George Harrison Always Wanted His Generosity to Be Anonymous, According to Gary Wright
George Harrison always wanted his generosity to be anonymous, according to friend and fellow musician Gary Wright. The former Beatle grew up on generosity.
In Joshua M. Greene’s Here Comes The Sun: The Spiritual And Musical Journey Of George Harrison, George’s sister, Louise, said their mother taught them to be generous and kind to everyone. In George Harrison: Behind the Locked Door, Graeme Thomson wrote that from an early age, George “possessed an acute moral compass when it came to what he saw as the mistreatment of others.”
When George saw someone being bullied, he helped and gladly sat next to the smelly kid in class. George’s kindness carried into adulthood.
The Beatles’ producer, George Martin, never forgot George Harrison and his generosity
It quickly became evident to all who met George that his generosity had no limits. The Beatles’ producer, George Martin, witnessed it. In his book, Summer of Love: The Making of Sgt. Pepper, Martin wrote that George was one of the most generous people he ever knew.
“George always had a very pragmatic streak,” Martin wrote. “He never let the so-called glamour of show-business seduce him. He always saw through phony people very quickly.”
Martin continued, “He was the practical one, the one who could mend the amplifier or change the fuse. And he is one of the most generous people I know.
“If you were a friend of George in need, he would reach into his pocket and give you his last penny. Equally, if it were a matter of principle, he would defend you to the last. If ever I were in trouble, George Harrison is the kind of person I would like to be able to turn to.”
Martin may have constantly pushed George’s songs aside in The Beatles, but the producer still felt that George had his back. So did Gary Wright.
Gary Wright claimed George liked to keep his generosity private
In his memoir, Dream Weaver: Music, Meditation, And My Friendship With George Harrison, Wright wrote about George and his generosity. The former Beatle preferred his acts of generosity to be anonymous.
“He was very concerned for the well-being of others, often taking a personal interest in someone who was suffering,” the “Dream Weaver” singer wrote. “George was incredibly generous, and the beauty of his generosity was that he almost always wanted it to be anonymous.
“I was very touched by this and learned a great lesson through it: give — whether it be money, time, mental or moral support, prayers or whatever you choose — without expecting anything in return.”
So many of George’s friends experienced this, including rock journalist Al Aronowitz. In 1970, George and his wife, Pattie Boyd, “loaned” Aronowitz and his wife, who was battling cancer, rent money.
Whatever George’s reason was for giving the money, Aronowitz told Greene that it was “an exhibition of saintliness unequaled by any rock superstar I knew.”
“Part of George’s charm is that he always feels so inadequate to repay the world for what the world has given him,” Aronowitz said. “Acts of kindness have become an art with him.”
Keeping his acts of generosity under wraps became an art form too.
The former Beatle didn’t broadcast his generosity
George would’ve agreed with Wright’s assessment of him. During a 1987 interview on BBC Breakfast, George explained that he’d always been philanthropic. He just didn’t “shout about it.”
BBC Breakfast asked George if he’d consider doing something generous for his home, Liverpool. “I do, I mean I do a lot of things, but I do them without shouting about it nowadays,” George replied.
“I have a foundation, which we continue to give money out to people for various things. For instance, there was a thing in Liverpool where there was a school; they didn’t even have money for pencils for the kids. I mean, I can’t believe that, but that situation exists. So, we do things like that, buy them pencils or help buy wheelchairs, all kinds of things. But I just don’t shout about it.”
George spent most of his life doing random acts of generosity, but he never asked for anything in return, just privacy, which the media and fans rarely gave him. It was the price George paid, but he used his platform for good.
