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David Crosby was friends with George Harrison, and he also helped change the trajectory of his music career and life. After Crosby gave Harrison a Ravi Shankar album, Harrison and Shankar would go on to have a fruitful musical and spiritual relationship. Crosby didn’t realize the importance of this at the time, but Harrison told him that he made a significant impact on his life with his gift.

A black and white picture of George Harrison with long hair. David Crosby turns to face the camera.
George Harrison and David Crosby | Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images; Robert Altman/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

David Crosby said he was better friends with George Harrison than any other Beatle

Crosby liked all of the Beatles, but he explained that he was closest with Harrison.

“I was friends with George Harrison. He was the Beatle who I was closest to,” Crosby told Goldmine in 2022. “I was friends with all of them and I am still friends with Paul and Ringo, but I was closest with George.”

They played music together, but Crosby also enjoyed just talking with Harrison.

“I would go to his house for dinner,” Crosby said. “We hung out. We talked a lot. He was very friendly. We played a bunch of music together. We had a long and fruitful relationship.”

He appreciated Harrison’s dedication to being a good person.

“I was very taken with George. I liked him a lot,” he told Music Connection in 2022. “Always did, right from the start. Very sincere. Very friendly and trying hard to be a decent human being. And that appeals to me to no end.”

David Crosby gave George Harrison an album that would change his life

Because he liked Harrison so much, he gave him one of Shankar’s albums. Crosby had only recently discovered the artist and introduced his music to Harrison.

“So, I had just been turned on to Ravi Shankar by a friend in the States,” he said. “And I had an album by Ravi in my suitcase. I gave it to George.”

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The album proved highly influential to Harrison. He began incorporating Indian instruments into his music. He also began a lifelong spiritual journey with Shankar’s guidance. Harrison told Crosby that he was the one who introduced him to Indian music, thus setting him on this path. 

“Now that had repercussions,” Crosby said. “George told me later that I turned him on to Indian music. I have trouble believing that. I think there were other people who helped do that. But that’s what he told me. God bless me. George liked Indian music, got interested in it and wound up going to India. When he was in India he met a guru, a teacher that he liked.”

Ravi Shankar became a musical guru to the Beatle

Harrison ultimately formed a close personal relationship with Shankar. He said the other artist became a musical guru. He also guided Harrison on his spiritual journey, as music and spirituality were intrinsically linked to him.

“Ravi’s my musical Guru, but the whole musical thing was too much just to be able to appreciate it whether I play or not,” Harrison said, per the book George Harrison on George Harrison. “I’ve never been knocked out with anything for so long. But then later I realized that there wasn’t the real thing, that was still only a little stepping stone for me to see. Through the music you reach the spiritual but the music’s very involved with the spiritual JBS [a reference to a Hindu holy triad — brothers Jagannath and Balabhadra and sister Subhadra — worshiped by members of the Hare Krishna movement] we know from Hari Krishna we just heard. It’s so attuned to the spiritual scene, it depends how spiritual the musician is.”

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