George Harrison Didn’t Want to Die as the ‘Record Producer,’ ‘Lead Guitarist,’ or Even a Beatle: ‘I’m Unlimited’
George Harrison had some conflicting thoughts on his legacy. Mostly, the former Beatle didn’t think people would remember him years after he died. If anyone did remember him, he didn’t want them to think of him as one thing. He wasn’t just a lead guitarist, record producer, or Beatle.
George Harrison didn’t think anyone would remember him after he died
For some reason, George didn’t think many people would remember him years after his death. He spoke about his legacy with his wife, Olivia. She was surprised by what her husband said.
Olivia told the LA Times that George knew his music, especially his triple album, All Things Must Pass, “meant things to people. He knew it helped people in their lives — people wrote to him, they told him. And he said, ‘Even if it’s one person, even if it helps somebody, then that’s great.’ But he wasn’t concerned about how he would be remembered,” Olivia said.
Olivia couldn’t believe George thought people wouldn’t remember him. She added, ‘Not that he didn’t want to be remembered, but he didn’t expect to be remembered. Which I always thought was impossible.”
George was humble and didn’t consider himself the best in anything he did in life. However, he made a mistake by thinking no one would remember his music. He made a significant enough impact, wearing whichever hat.
George didn’t want people to remember him for just one thing
The former Beatle might not have expected people to remember him, but if they did, he didn’t want them to remember him for just one thing. George put many different hats on during his long career.
He was the lead guitarist, the film and record producer, and, of course, the Beatle. The press and fans never seemed to forget he was the latter. Still, none of those titles completely described George.
According to Joshua M. Greene’s Here Comes The Sun: The Spiritual And Musical Journey Of George Harrison, George said, “I don’t want to die as ‘George Harrison record producer’ or ‘George Harrison lead
guitarist’ or even just a Beatle. They’re all me—but they’re not really me. The moment people start typecasting, then it’s time to move on. I’m unlimited. We’re all unlimited.”
George told Rolling Stone, George once said, “The Beatles exist apart from myself. I am not really Beatle George.
“Beatle George is like a suit or shirt that I once wore on occasion, and until the end of my life people may see that shirt and mistake it for me. I play a little guitar, write a few tunes, make a few movies, but none of that’s really me. The real me is something else.”
Coming from the person the press labeled unjustly as “the quiet Beatle,” it’s understandable that George would be uncomfortable with typecasting.
What the former Beatle did want to be remembered for when he died
If George was unlimited, he didn’t want people to remember him as one thing. However, George did want people to remember him for one thing, at least according to his wife.
Olivia told the Sunday Times that George wanted, most of all, to be remembered as a gardener. “One who wrote one or two good tunes.” George loved gardening and spent most of his time doing it around his property.
Whatever George thought about his legacy and being remembered, people will undoubtedly continue to reflect on his music career, in and out of The Beatles, the most.
