George Harrison's Iconic Performance of 'Here Comes the Sun' at The Concert for Bangladesh
In August 1971, George Harrison headlined The Concert for Bangladesh, a charity event held at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The purpose of the show was to raise funds for refugees affected by the Bangladesh Liberation War and the 1970 Bhola cyclone. Harrison organized the concert with Ravi Shankar, featuring his first public performance post-The Beatles breakup and the debut of some of his classic songs.
During The Concert for Bangladesh, Harrison performed his beloved composition "Here Comes the Sun" for the first time live. Accompanied by Badfinger frontman Pete Ham on acoustic guitar, the performance also included backing vocals by a soul choir. The event had early and late sets, with Harrison playing "Here Comes the Sun" at both performances.
The star-studded concert included performances by Shankar, Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Leon Russell, and Billy Preston. The backing band comprised members of Badfinger, guitarists Jesse Ed Davis and Don Preston, bassists Klaus Voormann and Carl Radle, and drummer Jim Keltner. The event was recorded and filmed for an album and movie release.
The album, released in December 1971, reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart. The film premiered in March 1972. "Here Comes the Sun," originally from The Beatles' Abbey Road album, became the most-streamed Beatles song on Spotify, with over 1.6 billion streams. Harrison's live version from The Concert for Bangladesh was later included in the 2009 compilation "Let It Roll: Songs by George Harrison," released as a two-LP set in July 2020.