lived until 1970, watching The Beatles’ tremendous rise to fame and becoming a well of endless support for the group.

SB – I couldn’t find a Stratego but I did find a Beatles Scrabble. Don’t know what the rules could be though (maybe a manual of Beatley terms). The back of the box shows a game in progress. Note – FAB is worth 8 points

As I mentioned last week, in Febrooary there will be lots of hair. Here is 44 years worth. Warning ~ After the first 60 seconds I had to pause the video because I was getting dizzy.

How about we kick off Day 7 of our celebrations with the 1974 story of George visiting the White House?

An Ex-Beatle at the White House
Presented by The White House Historical Association

On November 16, 1974, President ’s son Jack, a fan of rock n’ roll, met former Beatle George Harrison backstage after a concert in Salt Lake City. Jack, who was studying forestry at Utah State University, befriended Harrison and invited him and several other guests to visit the White House. On December 13, 1974, keyboardist Billy Preston, sitarist Ravi Shankar, saxophonist Tommy Scott, manager Denis O’ Brien, publicity agent Michael Sterling, and George Harrison ’s father, Harry, all accompanied the former Beatle to the Ford White House. Harrison and company were in the midst of their 1974 North American tour and were performing in nearby Landover, Maryland, on December 13.

~Ravi Shankar, George Harrison , President Gerald Ford, and Jack Ford in the Oval Office

The group first dined with Jack in the third floor solarium. As they enjoyed beef, ham, and vegetable plates, the group conversed while listening to Harrison’s newest album “Dark Horse .” Jack and his sister Susan acted as tour guides as the entourage viewed the White House rooms. In the East Room, Harrison and Preston sampled a few bars on the 1938 Steinway piano situated in the historic room. President Ford met briefly with them for about 15 minutes in the Oval Office. Politics was apparently avoided that day. After the meeting, Harrison stated, “I didn’t ask him [Ford] about Bangladesh or anything else political . . . I didn’t want to bug him.” Three years earlier in 1971, Harrison had organized The Concert for Bangladesh benefit event in New York, a charity concert that set the precedent for later large-scale philanthropic efforts organized by the musical community.

As Harrison’s entourage was leaving the office, Jack told his father, “I promised George a WIN (Whip Inflation Now) button.” When one could not be immediately found, the president sent appointments secretary Terry O’ Donnell to find one. In return for the WIN button, Harrison gave the president an “Om” mantra pin representative of Harrison’s interest in Eastern spirituality.

~President Gerald R. Ford with Billy Preston, Harrison, and Ravi Shankar in the Oval Office.

Harrison would remember Ford as quite amiable both in the immediate aftermath of the visit as well as in his 1980 autobiographical work, I, Me, Mine. Harrison confessed that he felt “good vibes about the White House.” Having been in the eye of the Beatlemania hurricane in the mid-1960s, Harrison understood the demands placed on the first family, commenting that “being the President’s son means being constantly under the public eye. Everyone watches what you do. His main thing is to learn how to be able to keep an even balance.” On whether the president was a follower of Harrison’s musical output, Harrison admitted shortly after the meeting, “I don’t think he’s too familiar with my music.” Later that evening at the Capital Centre, Harrison was seen onstage wearing the pin given to him by President Ford.

George was the first, but not the last ex-Beatle to visit the White House. On June 2, 2010, Paul McCartney performed in the East Room of the White House when he was awarded the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song.

~President Gerald R. Ford and his son, Jack Ford, meet with George Harrison , Harry Harrison, Billy Preston, Tommy Scott, and Ravi Shankar in the Oval Office.

{SighB} I never knew George’s dad Harry grew his hair long in the 70s (unless the people in the last picture are misidentified).

Nice find Rich! Love the Father and Son matching shirts. Hope you don’t mind if I post a copy to the main page.

*****Harry and George*****