Concert for Bangladesh

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Concert for Bangladesh ( English Concert for Bangladesh ) is the name of two concerts that took place in the afternoon and evening of August 1, 1971 in Madison Square Garden in New York in front of 40,000 spectators.

background

Ravi Shankar , born in Varanasi , India , but whose family came from what is now Upazila Kalia in the Narail district , near Jessore in Bangladesh , organized the concert with his friend George Harrison in order to raise funds for aid for Bangladeshi refugees, whose number is due to the Bangladeshi War had grown to ten million people. Harrison recorded the single Bangla Desh as a promotion for the planned concert . He also got Apple Records to release Ravi Shankar's single, Joi Bangla .

Ravi Shankar ( Sitar ) opened the concert together with Ali Akbar Khan ( Sarod ) with a 25-minute dance of Indian music, which was still a new experience for many listeners. So it came to Shankar's comment on the applause after tuning the instruments: “Thank you. If you appreciate the tuning so much, I hope you will enjoy the playing more ” . ). Eric Clapton performed with Derek and the Dominos after a five month tour . He was addicted to heroin at the time and needed the drug before he could begin his performance. Still, he had a breakdown and had to be brought back to his feet with methadone .

There was musical support from Ringo Starr , Billy Preston , Leon Russell , Klaus Voormann and Badfinger (together with Jim Horn, Carl Radle, Jesse Ed Davis, Don Preston and numerous background singers).

Bob Dylan appeared for the first time - since the Isle of Wight Festival in August 1969 - again. Apart from a brief appearance with The Band on New Year's 1972, he didn't play live again until January 1974.

The concert was recorded and released as a box of three LPs (later two CDs) entitled The Concert for Bangla Desh , produced by George Harrison and Phil Spector . The cover was designed by Tom Wilkes , who was also the festival's artistic director and photographer. A film of the concert was also produced, which is available on video and DVD.

The sale of the tickets raised an amount of $ 243,418.50. Shortly after the concerts, the money went to UNICEF , which used it to pay for relief goods and aid for Bangladesh.

Afternoon show

Concert for Bangladesh. In the center of the picture is George Harrison in a white suit, Eric Clapton to his right.

All songs, unless otherwise noted, by George Harrison

Evening show

  • Wah-wah
  • My sweet lord
  • That's the Way God Planned It (Preston)
  • It Don't Come Easy (Starkey)
  • Beware of Darkness
  • While My Guitar Gently Weeps
  • Jumpin 'Jack Flash (Jagger, Richards)
  • Young Blood (Leiber, Stoller, Pomus)
  • Here comes the sun
  • A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall (Dylan)
  • It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry (Dylan)
  • Blowin 'in the Wind (Dylan)
  • Mr. Tambourine Man (Dylan)
  • Just Like a Woman (Dylan)
  • Something
  • Bangla Desh

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Bruce Spizer: The Beatles Solo on Apple Records . New Orleans: Four Ninety-Eight Productions, 2005. ISBN 0-9662649-5-9 . Page 241.