[Today: An all-star cast lights up the world's first benefit concert...]
In June of 1971, Ravi Shankar asked his friend George Harrison about organizing a concert in the United States to benefit war and weather-ravaged East Pakistan, which was struggling towards its independence as the state of Bangladesh. Harrison took the proverbial ball and ran with it, pulling together an all-star lineup of musicians and organizing The Concert For Bangladesh in a mere five weeks. The benefit consisted of two separate sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden on August 1, 1971, which were filmed for a movie of the same name.
The concerts included landmark performances by a variety of stars. Shankar opened the proceedings by playing a suite of Indian sitar music for the rapt Garden crowd. Harrison was making his first live post-Beatles appearance, and performed ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’ in concert for the first time. Eric Clapton played before an audience for the first time since the breakup of Derek & The Dominos. And amazingly, this was Bob Dylan’s only appearance in concert between 1969 and 1974. Not to be overshadowed, Leon Russell, Billy Preston, and Ringo Starr chipped in with fine performances of their own.
John Lennon initially agreed to appear at the shows, but backed out when Harrison asked that Yoko Ono not perform with him. It mattered little, as the benefit was a slam dunk success that raised $243,418.50 for the ‘United Nations Children’s Fund For Relief To Refugee Children Of Bangla Desh’. Fittingly, Harrison had the final word of the evening, closing the shows out with his original composition ‘Bangla Desh’. “I’ve never seen such distress” he sang, “Now won’t you lend your hand and understand/Relieve the people of Bangla Desh.”
Listen: It Don’t Come Easy
Tags: Billy Preston, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Leon Russell, Ravi Shankar, Ringo Starr, The Beatles, The Concert For Bangladesh
8 February 2008 at 8:39 am |
It was Ravi Shankar who thought of doing something for somebody. It was he who thought of Bangla Desh. It was his insight. His name should have been in the Madison Garden Square. Why does George Harrison get all the credit for this? It is Ravi Shankar’s name which should have been put in the walk of fame. We Bangla Desh people know this.
8 February 2008 at 8:52 am |
There is no question that Ravi Shankar was a driving force behind this benefit, and I apologize if that doesn’t come through in my write up.
Shankar also puts on the most moving performance of the entire concert. The audience was so into what he was doing that they applauded him while he was tuning up! The ragas he played that day clearly overshadow the rest of a star-studded bill, and are the epitomy of genius.
Ravi Shankar is the man. We who listen know this.
14 January 2009 at 12:22 pm |
[...] band Derek & The Dominos. During that time Clapton played one concert (George Harrison’s Concert For Bangladesh), gave no interviews, and developed an addiction to heroin. Pete Townshend was able to coax him out [...]