All I Got to Be is to, Be Happy! (Dedication to the Ever-Lovely George Harrison)

The ever-heavenly Friar Park, former home of George Harrison.

  Last year was when I really started my Beatles obsession. I had known the Beatles before and had actually a large liking of songs like "Hey Jude" and "A Day in the Life," but I hardly knew anything else. This all changed when I heard "She Loves You"- it was like I was being transported into another time when things were simpler and the music was happier. As I'd learn, the 60's weren't all fun and games, but that didn't stop me from my obsession.

A (terribly put together) panorama of my room from about three or so months ago. It's missing a few guitars, but the band-obsessed point definitely gets across.

  At first, my favorite Beatle was Paul McCartney. Ah, Mr. McCharmly, the "cute" Beatle. When I first started my plunge into Beatlemania, I didn't know too many of the Beatles' personalities. I just knew that Paul was cute and in my opinion was the best singer vocally, and most of his songs were upbeat and catchy. In my books at the time, that instantly meant favorite.

Who couldn't love that face? ;)

  As time went on, I started to look more into the Beatles themselves, and not just as a band. I soon took a liking to George Harrison, the awkward and shy guitarist with a liking for Indian meditation. I instantly connected to him (I call last year my "finding myself year," I looked for a lot spiritually and discovered a lot about myself.) and realized George was my favorite.

And who couldn't love this face, either? ;)

  My Beatles obsession instantly branched into my likings of other bands, but it all started with the "originals."Since I loved George so dearly last year, my iPod consisted mainly of Beatles songs and his solo career. But as time went on, my iPod erased many, so I had to re-save songs, sadly skipping over many George classics. I still loved him, believe me- I just forgot about many of his songs.

George Harrison c. 1968 is seriously the most underrated George ever. I mean, look at his hair! He looks DEVASTATINGLY handsome, mmm mmm mmm.

  Last night I stumbled upon George's solo career again, and believe me, I've fallen in love. I've decided not to include a playlist for today because 8tracks only lets you upload two songs per artist, and there is a minimum of 8 tracks total. So I decided I could just recommend some for you! Okay, here we go. (Warning: This is mainly going to be me rambling. Enter at your own risk!)

