The Concert for Bangladesh
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- This article is about the concert and film. For the album, see The Concert for Bangla Desh.
| The Concert for Bangladesh | |
|---|---|
 The movie poster. |
|
| Directed by | Saul Swimmer |
| Produced by | George Harrison Allen Klein |
| Starring | George Harrison Bob Dylan Ravi Shankar Ringo Starr Eric Clapton Leon Russell Billy Preston |
| Music by | Phil Spector (producer) |
| Editing by | Richard E. Brooks |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox Apple Corps |
| Release date(s) |  March 23, 1972 |
| Running time | 95 min. |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| Official website | |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
The Concert For Bangladesh was the event title for two benefit concerts organized by George Harrison and held on the afternoon and evening of August 1, 1971, playing to a total of 40,000 people at Madison Square Garden in New York. It was first benefit concert of its magnitude in world history. An album was released later in 1971 and a concert film was released in 1972, with later releases for home video. In 2005, the film was re-issued on DVD accompanied by a new documentary. The concert raised US$243,418.50 for Bangladesh relief, which was administered by UNICEF. Sales of the album and DVD continue to benefit the George Harrison Fund for UNICEF.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Background
As East Pakistan struggled to become the separate state of Bangladesh (see Bangladesh Liberation War), the tremendous political and military turmoil led to a massive refugee problem in India. This problem was compounded by the 1970 Bhola cyclone, bringing torrential rains causing devastating floods and threatening a humanitarian disaster.
Bengali musician Ravi Shankar consulted his friend George Harrison regarding a means of providing help to the situation. Harrison recorded the single "Bangla Desh" to raise awareness and pushed Apple Records to release Shankar's single "Joi Bangla" in a dual-pronged effort to raise funds.
Shankar also asked Harrison's advice regarding a small fund-raising concert in the United States. Instead, Harrison took over and persuaded his friends to join him at a large concert at Madison Square Garden. The event was organised within five weeks.
Harrison first asked his fellow Beatles to appear. John Lennon agreed to take part in the concert, however Harrison stipulated that Lennon's wife Yoko Ono not perform with him. Lennon agreed, but left New York two days before the event following an argument with Ono regarding his and Harrison's agreement that she not participate.[citations needed] Paul McCartney declined because of the bad feelings caused by The Beatles' legal problems on their break-up. Ringo Starr, however, readily agreed to appear.
[edit] Concert program
Ravi Shankar and the sarodist Ali Akbar Khan opened the concert with recital of Indian music consisting of the rāga, "Bangla Dhun".
It was the first live appearance for George Harrison since the breakup of The Beatles. Eric Clapton made his first public appearance since the end of the five-month Derek and the Dominos tour the previous December. Clapton was still in the grip of a heroin addiction, and had been unable to attend any rehearsals until the final soundcheck. This was Clapton's first live performance of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and was the first time the public knew that it was he that played the solo on the Beatles recording.[citation needed]
Musical help was also on hand from Billy Preston, Leon Russell, Klaus Voormann, Jim Keltner, Badfinger a large horn section put together by Jim Horn and other musicians, including Carl Radle, Jesse Ed Davis, Don Preston and a host of backing singers organized by Don Nix.
Bob Dylan made his first stage appearance since the Isle of Wight Festival in August 1969. Apart from sitting in for a few numbers with The Band on New Year 1972 and an unannounced appearance backing John Prine on harmonica at a Greenwich Village club, he did not play live again until January 1974.
[edit] The film
Both the afternoon and evening shows were filmed and recorded for an album, with Phil Spector overseeing the sound recording. The film, released in 1972, combined images from both shows with George Harrison's preference of the performances of the songs.
Harrison later complained that half the camera operators appeared to have been indulging in illegal substances, which left the focus of some shots rather soft.[citation needed]
The opening of the film features footage from a press conference to announce the concert with Harrison and Shankar. Harrison is asked by a reporter: "With all the enormous problems in the world, how did you happen to choose this one to do something about?"
"Because I was asked by a friend if I would help, you know, that's all," was Harrison's reply.
The scene then shifts to outside Madison Square Garden, and news coverage by WABC-TV reporter Geraldo Rivera, who interviews fans who have camped out for tickets to the shows.
