By George! Six Decades of THE BEATLES! – Sixty years ago, on February 9, 1964, four young Englishmen waited nervously on the stage of America’s #1 TV show.
“Ladies and Gentlemen—The Beatles!” exclaimed Ed Sullivan. Lights hit the stage. The audience, mostly teenaged girls, screamed ecstatically. For The Beatles, the biggest night of their lives unfolded and “Beatlemania” exploded.
Eighty-one years ago, on February 25, 1943, the youngest Beatle George Harrison, was born. During the Ed Sullivan Show, he must’ve been on Cloud Nine. In two weeks, he’d be celebrating his 21st birthday while on tour of America as lead guitarist of the world’s biggest band.
John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr launched a musical Revolution. Combining genius songwriting, innovative recording techniques, fusion of world music and exotic instruments, they evolved within the span of three years from the pop/rock “I Want to Hold Your Hand” to the psychedelic “Strawberry Fields Forever.”
The Beatles spearheaded the changing world of the 1960s. They supported civil rights and peace. Their sense of style transformed art, fashion, and slang. Critics blamed them for dissolving taboos against recreational drugs and premarital sex.
George, the “Quiet Beatle,” was Something of a Dark Horse who actually had a lot to say. His friend, sitar virtuoso Ravi Shankar, exposed him to Indian music and spirituality. Through George, The Beatles became the first global holistic influencers. Meditation, yoga, vegetarianism, Hindu and Buddhist spiritual beliefs about chakras, auras, karma, and reincarnation, were introduced into Western society largely by George Harrison.
The Beatles disbanded in 1970. To paraphrase Rolling Stone Magazine, The Beatles did it all, did it right, and then went their separate ways to become successful solo artists. Dreams of a “Fab Four” reunion died in 1980 when John Lennon was murdered by a deranged stalker.
I discovered The Beatles as a teenager toward the end of the 33⅓ LP era. While The Beatles aren’t my generation’s music, neither is Beethoven, but I listen to both because great music is timeless. True Beatles’ fans have a favorite, mine is George Harrison.
As a young psychic medium, George’s spirituality resonated with me. My parents, also mediums, often discussed interfaith beliefs with me. They admired George’s quote, “All religions are branches of one big tree, it doesn’t matter what you call God, just so long as you call.”
As a guitar-playing teenager, I idolized rock lead guitarists like George and his best friend Eric Clapton.
During law school, I attended Oxford University. George lived Somewhere in England at his estate Friar Park in Henley-on-Thames. One afternoon after class, my friend Kathleen took the train with me to Henley-on-Thames.
We located Friar Park and stood before a large iron fence with a massive gate in front of a small ornate house. We wondered why George lived in such a diminutive home—until we realized the fences extended a mile in each direction. Friar Park spans over 60 acres. This was the gatehouse.
Beyond the main gate was a sign which had images of several countries’ flags indicating the different languages posted on the sign. At the top was the British flag, with the post, “PRIVATE PROPERTY = ABSOLUTELY NO ADMITTANCE.”
The US Flag’s post had Extra Texture, which read, “GET YOUR ASS OUT’A HERE.”
Kathleen gasped when I pressed the intercom button on the gate.
“May I help you?” a proper English voice emerged from the intercom.
“I’m here to see George,” I replied feigning an English accent.
“And who might you be?”
“Uh—Eric Clapton.”
“You’re not Eric Clapton!”
“Oh yes, I am.”
“Oh no, you’re not—now go away and piss off!”
Kathleen and I joked we’d landed in a Monty Python skit. After all George was friends with the Monty Python comedy troupe who made my all-time favorite movie “The Life of Brian,” a satire about how people can be Brainwashed by religion.
Later at the train station, while we waited on the platform an elderly woman asked, “What brings two young Americans to Henley-on-Thames?”
“We wanted to meet George Harrison,” Kathleen replied.
“He’s got quite a sense of humor he does George Harrison,” she explained. “My son’s the postman, and whenever George sees a delivery person he doesn’t know, he dashes to the pond in front of his mansion—and walks on the water!”
“What?” we replied in unison.
“There’s stepping stones just beneath the water’s surface. Makes it look like he’s walking on the water—like he really is God.”
Years later, George died of cancer in November 2001 at age 58. His last message was, “Everything else can wait, but the search for God cannot wait and love one another.”
George’s music helped me understand All Things Must Pass because we’re temporarily Living in the Material World. Nevertheless, my life changed that day. From then on, significant people in my life began to leave this material world.
The hardest losses were my parents. Mom passed suddenly from heart failure, and Dad a decade later after a lengthy battle with cancer. My friend RJ had given me tickets to see the legendary John Cleese of Monty Python. Unfortunately, the event was the day after Dad died.
Devastated, I didn’t want to go. “What are you gonna do—cry all day?” RJ asked. “Your Dad knew how much you like Monty Python—he’d want you to go.”
Entering the theater in a mental fog, it seemed everything was happening in slow motion, my grief a stark contrast to the thousands of cheerful people excited to see John Cleese. Docents stood next to boxes handing out forms for audience members to write a question for the comedy legend. In my delirium, I scribbled a question and slid it into a box.
When the curtains rose the elderly English comedic genius John Cleese was seated center stage next to his daughter. His distinctive voice resonated, “Let’s take some questions from the audience, shall we?”
His daughter retrieved a slip from a huge stack and read, “How did you meet George Harrison, and what was it like working with him?”
OH MY GOD! THAT’S MY QUESTION!
Chills flew through me clearing my mental fog. Feeling immersed in the energy of my parents’ love, I realized this was “spiritual synchronicity.” The chain of events that led me to this precise moment was guided by my parents from beyond the material world.
“Ah George—lovely man,” John Cleese said, “The best thing Monty Python ever did was the ‘Life of Brian,’ a movie spoofing Biblical epics. The character Brian was born next door to Jesus—people mistakenly believed Brian was the Messiah. The studio cut off funding, claiming it was blasphemy and too controversial.
“Then George Harrison saw the script and agreed to produce it—on one condition—we could make fun of religion—but not God. “George even mortgaged his Friar Park Estate to raise the money, said he really wanted to see the movie—those had to be the most expensive cinema tickets in history.
If it weren’t for George Harrison, there never would have been ‘The Life of Brian.’”
Cleese looked upwards and, with a sweeping gesture, put his hand to his lips and blew a kiss toward heaven and said, “Thank you, George.”
Mark Anthony, JD Psychic Explorer® (The Psychic Lawyer) is a fourth-generation psychic medium and Oxford-educated trial attorney. Mark travels to mystical locations in remote corners of the world to examine Ancient Mysteries and Supernatural Phenomena. Mark Anthony, the author of the multiple award-winning Pulitzer considered best seller THE AFTERLIFE FREQUENCY. His other bestsellers are EVIDENCE OF ETERNITY and NEVER LETTING GO. To schedule a reading with Mark, visit his website.
To schedule a reading with Mark, visit his website.
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