Each Rating is out of TEN stars. ★★★★★★★★★★

1. "My Sweet Lord" from All Things Must Pass, 1970 ★★★★★★★★★★ 10/10 (What a pure CLASSIC this song is. It was George's first #1 hit when he went solo, and it's easy to see why. I could go on and on about this song but I won't- you'll simply have to listen to its beautiful acoustic guitar, backing vocals, and passionate lead vocals by George. Passion in what you're singing is so sexy- guys, take note from this!)
2. "Awaiting On You All" from All Things Must Pass, 1970 ★★★★★★★★★★ 10/10 There is a slowed down version which I love, and the album version is good, too- but the best is by far the live one. This song is just George saying that the lord is awaiting on everyone to give up their material possessions and just chant, which would lead to being "free." Although I'm not religious, this tune seriously kicks ASS.)
3. "The Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let it Roll)" from All Things Must Pass, 1970 ★★★★★★★★★★ 10/10 This was my favorite George song for nearly a year. His guitar work is so light and airy, a thing common in tons of solo George songs, and it really makes you feel calm and cloud-like.)
4. "Run of the Mill" from All Things Must Pass, 1970 ★★★★★★★ 7/10 (This song is just.. cute. I don't know how else to describe it but cute. It's slow and calm and full of plenty of instrumentation often featured in typical 70's songs, but something about this makes it much better. I highly recommend the demo version as well, it's even cuter.)
5. "Apple Scruffs" from All Things Must Pass, 1970 ★★★★★★★ 7/10 (This song was written about the Apple Scruffs- a group of girls who loved the Beatles and hung outside of their Apple Corps. and Apple Studios when they were recording. It's a simple ditty, and is full of harmonica and campy-style guitar, which I happen to love. Also- this song makes me CRAVE apple pie. Just thought I'd share that, heh.) 
6. "Wah-Wah" from All Things Must Pass, 1970 ★★★★★★★★★★ 10/10 (This is the most kick ass song, EVER. And I mean EVER! It starts off with this great guitar riff, which just leads into more and more instruments building up, and it's all done so damn LOUD! I fucking love it. Plus it's about John and Paul blabbing and giving George a headache. Revenge is sweet, and often times makes AMAZING songs.)
7. "Isn't it a Pity" from All Things Must Pass, 1970 ★★★★★★★ 7/10 (This song was written about George's love with Pattie Boyd, and I think it's absolutely beautiful. That is all.)
8. "Don't Let Me Wait Too Long" from Living in the Material World, 1973 ★★★★★★ /10(This song is just.. cute. But a different type of cute from "Run of the Mill." This song is more upbeat, and a lot happier. Plus it's SUPER catchy.)
9. "Try Some, Buy Some" from Living in the Material World, 1973 ★★★★★★★ 7/10 (This song is so light and calm and airy and just pretty- but lyrically, it lacks, so hence, the 7.)
10. "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)" from Living in the Material World, 1973 ★★★★★★★★★ 9/10 (This was George's second #1 hit, and one of the first songs I learned to play on guitar, along with "My Sweet Lord." It's very happy and calm, but just lacks the passion I think "My Sweet Lord" did.)
11. "Miss O'Dell" from Living in the Material World, 1973 ★★★★★★★★ 8/10 (If you haven't read Miss O'Dell by Chris O'Dell, I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT! That's all I have to say. Read the book to find out why I like this song, Mwahahah.)
12. "Ding Dong, Ding Dong" from Dark Horse, 1974 ★★★★★★★★  /10 (This is a novelty song, of course- but it is my absolute favorite to listen to on New Year's Eve. Why? Because it's one of the very few New Years songs there actually are! I luuuurve it.)
13. "So Sad" from Dark Horse, 1974 ★★★★★★★ 7/10(This is the only song we know of written about George and Pattie's breakup, and, since you all know about my extreme Pattie Boyd love, it means I love this song too. The lyrics are great until the boring chorus- hence the 7.)
14. "The Answer's at The End" from Extra Texture! (Read All About It), 1975 ★★★★★★★★★ /10 (Sadly, this is the only song on this flop of an album I actually like. This is a slower song, but it's so beautiful, and its message is lovely. I recommend this song highly as well.)
15. "Beautiful Girl" from Thirty Three & 1/3, 1976 8/10 (This was written about George's second wife, Olivia. I love this song so dearly, please Georgie, write something like this about me...? :)
16. "Blow Away" from George Harrison, 1979 ★★★★★★★★ 8/10(This is one of those songs that just sounds cheesy, but is so cute and upbeat and lovable. You have to listen to it. Plus the music video features a giant rubber duck!)
17. "Love Comes to Everyone" from George Harrison, 1979 ★★★★★★★★★  9/10 (I really love this song. Since it's from 1979 its starting to build up to the cheesiness of the 80's, but it's still super cute and I just love it so much.)
18. "Got My Mind Set On You" from Cloud Nine, 1987 ★★★★★★★★★★ 10/10 (After a very long hiatus, George came back with this, his final #1 hit. Although the lyrics are from another song and are kind of creatively lacking, this song will get stuck in your head for DAYS. And you will love every second of it.) 
19. "When We Was Fab" from Cloud Nine, 1987 ★★★★★★★★ 8/10 (This song.. I don't know how to describe it. It's dark, yet upbeat. Take a listen yourself, I guess..?)
20. "This is Love" from Cloud Nine, 1987 ★★★★★★★★★ 9/10 (This is the ultimate 80's love song. I love it so so so much, I wanna squeeze it and shower it in kisses.)