The concert begins with a performance by Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan. Harrison introduces the set and both he and Shankar attempt to convey the intricacies of Indian classical music to the audience. Shankar additionally asked the audience not to smoke during the performance. Shankar and Khan then proceed to tune their instruments and then stop after about 90 seconds. The audience, apparently believing they had heard an entire piece, respond with enthusiastic applause, to which Shankar replies: "Thank you, if you appreciate the tuning so much, I hope you will enjoy the program more." They then launch into a 17-minute rāga.
After an interlude of footage from backstage, showing Spector, Harrison and other performers making their way to the stage, Harrison starts off the rock portion with a string of songs from his hit album, All Things Must Pass.
He is backed by a large band, including two drummers, Ringo Starr and Jim Keltner matching strokes, pianist Leon Russell, organist Billy Preston, two lead guitarists, Eric Clapton and Jesse Ed Davis, Badfinger on rhythm guitars, a horn section and a small choir of backing vocalists, many of whom are also playing tambourines. He then turns the concert over to his friends.
During Preston's song, "That's the Way God Planned It", the organist gets up from his bench and dances across the stage and back again. This footage is taken during the evening performance. Starr sings his hit song "It Don't Come Easy" and appears flustered as he forgets some of the words. Russell offers a rock and roll medley and Harrison performs some of hits he wrote with The Beatles. Bob Dylan appears for a semi-acoustic set of his songs, and the film is capped off with two more songs, closing with Harrison's song, "Bangla Desh".
[edit] Performers
[edit] Main performers
- Ravi Shankar, sitar and Ali Akbar Khan, sarod
- Backed by Alla Rakha, tabla, and Kamala Chakravarty, tamboura
- George Harrison – Vocals, guitars
- Ringo Starr – Vocals, Drums, tambourine
- Leon Russell – Vocals, piano
- Billy Preston – Vocals, organ
- Bob Dylan – Vocals, guitar, harmonica
[edit] Backing musicians
- Klaus Voormann – Bass guitar
- Jim Keltner – Drums
- Badfinger – Rhythm guitars, backing vocals
- Pete Ham, Tom Evans, Joey Molland and Mike Gibbins (percussion)
- Jesse Ed Davis – Lead guitar
- Don Preston – Lead guitar, vocals
- Carl Radle – Bass guitar
- The Hollywood Horns: Jim Horn, Allan Beutler, Chuck Findley, Jackie Kelso, Lou McCreary, Ollie Mitchell
- Backing vocalists: Don Nix, Jo Green, Jeanie Greene, Marlin Greene, Dolores Hall, Claudia Linnear
[edit] Performances in the film
[edit] Ravi Shankar set
- "Bangla Dhun" – traditional raga, performed by Ravi Shankar, sitar; Ali Akbar Khan, sarod; Alla Rakha, tabla; Kamala Chakravarty, tamboura
[edit] George Harrison set
All songs composed and performed by George Harrison.
- "Wah-Wah"
- "My Sweet Lord"
- "Awaiting On You All"
[edit] George Harrison and Friends set
- "That's The Way God Planned It" – Composed and performed by Billy Preston
- "It Don't Come Easy" – Composed and performed by Ringo Starr
- "Beware of Darkness" – Composed and performed by George Harrison; featuring Leon Russell on guest vocals
- "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" – Composed and performed by George Harrison; featuring Eric Clapton on lead guitar
- "Jumpin' Jack Flash"/"Young Blood" – Composed by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards/Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller and Doc Pomus; performed by Leon Russell, with additional vocals by George Harrison and Don Preston on "Youngblood"
- "Here Comes the Sun" – Composed and performed by George Harrison
[edit] Bob Dylan set
All songs written and performed by Bob Dylan, with George Harrison on Fender Stratocaster, Leon Russell on Klaus Voormann's custom-painted Fender Precision Bass and Ringo Starr on tambourine
- "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall"
- "It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry"
- "Blowin' In The Wind"
- "Just Like A Woman"
[edit] Encore set
- "Something" – composed and performed by George Harrison
- "Bangla Desh" – Composed and performed by George Harrison
[edit] Songs not in film
- "Mr. Tambourine Man" – written and performed by Bob Dylan; from the concert and included only on the album, The Concert for Bangla Desh.
