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George Harrison and Ravi Shankar's 1974 North American tour was a 45-show concert tour of the United States and Canada, undertaken by English rock musician George Harrison and Indian sitarist Ravi Shankar in November and December 1974. It is often referred to as the Dark Horse Tour, since the concerts served as a launch for Harrison's record label Dark Horse Records, to which Shankar was one of the inaugural signings, and Harrison's concurrent single was the song "Dark Horse". The release of his delayed album, also titled Dark Horse, followed towards the end of the tour. The shows featured guest spots by Harrison's band members Billy Preston and Tom Scott.

The 1974 tour was the first North American tour by a member of the Beatles since the band's August 1966 concerts.

Background
The 1974 tour was the first in North America by a former member of the Beatles since the band's 1966 visit. Raising expectations further among fans and the media, it marked the first live performances by Harrison since his successful staging of the 1971 Concert for Bangladesh shows, which had also featured Shankar and Preston. According to Preston, Harrison had wanted to tour straight after the Concert for Bangladesh. Problems with the album and film releases from the event and lack of tax emption status for UNICEF funds distracts him. Also problems with Apple and Allen Klein's management.

Harrison engaged Denis O'Brien to replace Klein as his business manager after the pair met in 1973 through Peter Sellers, a mutual friend of Harrison and Shankar. As part of Harrison's reorganising of his career, big plans for 1974 with formation of Dark Horse Records to continue Apple ambitions. Harrison and Shankar plan the tour in India in February 1974. Music Festival tour of Europe then joint US/Canada tour.

+ Tour in same juggernaut model established by Bill Graham for Dylan/the Band and CSNY. Harrison keen to avoid predictable aspect of typical rock arena tours, eg Led Zeppelin. Graham reluctant to have Shankar billed as co-headliner. Contradictory early promotion, fans confused about tour's identity and Harrison role.

+ 1974 big year for Capitol ‘Decade’ Beatles promotion campaign, Rodriguez p 195 Inspired by the flurry of legal activity by Apple and the four former bandmates now being united against Klein, speculation about a possible Beatles reunion dominated the international music press from February through to the end of April. This was accompanied by David Geffen offering them $30 million to reunite for one album, two theatre producers preparing stage adaptations of the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album, and the first of promoter Bill Sargent's multi-million-dollar offers for the Beatles to re-form for a single concert. The widespread nostalgia for the band was also reflected in the successful Beatlefest convention, first held in New York in July 1974.

+ in middle of reunion/anti-Klein speculation, NYT announces that it's a Harrison-Starr-Clapton tour.

+ thoughts of adding UK Christmas shows to itinerary.

Musicians and entourage
Aside from Scott and Preston, the musicians in Harrison's band included the soul/R&B rhythm section of Willie Weeks and Andy Newmark, Scott's L.A. Express bandmate Robben Ford (on guitar), jazz percussionist Emil Richards, and horn players Jim Horn and Chuck Findley.

Among Shankar's orchestra of top Indian classical musicians were Alla Rakha, Shivkumar Sharma, Lakshmi Shankar, Hariprasad Chaurasia, L. Subramaniam and Sultan Khan. All of Shankar's musicians had recently participated in his Music Festival from India tour of Europe, which Harrison presented under the auspices of his Material World Charitable Foundation. During the concerts in North America, the two ensembles performed separately and as one, mirroring the East–West fusion of Shankar's first Dark Horse album, Shankar Family & Friends.

+ GH says he was wiped out before tour, busy with Splinter and Shankar projects. Sixteen Indian musicians in total on tour.

+ Hire plane, mobile Indian restaurant at all stops. Sellers and Arias part of entourage; Harrison's father. Henry Grossman tour photographer, David Acomba films planned documentary.

Rehearsals
Harrison also recorded a studio album by Shankar's orchestra and helped promote his other Dark Horse Records act, Splinter. These commitments left him behind schedule with his own album, Dark Horse, which he was forced to complete in Los Angeles in October, when not rehearsing for the tour. Jim Keltner rehearsed with the band in Los Angeles but was reluctant to commit to a full tour. He eventually joined as second drummer from 27 November through to the end of the tour.

In his set list for the tour, Harrison included just four Beatles songs: his own compositions "Something", "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and "For You Blue", and the Lennon–McCartney song "In My Life".

+ Harrison reluctantly agrees to include some Beatles songs but alters lyrics – "rebels". Reference to Klein in Sue Me, Sue You. Soundstage jam written during rehearsals become part of setlist, copyrighted in Mar '75. Delay in completing Dark Horse album means several of the songs are unfamiliar to audiences. G likes Music Festival so much, decides to feature them extensively, originally two sets in the programme.

