| "Bangla Desh" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by George Harrison | ||||
| B-side | "Deep Blue" | |||
| Released | 30 July 1971 | |||
| Format | 7" | |||
| Recorded | 4-5 July 1971, Los Angeles | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 3:57 | |||
| Label | Apple Records R5912 | |||
| Writer(s) | George Harrison | |||
| Producer | George Harrison, Phil Spector | |||
| George Harrison singles chronology | ||||
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"Bangla Desh" is a song by George Harrison released on Apple Records as a charity single following the disasters, both political and natural, that had occurred in East Pakistan during the first half of 1971. Released in the US on 28 July that year, and in the UK on 30 July — just days before the Harrison-sponsored Concert For Bangladesh shows at Madison Square Garden in New York — the single peaked at number 10 in Britain and number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100,[1]
Contents |
"Bangla Desh" starts with the lyrics "My friend came to me, with sadness in his eyes / Told me that he wanted help, before his country dies.'" These lines refer to the conversation Harrison had with sitar virtuoso, mentor and friend Ravi Shankar, in which the latter asked Harrison to help his country in any way he could. The former Beatle responded by cutting short his work on Apple proteges Badfinger's new album, in London, and setting about enlisting friends and colleagues to help him stage an all-star benefit concert for the victims of the civil war, floods and resultant famine on the Indian subcontinent. So began a month of frantic activity as the 28-year-old guitarist shuttled between New York, Los Angeles and London attending to the logistics of the project. Of his dedication to the Bengalis' cause, Harrison would state in his autobiography eight years later: "I got tired of people saying 'But what can I do?' Also, the reluctance of the press to report the full details created the need to bring attention to it."[2]
Ravi Shankar would also record a benefit single at this time — the Harrison-produced "Joi Bangla", accompanied by sarod master Ali Akbar Khan and Shankar's regular tabla player, Alla Rakah.
With so little time to prepare and begin ehearsing for the planned UNICEF shows, the "Bangla Desh" single was rush-recorded at United Western Recorders in Hollywood, California, in early July. Phil Spector again co-produced, as he had on the ex-Beatle's hugely successful triple album All Things Must Pass the previous year. Joining them in the studio was Harrison's former bandmate Ringo Starr, along with Leon Russell and others. According to Harrison, it was Russell's idea to give the song its slow, emotive intro — to set out the reason for the singer's plea to "help us save some lives ... give some bread to get the starving fed'" and to explain the refugees' desperate plight.[3]
"Bangla Desh" marks the first occasion that Harrison worked with Jim Horn, the saxophonist who would go on to become a regular collaborator. It was also the first time that Starr drummed alongside Jim Keltner, so forming a drummer pairing that would feature regularly on sessions for future Harrison and Starr solo albums, as well as for those of Harry Nilsson and other artists. Together with Eric Clapton, Billy Preston, Bob Dylan and the group Badfinger, all the musicians at the session would join Harrison and Shankar on stage at Madison Square Garden on 1 August.
The following musicians contributed to the recording of "Bangla Desh".[4]
Despite the song having been a sizable hit at the time, the studio version of "Bangla Desh" has only been available on compact disc on the compilation album The Best of George Harrison (1976), which has yet to be remastered since its release in the early 1990s. Harrison's highly charged live version, with which he closed the two UNICEF shows, is available on the 2005 re-release of The Concert For Bangladesh, however. The single's B-side, "Deep Blue", was only released on album for the first time when it was included as a bonus track on the 2006 remaster of Harrison's Living in the Material World album.
In 2004, "Bangla Desh" appeared in the final episode of Himalaya with Michael Palin. In 2010, AOL radio listeners chose "Bangla Desh" as one of the 10 Best George Harrison Songs, appearing at #10 on the list.[5]
| Chart (1971) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Swiss Singles Chart[6] | 2 |
| Norwegian VG-lista Singles Chart[7] | 3 |
| Dutch Singles Chart[8] | 7 |
| UK Singles Chart[9] | 10 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[10] | 23 |
| Japanese Oricon Singles Chart[11] | 47 |
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