The Concert for Bangladesh

The Concert for Bangladesh (or Bangla Desh, as the country's name was originally spelt)Harry, p. 135. was a pair of benefit concerts organised by former Beatles guitarist George Harrison and Indian sitar player Ravi Shankar. The shows were held at 2:30 and 8:00pm on Sunday, 1 August 1971, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, to raise international awareness of, and fund relief for refugees from East Pakistan, following the Bangladesh Liberation War-related genocide. The concerts were followed by a bestselling live album, a boxed three-record set, and Apple Films' concert documentary, which opened in cinemas in the spring of 1972.

The event was the first-ever benefit of such a magnitude,The Editors of ''Rolling Stone'', p. 43. and featured a supergroup of performers that included Harrison, fellow ex-Beatle Ringo Starr, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Billy Preston, Leon Russell and the band Badfinger. In addition, Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan – both of whom had ancestral roots in Bangladesh – performed an opening set of Indian classical music. The concerts were attended by a total of 40,000 people, and the initial gate receipts raised close to $250,000 for Bangladesh relief, which was administered by UNICEF.

After collecting the musicians easily, Harrison found it extremely difficult to get the recording industry to release the rights for performers to share the stage, and millions of dollars raised from the album and film were tied up in IRS tax escrow accounts for years, but the Concert for Bangladesh is recognised as a highly successful and influential humanitarian aid project, generating both awareness and considerable funds as well as providing valuable lessons and inspiration for projects that followed, such as Live Aid.Interviews with Charles J. Lyons and Kofi Annan, in ''The Concert for Bangladesh Revisited''.Rodriguez, p. 51.

By 1985, through revenue raised from the ''Concert for Bangladesh'' live album and film, an estimated $12 million had been sent to Bangladesh, and sales of the live album and DVD release of the film continue to benefit the George Harrison Fund for UNICEF. Decades later, Shankar would say of the overwhelming success of the event: "In one day, the whole world knew the name of Bangladesh. It was a fantastic occasion."

Background

As East Pakistan struggled to become the separate state of Bangladesh during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, the political and military turmoil and associated atrocities led to a massive refugee problem, with at least 7 million displaced people pouring into neighbouring India.Schaffner, p. 146. East Pakistan had recently endured devastation as a result of the Bhola cyclone, and the Bengalis' desperate plight increased in March that year when torrential rains and floods arrived in the region,Lavezzoli, p. 187. threatening a humanitarian disaster.The Editors of ''Rolling Stone'', p. 42.Clayson, p. 308. Quoting figures available at the time, a ''Rolling Stone'' feature claimed that up to half a million Bengalis had been killed by the cyclone in November 1970 and that the Pakistani army's subsequent campaign of slaughter under Operation Searchlight accounted for at least 250,000 civilians, "by the most conservative estimates".The Editors of ''Rolling Stone'', p. 123. Following the mass exodus to Calcutta, a new threat arrived as the refugees faced starvation and the outbreak of diseases such as cholera.Greene, p. 186.

Appalled at the situation affecting his homeland and relatives, Bengali musician Ravi Shankar first brought the issue to the attention of his friend George Harrison in the early months of 1971, over dinner at Friar Park, according to Klaus Voormann's recollection.Leng, p. 111.James Sullivan
"George Harrison's Concert for Bangladesh Featured Drug Trouble for Eric Clapton, Stage Fright for Bob Dylan"
spinner.com, 1 August 2011 (archived version retrieved: 12 October 2013). By April, Shankar and Harrison were in Los Angeles working on the soundtrack to the film ''Raga'', during which Harrison wrote the song "Miss O'Dell", commenting on corruption among the Indian authorities as aid shipments of rice from the West kept "''going astray on heirway to Bombay''". After returning to England to produce Badfinger's '' Straight Up'' album and take part in sessions for John Lennon's ''Imagine'' – all the while, being kept abreast of developments by Shankar, via newspaper and magazine cuttingsGeorge Harrison, p. 59. – Harrison was back in LA to finish the ''Raga'' album in late June.Spizer, p. 240. By then, the ''Sunday Times'' in London had just published an influential article by Pakistani journalist Anthony Mascarenhas, which exposed the full horror of the Bangladesh atrocities,Mark Dummett
"Bangladesh war: The article that changed history"
BBC News Online, 16 December 2011 (retrieved 4 September 2012).Zahrah Haider
"Media coverage and the War of 1971"
'' The Daily Star'', 15 December 2015 (retrieved 13 January 2016). and a distraught Shankar approached Harrison for help in trying to alleviate the suffering. Harrison later talked of spending "three months" on the phone organising the Concert for Bangladesh, implying that efforts were under way from late April onwards;George Harrison, p. 60.Clayson, p. 309. it is widely acknowledged that the project began in earnest during the last week of June 1971, however, five or six weeks before the event took place on 1 August.John Harris, "A Quiet Storm", ''Mojo'', July 2001, p. 74.