+ Graham shares concerns with Scott that Harrison is inviting problems by failing to appreciate Beatles nostalgia aspect.

+ Python theme as opening music; Greensleaves as closing music.

Harrison had no wish to revisit his Beatles past. He stated in his pre-tour press conference in Los Angeles, in October 1974: "it's definitely not going to be a Bangladesh Mark II, if that's what people are thinking."

At the same press conference, in reply to questions about a rumoured Beatles reunion, he said that his former band "[weren't] that good", relative to musicians he had worked with since, and he dismissed the idea of ever being in a group with Paul McCartney again. According to author Peter Doggett, these remarks created "the same sense of shock" as John Lennon's 1970 lyric "I don't believe in Beatles" (from the song "God"). Harrison biographer Simon Leng writes that the ensuing tour represented "a whirlwind of pent-up Beatlemania" in North America, "where the group had a status way beyond that of mere icons".

+ press conference focuses on Beatles, Clapton/Pattie/Layla; G jokes about state of his voice.

History
The first concert of the tour was at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver on 2 November. As a gesture of friendship, Lennon sent Harrison a bouquet of flowers on his opening night. With two shows a day in some cities, the tour schedule proved punishing for Harrison and Shankar.

+ Programme in Vancouver clearly doesn't work, Shankar's second set interrupts pacing of the show. GH has staff record comments from 300 fans at venue, responds to feedback. Major rethink and reworking of setlist for next show (or gradually over first week? – Mad & Easter p 447 "the setlist was "radically reworked before the next performance" vs p 446 the setlist was "somewhat dynamic for the first week of the tour, before finally settling down"), Music Festival confined to one segment. One part GH & band; then GH & band + Indian musicians; then Indian segment; then GH & band.

+ Harrison snaps at audiences' disrespect for Shankar's music, says he'd die for Indian music but not rock 'n roll; religious harangues. Rodriguez on G as "the anti-Paul" in terms of PR.

+ Several shows are charity benefits – for San Fran hospitals, UNICEF fundraisers in NYC; programme sales go to charity.

+ All concerts are sell-outs; 50 dates originally announced, winter weather leads to some cancellations.

+ G & Billy's funky dance during Will It Go 'Round in Circles. G ends shows with Krishna salute (Greene). Introduces himself during band intros as Neil Diamond.

Although there were rumours that Bob Dylan or Lennon might make a guest appearance at the concerts, Leon Russell was the only guest performer throughout the tour. He joined Harrison and the band to perform "My Sweet Lord" at the Tulsa Assembly Center on 21 November.

+ Sly Stone dying to jam at LA Forum, has to be escorted off-stage by security. GH meets Bowie in Memphis. Dylan and GH jam backstage in Toronto.

Following one of the 30 November shows at the Chicago Stadium, Shankar had a heart attack and was forced to miss the next two weeks of concerts. In his absence, Lakshmi conducted the Indian orchestra. Ravi hospitalised from 4 to 9 Dec, only returns for MSG shows.

Jack Ford, the son of US president Gerald Ford, was impressed with the concert he attended and invited Harrison and his tour party to visit the White House during their subsequent stopover in Washington, DC. The visit took place on 13 December, and Harrison said he was surprised at the "good vibes" there, so soon after the Watergate scandal. In his meeting with the president, Harrison asked Ford if he could intercede into the ongoing IRS audit that was holding the Bangladesh fund's US proceeds in escrow, and into Lennon's immigration problems. ABC News footage, "Mr Harrison Goes to Washington".

+ exchanges a WIN badge from Ford with an Om badge; first time a visiting rock star has been received at the White House.

Lennon attended one of the shows at the Nassau Coliseum in upstate New York on 15 December and enjoyed the concert. Having made a surprise appearance at Elton John's concert at Madison Square Garden in late November, Lennon agreed to appear with Harrison at the same venue on 19 December. However, Lennon's failure to join Harrison and McCartney at the Plaza Hotel for the signing of the Beatles dissolution papers on 19 December angered Harrison. During a heated exchange, Harrison told Lennon not to bother joining him on stage that night. Wearing heavy disguises to avoid attention, McCartney and his wife Linda attended the 19 December concert.

+ huge demand for tickets in NYC leads to 3rd MSG show, 20 Dec matinee.

End-of-tour party
+ Harrison and Lennon make up; give joint radio interview, only example of two ex-Beatles being interviewed together until G & R on Aspel & Company in 1988.

+ Maureen & R at party?

+ Klein's private investigators laying siege outside Plaza and club where party takes place; G on the run from being served with suit by Klein.

