Concert for George

The Concert for George, a tribute to George Harrison, was on PBS the other night and we all sat down to watch it. It brought me to tears several times. What exactly brought on the tears? Well, it's like this: Eric Clapton was of course a close friend of George's for many years. So he was the producer of the show. Jeff Lynn was there too. Jeff Lynn is one of the premiere rock producers ever. So the show was just plain good. But what really did it was the authenticity of the guitar work. George Harrison was "just the guitar" player of the Beatles. So they happen to be the biggest rock act ever, he's still just the guitar player. You don't hear the extended solos from Harrison that we've become used to in the rock n roll world. Typically, just 8 bars - sometimes 16. When he took the solo, it counted. It had melody. It meant something. So Clapton was smart enough to get two great guitarists to back up the sound for this concert. And man were they good. The joy on their faces as they performed note-for-note these great quips of Harrison melody was a sight and sound to behold. Tom Petty and his Heartbreakers also did the same on a couple of songs. Their guitarist likewise took the solo note-for-note of the original. It inspired me to really get cracking on my new Stratocaster. I want to make it sing like George did. Thank you George, your the best.