Video: 'George Harrison Visiting The White House - CBS News (Raw Footage) - 13 December 1974'
(Friday, December 13, 1974, arrived at White House at noon, met with President Ford in Oval office at 1:20-1:35 p.m. EST; during the 23rd stop of 26-city, 45-show George Harrison and Ravi Shankar’s 1974 North American tour) — George Harrison, former Beatles guitarist and now frontman of his own band, visited the White House this afternoon in Washington, D.C., and met briefly with U.S. President Gerald Ford.
Sporting colorful attire—red, white, blue, green, and yellow tennis shoes, burnt orange trousers, a greenish-blue jacket, and hair down to his shoulder blades, Harrison arrived at about noon to join Jack Ford, 22, for lunch and to meet Jack’s father, the President.
Video: 'George Harrison Visiting The White House - Associated Press (Raw Footage) - 13 December 1974'
Accompanying Harrison were Indian sitar maestro Ravi Shankar, singer-organist Billy Preston, and saxophonist Tommy Scott. Also invited were Harrison’s father, Harry; his manager, Denis O’Brien; publicist Michael Sterling; and two of Jack’s friends, Ken Smith and Sandy Laughlin.
Jack, a senior at Utah State, had met Harrison and his bandmates after attending their Nov. 16, 1974, concert in Salt Lake City and extended an invitation for them to visit the White House during their tour stop in Washington.
“I just wanted to return the hospitality,” Jack said as he welcomed his guests.
Video: 'George Harrison Visiting The White House - NBC News - 13 December 1974'
Harrison, visiting the White House for the first time, said he was “very flattered” by the invitation and added, “I feel good vibes about the White House.” His brief meeting with President Ford in the Oval Office was more a cultural exchange than a generational one. “I don’t think he’s too familiar with my music,” Harrison remarked.
As reporters and photographers were preparing to leave, Jack reminded his father, “I promised George a WIN button.” Ford promptly instructed his appointments secretary, Terry O’Donnell, to “get one out of the right drawer.”
When none could be found initially, a button was eventually located and presented to Harrison. In return, Harrison pinned a blue “Eastern Mystic” button with moon circles onto the President’s lapel.
Video: 'George Harrison Visiting The White House - Official Footage - 13 December 1974'
Reflecting on the encounter, Harrison commented that Ford seemed “in excellent physical shape … surprisingly open and friendly.”
Harrison, accustomed to the pressures of fame, also noted a newfound empathy for Jack Ford, who lives under the watchful eye of the Secret Service.
“I can relate to Jack now,” he said. “Everything Jack does is watched by the public. I understand that.”