Reviews and press interaction
+ Major beef with Rolling Stone, testy exchanges with Fong-Torres when he's assigned to cover West Coast leg – "Ghandi says, create and preserve the image of your choice. The image of my choice is not Beatle George. If they want [the Beatles], they can go see Wings." (Greene); G already displays dislike of Stone in pre-tour press conference (Kahn); Fong-Torres article includes complaints from Graham camp, stirs up idea of unrest in tour camp (Clayson); Scott complains that Fong-Torres piece unfairly focuses on problematic opening show, plays down fact that they completely revamped programme after Vancouver (Circus Raves); F-T's view already made public in mid November, distributed to radio as The RS News Service (Mad & East).

+ Sloman covers East Coast shows for Rolling Stone, tells G he thinks they're great and will write article disagreeing with magazine's approach (Kahn); Sloman's piece rewritten in-house, favourable coverage of music and audience response removed by Wenner & co (Hagan). Miller's Dark Horse review as part III of the assault (Leng), focuses more on Harrison's failings during tour than on the album.

+ Criticism of Harrison for being so democratic and allowing others to share spotlight; press exaggerate extent of Preston stealing the show. Major backlash from fans, letters protesting negative reviews; Fong-Torres on hate mail he received (2001 SF Chronicle). Toronto fan writes that shows were fantastically received by audience, yet newspapers report otherwise (Greene).

+ Schaffner on how much of scathing press was part of post-Fabs break-up media phenomenon – now G's turn after earlier attacks on P and J. Similarity with MMT film, detractors' outrage well over the top.

The response from music critics varied significantly throughout the tour. Some reviewers were scathing in their assessment: Harrison was criticised for failing to respect the public's nostalgia for the Beatles, his choosing to afford considerable stage-time to Shankar's ensemble, his spiritual pronouncements and on-stage demeanour, and particularly the rough quality of his singing voice, caused by overexertion in the months leading up to the opening concert. The press took to calling it the "Dark Hoarse Tour". Other reviews were highly favourable, admiring Harrison's humility in sharing the spotlight with his fellow musicians and the lack of overly theatrical presentation, and praising the breadth and adventurousness of the musical programme.

Mikal Gilmore of Rolling Stone magazine wrote in 2002 that the tour was "almost universally savaged by the press". Leng, having researched the contemporary coverage for his book While My Guitar Gently Weeps, concludes that "the majority of reviews were positive, in some cases ecstatic …" Leng contends that "the 'given' view of the tour" – namely, that it was "the most calamitous road show in the history of the genre" – has come from a series of unfavourable articles in Rolling Stone, culminating in the magazine's review of Dark Horse. Author Robert Rodriguez writes that, with the focus on Harrison's demeanour and his failure to fulfil the high expectations that a solo Beatle tour encouraged, "there were ... genuine highlights that went mostly unreported." He summarises the critical reception as follows: "Smaller press outlets without axes to grind tended to review the shows the best, whereas rock establishment coverage, such as Rolling Stone's, tended to spin the tour as something close to an unmitigated disaster (something that George never forgave them for)."

Musicians' reactions
Aside from critics' opinions of the musical content, Harrison took exception to their reports that the shows were not being well received by audiences. Some 750,000 people attended the concerts, which grossed a total of around $4 million. In his 1997 autobiography, Raga Mala, Shankar says that despite the mixed critical reception, "financially it was not a failure", and all the musicians "immensely enjoyed the performing and especially the touring together".

Andy Newmark recalls the 1974 concerts as his first large-scale, superstar tour, with luxury accomodation and travel arrangements. He says that all the musicians were supportive of Harrison, who was a "very approachable" leader, yet "lingering in the background were the facts that he'd lost his voice, his marriage had ended, and he was clearly under stress, struggling to keep it all going."

+ Horn's recollections; Subramanium on connection between Indian music and spirituality. Keltner says critics brutal towards Ravi and about GH's voice, but lots of fans got beyond that, just appreciated seeing him and hearing his songs: "I've seen what it's like on other tours when they don't love you ... George, on the '74 tour, he was loved." Harrison gives Robben Ford custom-made Gibson. Ford and Newmark on prevalence of drugs on & off stage. Weeks on tour camaraderie. Harrison said that despite what was reported in the concert reviews, the rock fans always gave the Indian drummers a standing ovation.

+ Lennon and McCartney on Harrison's position – understand his wanting to be a non-Beatle but feel he could have been more audience-friendly. Mac & Linda loved the MSG show.

