Video: 'Bangla Desh (Bonus Track)'

(Saturday, July 10, 1971) — Former Beatle George Harrison completed the recording of “Bangla Desh” today at the Record Plant studio in Los Angeles with additional overdubs, including a horn section led by Jim Horn.

The song was released as a non-album single on July 28, 1971 in the U.S. (July 30, 1971, in the UK), to raise awareness for the millions of refugees from the country formerly known as East Pakistan, following the 1970 Bhola cyclone and the outbreak of the Bangladesh Liberation War.

Harrison’s inspiration for the song came from his friend Ravi Shankar, a Indian-Bengali musician, who approached Harrison for help in trying to alleviate the suffering.

The basic track was recorded June 28, 1971, at Wally Heider Studios in Los Angeles.

Harrison would perform “Bangla Desh” as a rousing encore at The Concert for Bangladesh, a pair of benefit concerts organized by Harrison and Shankar held on Aug. 1 1971, at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Video: 'Deep Blue (Bonus Track)'

The single’s B-side, “Deep Blue,” was recorded around this time at Harrison’s Friar Park home studio.