Bangla Desh (song)
| "Bangla Desh" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||
| Single by George Harrison | ||||
| B-side | "Deep Blue" | |||
| Released | 30 July 1971 | |||
| Format | 7" | |||
| Recorded | 4-5 July 1971, United Western Recorders, Los Angeles | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 3:57 | |||
| Label | Apple Records R5912 | |||
| Writer(s) | George Harrison | |||
| Producer | George Harrison, Phil Spector | |||
| George Harrison singles chronology | ||||
|
||||
"Bangla Desh" is a song by George Harrison released on Apple Records as a charity single following the disasters, both political and natural, that had occurred in East Pakistan during the first half of 1971. Released in the US on 28 July that year, and in the UK on 30 July − just days before the Harrison-sponsored Concert For Bangladesh shows at Madison Square Garden in New York − the single peaked at number 10 in Britain and number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100,[1]
Contents |
[edit] Background
"Bangla Desh" starts with the lyrics "My friend came to me, with sadness in his eyes / Told me that he wanted help, before his country dies.'" These lines refer to the conversation Harrison had with sitar virtuoso, mentor and friend Ravi Shankar, in which the latter asked Harrison to help his war-torn country in any way he could. The former Beatle responded by cutting short his work on Apple proteges Badfinger's new album, in London, and setting about enlisting friends and colleagues to help him stage an all-star benefit concert for the victims of the civil war, floods and resultant famine on the Indian subcontinent. So began a month of frantic activity as Harrison shuttled between New York, Los Angeles and London attending to the logistics of the project. Of his dedication to the Bengalis' cause, he would state in his autobiography eight years later: "I got tired of people saying 'But what can I do?' Also, the reluctance of the press to report the full details created the need to bring attention to it."[2]
Ravi Shankar would also record a benefit single at this time − the Harrison-produced "Joi Bangla", accompanied by sarod master Ali Akbar Khan and Shankar's regular tabla player, Alla Rakha.
[edit] Recording
With so little time to prepare and begin rehearsing for the planned UNICEF shows, the "Bangla Desh" single was rush-recorded at United Western Recorders in Hollywood, California, in early July. Phil Spector again co-produced, as he had on the ex-Beatle's hugely successful triple album All Things Must Pass the previous year. Joining them in the studio was Harrison's former bandmate Ringo Starr, along with Leon Russell and others. According to Harrison, it was Russell's idea to give the song its slow, emotive intro − to set out the reason for the singer's plea to "help us save some lives ... give some bread, get the starving fed'" and to explain the refugees' desperate plight.[3]
"Bangla Desh" marks the first occasion that Harrison worked with Jim Horn, the saxophonist who would go on to become a regular collaborator. It was also the first time that Starr drummed alongside Jim Keltner, so forming a drummer pairing that featured regularly on future Harrison and Starr solo projects, as well as for those of Harry Nilsson and other artists. Together with Eric Clapton, Billy Preston, Bob Dylan and the group Badfinger, all the musicians at the "Bangla Desh" session would join Harrison and Shankar on stage at Madison Square Garden on 1 August.
[edit] Personnel
The following musicians contributed to the recording of "Bangla Desh".[4]
- George Harrison – vocals, rhythm guitar, slide guitar, Moog synthesizer*
- Leon Russell – piano, harmonium*
- Jim Horn – tenor sax, baritone sax, horn arrangement
- Klaus Voorman – bass
- Ringo Starr – drums
- Jim Keltner – drums
- Chuck Findley – trumpet
* denotes unconfirmed credits. Author Simon Leng lists Billy Preston as having played organ,[5] but this is unlikely given Preston's distinctive style and the unobtrusive presence here of the organ-like keyboard (which, in fact, sounds more like a harmonium), and also that the instrument is heard only during the song's brief intro. Similarly, during the second half of the introduction (beginning with the line "Although I couldn't feel the pain, I knew I had to try"), what sounds like orchestrated strings can be heard; given the speed with which "Bangla Desh" was written, arranged, recorded and mixed, this part is likely to have been played on a Moog synthesizer, a device that Harrison frequently toyed with during the final years of the Beatles and in the early '70s.
[edit] Re-releases and legacy
Despite the song having been a sizable hit at the time, the studio version of "Bangla Desh" has only been available on compact disc on the compilation album The Best of George Harrison (1976), which has yet to be remastered since the CD format was released in the early 1990s. Harrison's highly charged live version, with which he closed the two UNICEF shows, is available on the 2005 re-release of The Concert For Bangladesh, however. The single's B-side, "Deep Blue", was only released on album for the first time when it was included as a bonus track on the 2006 remaster of Harrison's Living in the Material World album.
In 2004, "Bangla Desh" appeared in the final episode of Himalaya with Michael Palin. In 2010, AOL radio listeners chose "Bangla Desh" as one of the 10 Best George Harrison Songs, appearing at #10 on the list.[6]
[edit] Chart positions
| Chart (1971) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Swiss Singles Chart[7] | 2 |
| Norwegian VG-lista Singles Chart[8] | 3 |
| Dutch Singles Chart[9] | 7 |
| UK Singles Chart[10] | 10 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[11] | 23 |
| Japanese Oricon Singles Chart[12] | 47 |
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ Keith Badham, The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After the Break-Up 1970−2001, Omnibus Press (London, 2002), p. 49.
- ^ George Harrison, I Me Mine, Chronicle Books (San Francisco, CA, 2002), p. 220.
- ^ Harrison, I Me Mine, p. 220.
- ^ Simon Leng, While My Guitar Gently Weeps: The Music of George Harrison, Hal Leonard (Milwaukee, WI, 2006), pp 140−41.
- ^ Leng, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, p. 140.
- ^ [1] AOL, 2010.
- ^ "George Harrison - Bangla Desh - hitparade.ch". Swiss Music Charts. http://hitparade.ch/showitem.asp?interpret=George+Harrison&titel=Bangla+Desh&cat=s. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
- ^ "norwegiancharts.com George Harrison - Bangla Desh". VG-lista. http://norwegiancharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=George+Harrison&titel=Bangla+Desh&cat=s. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
- ^ "dutchcharts.nl - George Harrison - Bangla Desh". MegaCharts. http://austriancharts.at/showitem.asp?interpret=George+Harrison&titel=Bangla+Desh&cat=s. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
- ^ "Chart Stats George Harrison - Bangla Desh". The Official Charts Company. http://www.chartstats.com/songinfo.php?id=5669. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
- ^ "allmusic ((( George Harrison > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles )))". allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p4444/charts-awards/billboard-singles. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
- ^ "George Harrison - Chart Archives on the Japanese Oricon Top 100". Homepage1.nifty.com. http://homepage1.nifty.com/tuty/after_beatles_george_singlechartaction_japan.htm. Retrieved 23 April 2009.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