Preparation

Shankar's original hope was to raise $25,000 through a benefit concert of his own, compered perhaps by actor Peter Sellers. With Harrison's commitment, and the record and film outlets available to him through the Beatles' Apple Corps organisation, the idea soon grew to become a star-studded musical event,Madinger & Easter, p. 435. mixing Western rock with Indian classical music, and it was to be held at the most prestigious venue in America: Madison Square Garden, in New York City. According to Chris O'Dell, a music-business administrator and former Apple employee, Harrison got off the phone with Shankar once the concept had been finalised, and started enthusing with his wife, Pattie Boyd, about possible performers.O'Dell, pp. 195–96. Ringo Starr, Lennon, Eric Clapton, Leon Russell, Jim Keltner, Voormann, Billy Preston and Badfinger were all mentioned during this initial brainstorming.

O'Dell set about contacting local musicians from the Harrisons' rented house in Nichols Canyon,O'Dell, pp. 196–97. as Harrison took the long-distance calls, hoping more than anything to secure Bob Dylan's participation.Rodriguez, p. 50. Almost all of Harrison's first-choice names signed on immediately, while a day spent boating with Memphis musician Don Nix resulted in the latter agreeing to organise a group of backing singers.O'Dell, p 197. A local Indian astrologer had advised early August as a good time in which to stage the concert,Lavezzoli, p. 188. and as things transpired, the first day of that month, a Sunday, was the only day that Madison Square Garden was available at such short notice.

By the first week of July,Badman, p. 38. Harrison was in a Los Angeles studio recording his purpose-written song, "Bangla Desh", with co-producer Phil Spector.Leng, p. 112. The song's opening verse documents Shankar's plea to Harrison for assistance, and the lyrics "''My friend came to me with sadness in his eyes / Told me that he wanted help before his country dies''" provided an enduring image for what United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan later recognised as the basic human aspect behind the cause.

Harrison then met with Badfinger in London to explain that he would have to abandon work on ''Straight Up'',Leng, p. 114. before flying to New York on 13 July to see Lennon. During the middle of July also,Castleman & Podrazik, p. 103. once back in Los Angeles, Harrison produced Shankar's Bangladesh benefit record, an EP titled ''Joi Bangla''.Lavezzoli, p. 190. The latter featured contributions from East Bengal-born Ali Akbar Khan, on sarod, and tabla player Alla Rakha. As with Harrison's "Bangla Desh", all profits from this recording would go to the newly established George Harrison–Ravi Shankar Special Emergency Relief Fund, to be distributed by UNICEF. Also around the middle of July, the upcoming concert by "George Harrison and Friends" was announced "via a minuscule ad buried in the back pages of the ''New York Times''", author Nicholas Schaffner wrote in 1977. Tickets sold out in no time, leading to the announcement of a second show.Tillery, p. 98.

Towards the end of the month, when all parties were due to meet in New York for rehearsals, Harrison had the commitment of a backing band comprising: Preston, on keyboards; the four members of Badfinger, on acoustic rhythm guitars and tambourine; Voormann and Keltner, on bass and drums, respectively; and saxophonist Jim Horn's so-called "Hollywood Horns", which included Chuck Findley, Jackie Kelso and Lou McCreary.Leng, p. 116. Of the established stars, Leon Russell had committed also, but on the proviso that he be supported by members of his tour band. Eric Clapton insisted that he too would be there, even if O'Dell and other insiders, knowing of the guitarist's incapacity due to severe heroin addiction, were surprised that Harrison had considered him for the occasion.