- "Love Minus Zero/No Limit" – written and performed by Bob Dylan; recorded in the afternoon show and included as an extra in the 2005 DVD.
- "If Not for You" – written and performed by Bob Dylan with George Harrison on harmony vocals and steel-string acoustic guitar with Klaus Voormann on electric bass; for a soundcheck and included as an extra on the 2005 DVD.
- "Come on in My Kitchen" – composed by Robert Johnson and performed by Leon Russell, vocals and piano; George Harrison on backing vocals and guitar; Billy Preston on organ, Ringo Starr and Jim Keltner on drums and Eric Clapton, lead guitar; performed during a sound check and included as an extra in the 2005 DVD.
[edit] 2005 DVD issue
A two-disc special edition DVD of The Concert for Bangladesh was issued in 2005, with the concert on disc one and a 2005 documentary, The Concert for Bangladesh Revisited with George Harrison and Friends, on the second disc.
Performers interviewed for the documentary include Ravi Shankar, Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, Billy Preston, Jim Keltner, Jim Horn, Leon Russell and Klaus Voormann, who offer their recollections of the concert. George Harrison talks about organizing the concert in voiceovers only. Other interviews are with Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner and Live Aid organizer Bob Geldof, who talk of the historic importance of the event, as well as Apple Corps executive Neil Aspinall.
The documentary reveals how quickly the concert came together, with Harrison working the phone during June and July of 1971 to ask his friends to join the show. Madison Square Garden was booked for August 1 because it was the only open date available. Musicians began gathering in New York about a week beforehand for rehearsals.
Notably absent from the preperations was Clapton, who was in the grips of heroin addiction. Harrison says in the documentary that Clapton was booked on every airline flight from London to New York City for a week before the show. With Clapton still absent, lead guitarists started "hanging around", hoping to be asked to join. Harrison tapped Jesse Ed Davis, who had played in Taj Mahal's band, and bassist Klaus Voormann volunteered to work with Davis in rehearsals. Another musician, the Mothers of Invention's Don Preston, joined on lead guitar as well. Organizers then Telexed Clapton that he did not have to come, but Clapton insisted he would play and finally showed up a day before the concert. He performed without benefit of rehearsal, and "he was brilliant," Harrison said.
Clapton, for his part, recalls the time as a period of "retirement" and that "I really made it hard for myself" in the concert, choosing to play a hollow-body Gibson Byrdland guitar for the bulk of the songs, including his solo on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", when a solid-body electric guitar (such as a Fender Stratocaster or Gibson Les Paul) would have been more appropriate.
There are also short features on the making of the film, the release of the album and the artwork and concert photography. Along with the extensive collection of still photos for the album package, stills photographer Barry Feinstein reveals that the photo used on the cover of Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. II was taken by him during the concert.
[edit] Album release
An album of the concerts were released as a triple-LP box set (later a 2-CD set), produced by Harrison and Phil Spector. This record was Dylan's first official live release.
While the LP was issued on Apple Records (distributed by Capitol Records in the US and EMI worldwide), tape distribution (cassette and 8-track cartridge) was given to Columbia Records, Bob Dylan's label, in exchange for being allowed to include his set as part of the package. When the album was reissued on CD in 1992, Columbia (now owned by Sony Music) in turn reissued the cassette version.
The two-CD set was re-released in 2001, and Harrison had been working on a remastered and expanded deluxe edition prior to his death. It was released in October 2005 by Apple and Rhino Entertainment along with the film on a special edition two-DVD set.
[edit] Popular culture
The concert was satirized in two episodes episode of The Simpsons (Like Father, Like Clown, and I'm with Cupid). In the former, Krusty plays it while a visitor at the Simpsons household, and in the latter, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon has in his record collection, the Concert Against Bangladesh, with a picture of a mushroom cloud on the cover, reflecting the popular perception of Hindu-Muslim rivalry in the region. In reality, India supported Bangladesh during its struggle for independence.
[edit] References
- ^ The Concert for Bangladesh and Friends Revisited With George Harrison and Friends, 2005 DVD.
