George Harrison was born on February 24, 1943 as the son of Harold and Louise Harrison, in Liverpool, England. In 1954 he entered Liverpool Institute,a grade behind Paul McCartney. During 1956, Harrison formed his first group, the Rebels. He started jamming occasionally with his new acquaintance McCartney, and in 1958 McCartney introduced him to Lennon. Soon all three were playing in the Quarrymen, who later became the Silver Beetles and then the Beatles.
Harrison's early efforts at guitar playing were somewhat futile--he bought a guitar as a young adolescent, but found he couldn't understand the chording patterns. While he was experimenting with one of the screws, the instrument fell apart. In frustration Harrison hid the guitar in the closet and turned his efforts to the trumpet, where he met with a similar lack of success. Eventually one of his older brothers repaired the guitar, and on his next attempts Harrison managed to learn a few chords. After that he practiced diligently, listening to recordings of famed guitarists Chet Atkins and Duane Eddy in order to perfect his style.
Harrison played the part of lead guitarist. He sang back-up vocals. He played lead in "Roll Over Beethoven", "If I Needed Someone", and "I’m Happy Just to Dance With You". Nicknamed "The Darkhorse" and "The Mysterious Beatle", George Harrison was an Academy Award and Grammy Award-winning English musician. He married model Pattie Boyd on 21 January 1966, which included Paul McCartney was the best man. They separated after a few years, after she wasa found to have had an affair with Eric Clapton in the late 60's.
In 2001 it was disclosed that George was afflicted by an incurable form of brain cancer. He died of cancer on November 29, 2001 in Los Angeles.