There’s an adage ‘It’s not what you know, it’s who you know’ which is not just used in music but is used in just about everything. Whether it’s a job promotion or moving house knowing a friend with a connection is always helpful more than a hindrance. So, when a member of the world’s most famous band ever asks for assistance for a world first, people will always oblige. This week the Beat Marches On to the 3rd March 1973 When the Concert for Bangladesh won the Grammy for record of the year.
The Concert for Bangladesh was a first for music. It’s the first time anyone thought of producing a charity concert on this scale. It paved the way for benefit concerts to expand to stadiums and raise huge amounts of money. It was a way for musical artists to make a difference and show their fans that it wasn’t all about them. It wasn’t all as straightforward as you would think though, plagued with problems before, during and after the event it took a while for Bangladesh to receive the support.
Although the concert is credited to George Harrison, the initial thought process was conceived by his friend and mentor Ravi Shankar who was from the region. The area, which was known then as East Pakistan, had a tri-factor of disasters: floods, a cyclone and a brutal civil war. The events led to millions of Bangladeshis being displaced and nowhere to go.
Worried about his home Shankar talked to Harrison about the disaster and wanted ideas of what to do to aid those displaced. The former Beatle obliged and agreed to hold a benefit concert, with all proceeds going to the people of Bangladesh.
The two quickly started to plan the concert, with Harrison calling on a little help from some friends. Over six weeks Harrison went through his address book and asked for acts to perform at his concert which was planned for August 1st 1971 at one of New York’s most famous venues Madison Square Garden.
Five days before Ravi and George held a press conference for the event as well as releasing a single called Bangla Desh (how the area was known in 1971) at the conference Harrison was asked out of all of the world’s problems why this one, he simply responded ‘a friend asked for my help’
After two weeks of rehearsals at an undisclosed area in New York, the day had arrived. Demand for the concert was so much that Harrison decided to add another performance on the day. The former Beatle assembled a band that included ex-bandmate Ringo Starr, close friend Eric Clapton, Badfinger who were on the Beatles’ Apple records and former collaborator Billy Preston, among others. Bob Dylan would also perform a set on the day but up until he physically turned up, George was still unsure whether he would.
To kick off the concert Ravi Shankar performed with his Sitar along with Tanpura player Kamala Chakravarty, Tabla player Alla Rhaka and Sarod player Ali Akbar Khan. The performance, which was less than 15 minutes, gave a realisation to the audience as it was the music of the area. Then the main event happened.
George Harrison was incredibly nervous before going on stage. He hadn’t performed for a while although ‘All Things Must Pass’ the debut solo album, was released the previous year. The former Beatle was never the lead singer, he was the guitarist, sure he sang in the fab four but generally that was one, maybe two songs max. This time it was all on him. What didn’t help was Eric Clapton was trying to kick a heroin habit during this period. Taking methadone before the concert started the guitarist picked up the wrong guitar to play ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’ the first time the two played the song live together. Ringo sang his hit ‘It Don’t Come Easy’, Leon Russell took the front of the stage in a medley of ‘Jumping Jack Flash and Youngblood’ and Billy Preston performed ‘That’s The Way God Planned it’
Bob Dylan was so nervous before the show he didn’t show up to the rehearsals. He hadn’t performed in the USA for half a decade. Dylan did an intimate acoustic set with the backing of Harrison, Leon Russell and Ringo who swapped the drum kit for a tambourine. He played five songs and then handed the microphone back to the host.
The concert ended with the supporting single ‘Bangla Desh’ merging into chants of Hare Krishna by everyone who had performed on stage and the audience. The second set in the evening was slightly rearranged and by reports was the better performance of the two.
The concert was recorded as a triple album, Harrison’s second in as many years, and caught on camera to be released in cinemas the following year. The album caused a label headache with the different artists on the same recording, mainly Dylan’s, Columbia. The negotiations ended up with the record on Capitol and the cassette on Columbia. The concert raised $250,000 (about $ 1.7 million in today’s money) for the people of Bangladesh. They would have to wait a while for the money though.
Due to a paperwork error, proceeds for the people of Bangladesh were delayed. Failure to tick a box on a form meant that the now 10 million refugees had to wait for help. Let’s be honest paperwork is not ‘rock n roll’. There is a damning article in Rolling Stone that is blocked by a paywall. It indicates that former dodgy manager Allen Klein was taking profits from the record. He even appeared in court with the promoter, Pete Bennett, on tax evasion but was acquitted. Bennett wasn’t so lucky.
In 2005 despite several failures to release it on video, the concert was released on DVD with all proceeds going to the UNICEF refugee cause, which was now called the George Harrison Fund for UNICEF.
Despite the problems after the event, the concert set a blueprint for musicians using their reach for charity. When Live Aid was forming, organiser Bob Geldof spoke to Harrison for advice and ever since the same process of the charity concert has used this. Just now like everything on a bigger scale.
The Beat Marches On is a music blog written by Jimmy Whitehead. Jimmy has been blogging for six years specialising in Sports (especially American Football). If you want to follow Jimmy on Twitter: @Jimmy_W1987
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The websites used for research were:
How George Harrison Pulled Off ‘The Concert For Bangladesh’ | uDiscover (udiscovermusic.com)
How the Concert For Bangladesh changed the celebrity fundraiser (thecurrent.org)
The Concert for Bangladesh – George Harrison | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic
Concert For Bangladesh 50th Anniversary: The Original Celebrity Benefit Event : Goats and Soda : NPR
Why ‘Concert for Bangladesh’ in 1971 was a gamechanger | Dhaka Tribune
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