This Saturday, February 25th, would have been George Harrison's 80th birthday, although you could say the same about this Friday.
Born a few minutes after midnight in 1943, he considered his birthday February 25th until 1992, when he decided that he preferred it be celebrated on the 24th. Since his death in 2001, most sources, including his widow Olivia, cite the 25th as his date of birth.
Known as "The quiet Beatle," he played lead guitar, sitar and sang and came into his own with his first post-Beatles album, 1970's All Things Must Pass, and the single "My Sweet Lord."
He's credited with the first major all-star benefit concert, 1971's The Concert for Bangladesh, at New York's Madison Square Garden with Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, Bob Dylan and many others. He also found success in the late '80s and early '90s with another band, The Traveling Wilburys with Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne.
Among his most well-known Beatles songs are "I Need You," "If I Needed Someone," "I Want to Tell You," "Taxman," "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," "Old Brown Shoe," "Something" and "Here Comes the Sun."
His best-known solo songs are "My Sweet Lord," "What Is Life," "Isn't it a Pity," "All Things Must Pass," "Living in the Material World," "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)," "When We Was Fab," "Blow Away," "All Those Years Ago" and "Got My Mind Set on You."
Harrison only did two tours on his own after The Beatles broke up -- one in 1974 in support of his Dark Horse album, and in 1991 in Japan with his good friend Eric Clapton.
He was married twice with his first wife, Pattie Boyd, leaving him for Clapton.
After surviving a knife attack in his home in 1999, Harrison died of cancer in Los Angeles on November 29th, 2001 at 58, leaving behind Olivia and their son Dhani.
Source: Liverpool Echo and Premiere