‘The Concert For Bangla Desh’ album by George Harrison & Friends released 50 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Dec 20 1971)


Video: 'Intro by George Harrison | Concert for Bangladesh | 50th Anniversary : : Apple Music OST from LP'

(Monday, December 20, 1971)The Concert For Bangla Desh, a live triple album credited to “George Harrison & Friends” featuring highlights of two concerts of the same name held on Aug. 1, 1971, at New York’s Madison Square Garden, was released today in the United States (Jan. 10, 1972 in the UK).


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The album features performances by ex-Beatle Harrison, Bob Dylan, Ravi Shankar, Ali Akbar Khan, former Beatle Ringo Starr, Billy Preston, Leon Russell and Eric Clapton.


Video: 'The Concert For Bangladesh 50th Anniversary Edition' (19 videos)

The shows were a pioneering charity event, in aid of the homeless Bengali refugees of the Bangladesh Liberation War (which officially ended Dec. 16, 1971, just four days before the album was released in the U.S.) and set the model for future multi-artist rock benefits such as Live Aid (1985) and the Concert for New York City (2001).

The event brought Harrison and Starr together on a concert stage for the first time since 1966, when The Beatles retired from live performance, and represented Dylan’s first major concert appearance in the U.S. in five years.

A documentary film of the two historic concerts would premiere in New York City on Mar. 23, 1972.