This Will Be, an Everlasting Love..

 In the midst of all their fame, musicians are actually normal people. Although they may act stuck up some of the time, in reality, they were just regular people like us who got caught up in the midst of fame. Along with being normal people, they lead normal lives just like us. This includes falling in love and getting married. Sadly, none of the images below are of couples that are still together today. Unfortunately in the rock and roll world, relationships don't last long. But while we did, these power couples enjoyed their lives to the fullest with the ones they loved.

This may just be my favorite picture of both Bob Dylan and Joan Baez. Although the couple only dated briefly and were never married, they were a powerful folk-rock duo who shook the nation with their meaningful lyrics and powerful voices.

Again, another favorite. This is John Lennon kissing his wife of six years Cynthia Powell. The two had a child together named Julian, but split in 1968 when John left Cynthia for Yoko Ono. Although some may argue that John and Yoko are true loves, I definitely believe John is Cynthia's true love. Just look at how innocently they kiss, like it's their first time!

Again... another favorite. Perhaps all the pictures on this list are. Here are Pattie Boyd and George Harrison, who were married for eight years from early 1966 to 1974. Their marriage split because George's friend Eric Clapton was in love with Pattie and eventually won her over, but Eric and Pattie split in the 80's. George married Olivia Arias and they had a son named Dhani together, and they remained married until George's death exactly eleven years ago today, on November 29, 2001. Even though Pattie and George's marriage split, the two are a timeless couple and a shining example of sixties love. In later years, Pattie said this this in her autobiography, Wonderful Tonight:

Mick Jagger and Marianne Faithfull are another wonderful example of love in the 1960's. The two split joined together in 1965 and split in 1970 after Faithfull had miscarried Jagger's child and became addicted to cocaine. She had really loved him, and just from looking at this photograph, you can tell he really loved her, too. It's a shame the two didn't stick together.

Here is an example at true love at it's finest: Ringo Starr still loves his bride, Maureen Cox even after she became a mother of three. Although the two's marriage was rocky due to Starr's alcohol problems and Cox's alleged affair with George Harrison, while they were in love, they were in love deep.

Pamela Courson and Jim Morrison are an example of love gone tragic, a rocky relationship with no real ending. The two met in 1965 and stayed together until Morrison's tragic end at just age 27 in 1971. Pamela followed Jim also at age 27 in 1974. The two were never legally married, but being together as long as they did, it's a shame they didn't. They really loved each other, and after Jim's death, Pamela was reportedly heard saying she looked forward to seeing Jim again. She overdosed on heroin, the same way Jim supposedly died.

A couple traditionally left out of the public, Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant and wife Maureen Wilson were married on November 9th, 1968. This was shortly before Led Zeppelin's rise to fame, and they had a long marriage until their divorce in 1983. The couple had three children together, and were married much longer than many traditional rock and roll couples.

And where would we be without Paul McCartney and Linda Eastman? Together this couple have changed the views of peace and vegetarianism throughout the decades. Lasting from their marriage in 1969 to Linda's death in 1996 at age 56 from breast cancer. Although Linda's time was cut short, Paul had continued her legacy and kept their love alive. The two have three children together.

The Lover's Guide to Happiness. from itsamodmodworld on 8tracks Radio.

1. "If" - Bread

2. "Thank You" - Led Zeppelin (Written by Robert Plant about his wife Maureen, pictured above)

3. "If I Fell" - The Beatles

4. "Don't Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder)" - The Beach Boys (Allegedly George Harrison's son Dhani's wedding song when he was married this year to Sola Karadotier.)

5. "Something" - The Beatles (Written about Pattie Boyd by George Harrison)

6. "Oh My Love" - John Lennon

7. "All My Love" - Led Zeppelin (Supposedly written partially about Robert Plant's wife Maureen, but mainly written about his son Karac, who passed away at age five in 1977.)

8. "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)"  - Edison Lighthouse