Among Harrison's former bandmates, Lennon initially agreed to take part in the concert without his wife and musical partner Yoko Ono, as Harrison had apparently stipulated. Lennon then allegedly had an argument with Ono as a result of this agreement and left New York in a rage two days before the concerts.Clayson, p. 311. Starr's commitment had never been in question, and he interrupted the filming of his movie ''Blindman'' in Almeria, Spain, in order to attend. Paul McCartney declined to take part, however, citing the bad feelings caused by the Beatles' legal problems on their break-up.Woffinden, p. 49.

Rehearsals

The Harrisons decamped to the Park Lane Hotel in New York City,Greene, p. 187. and the first rehearsal took place on Monday, 26 July, at Nola Studios on West 57th Street.Clayson, p. 310.Badman, p. 43. Harrison had written a possible setlist for the concert while sketching design ideas for Shankar's ''Joi Bangla'' picture sleeve.Olivia Harrison, p. 288. As well as the songs he would go on to perform on 1 August, Harrison's list included his own compositions "All Things Must Pass" – "with Leon ussell, apparently – " Art of Dying" and the just-recorded B-side "Deep Blue"; Clapton's song " Let It Rain" appeared also, while the suggestions for Dylan's set were "If Not for You", "Watching the River Flow" (his recent, Leon Russell-produced single) and "Blowin' in the Wind". Only Harrison, Voormann, the six-piece horn section, and Badfinger's Pete Ham, Joey Molland, Tom Evans and Mike Gibbins were at Nola Studios on that first day, and subsequent rehearsals were similarly carried out in "dribs and drabs", as Harrison put it.George Harrison, p. 61. Only the final run-through, on the night before the concert, resembled a complete band rehearsal.Spizer, p. 241.

On Tuesday, 27 July, Harrison and Shankar, accompanied by a pipe-smoking Allen Klein, held a press conference to promote the two shows; notoriously performance-shy, Harrison said "Just thinking about it makes me shake."The Editors of ''Rolling Stone'', p. 122. The "Bangla Desh" charity single was issued in America on 28 July, with a UK release following two days later. Ringo Starr arrived on the Thursday, and by Friday, 30 July, Russell was in town, interrupting his US tour. Russell's band members Claudia Linnear and Don Preston were added to Don Nix's choir of backing singers;Leng, pp. 111–12. Preston would switch to lead guitar for Russell's solo spot during the shows, just as bassist Carl Radle would replace Voormann temporarily. By this point, Clapton's participation was gravely in doubt, and Harrison had drafted in Jesse Ed Davis as a probable replacement. The ex-Taj Mahal guitarist received last-minute coaching from Voormann, who was more than familiar with Harrison's songs, as well as those by Billy Preston and Starr.Klaus Voormann interview, in '' George Harrison: Living in the Material World'' DVD, 2011 (directed by Martin Scorsese; produced by Olivia Harrison, Nigel Sinclair & Martin Scorsese).

The final rehearsal, the first for some of the participants, was combined with the concert soundcheck, at Madison Square Garden, late on 31 July. Both Dylan and Clapton finally appeared at the soundcheck that night.O'Dell, p. 199.Leng, p. 119. Even then, Clapton was in the early stages of heroin withdrawal – only a cameraman supplying him with some methadone would result in the English guitarist taking the stage the following day, after his young girlfriend had been unsuccessful in purchasing uncut heroin for him on the street. To Harrison's frustration, Dylan was having severe doubts about performing in such a big-event atmosphere and still would not commit to playing. "Look, it's not my scene, either," Harrison countered. "At least you've played on your own in front of a crowd before. I've never done that."The Editors of ''Rolling Stone'', p. 146.

Through Harrison's friendship with the Band, Jonathan Taplin served as production manager, while Chip Monck was in charge of lighting. Gary Kellgren from the nearby Record Plant was brought in to record the concerts, overseen by Spector, and "Klein's people", led by director Saul Swimmer