In his 2014 article on the tour, for the website Ultimate Classic Rock, Nick DeRiso writes: "Ultimately, Harrison came to see the tour's issues as more a matter of media perception than anything. Bootlegs, to some degree, back up that notion – as fans appear to receive the dates with no small amount of enthusiasm." Writing for Record Collector in 2001, Peter Doggett said that the available bootlegs reveal the full extent of Harrison's damaged vocal cords, but equally, "tapes of the better nights of the tour prove that the enterprise deserved a better fate." DeRiso quotes Harrison's later recollection that "The public as a whole enjoyed it; it was always standing ovations – even for the Indian section … But they got on my case, the press – some of them anyway."

Legacy
Due to the scrutiny he received from the media, Harrison remained wary of giving live performances. After 1974, he did not tour again until 1991, when he played a series of concerts in Japan with Eric Clapton.

+ Ends GH's run of incredible success since 1970; Ravi regroups, feels victimised by O'Brien.

+ Bitterness towards Rolling Stone in '75 interview, inspiration for This Guitar. G hears some musicians are jealous of Keltner getting a Mercedes – It's What You Value.

+ Reputation as major drugs tour.

More recently, the 1974 Harrison–Shankar tour has been recognised by some commentators as a forerunner to the 1980s world music genre, popularised by Western artists such as Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel and David Byrne. Musicologist Thomas MacFarlane describes the tour's East–West fusion as "ten years too early" and, given the time that had elapsed since the Concert for Bangladesh, "three years too late". Referring to critics of the tour in a 1977 BBC Radio interview, Harrison said: "It's a pity that a lot of people missed out on something that went above their heads." Nick Hasted of Uncut views the reworking of the Beatles' "Something" as "unforgivable" but deems the programme "in retrospect, an admirable show" and a precursor to Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue.

Music and film releases
A double live album and a documentary film of the tour were planned but neither release took place.

+ G says live album will show how good the music was, regardless of what press reported; works on tour film in LA in early '76.

+ Live tracks on two Songs by GH EPs.

+ Tour film regularly shown to guests at Friar Park; scenes included in Any Road vid, more in Scorsese doc; Olivia wanted to skip whole '74 period in LITMW doc, Dhani says should be included, provides balance.

Tour dates
The tour itinerary was as follows:

Setlist
The setlist for the shows was taken from the following songs (the name of each selection's main performer appears in parenthesis):


 * "Hari's on Tour (Express)" (George Harrison)
 * "The Lord Loves the One (That Loves the Lord)" (Harrison)
 * "Who Can See It" (Harrison)
 * "Something" (Harrison)
 * "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" (Harrison)
 * "Will It Go Round in Circles" (Billy Preston)
 * "Sue Me, Sue You Blues" (Harrison)
 * "Zoom, Zoom, Zoom" (Ravi Shankar)
 * "Naderdani" (Shankar)
 * "Cheparte" (Shankar)
 * "For You Blue" (Harrison)
 * "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)" (Harrison)


 * "Sound Stage of Mind" (ensemble jam)
 * "In My Life" (Harrison)
 * "Tom Cat" (Tom Scott)
 * "Māya Love" (Harrison)
 * "Outa-Space" (Preston)
 * "Dark Horse" (Harrison)
 * "Nothing from Nothing" (Preston)
 * "What Is Life" (Harrison)
 * "Anurag" (Shankar)
 * "I Am Missing You" (Shankar)
 * "Dispute & Violence" (Shankar)
 * "My Sweet Lord" (Harrison)

Tour personnel
Harrison's band:
 * George Harrison – vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, backing vocals
 * Tom Scott – saxophones, flute
 * Billy Preston – vocals, organ, clavinet, synthesizer, backing vocals
 * Robben Ford – electric and acoustic guitars, backing vocals
 * Jim Horn – saxophones, flute
 * Chuck Findley – trumpet, flute
 * Emil Richards – marimba, percussion
 * Willie Weeks – bass
 * Andy Newmark – drums
 * Jim Keltner – drums (from 27 November)
 * Kumar Shankar – percussion, backing vocals

Shankar's orchestra:
 * Ravi Shankar – sitar, conductor
 * Lakshmi Shankar – vocals, swarmandal; conductor (in Ravi Shankar's absence)
 * Alla Rakha – tabla
 * T.V. Gopalkrishnan – vocals, mridangam, khanjira
 * Hariprasad Chaurasia – bansuri
 * Shivkumar Sharma – santoor, backing vocals
 * Kartick Kumar – sitar
 * Sultan Khan – sarangi
 * Gopal Krishan – vichitra veena, backing vocals
 * L. Subramaniam – South Indian violin
 * Satyadev Pawar – North Indian violin
 * Rijram Desad – pakavaj, dholki, nagada, huduk, duff
 * Kamalesh Maitra – tabla tarang, duggi tarang, madal tarang
 * Harihar Rao – kartal, manjira, dholak, gubgubbi, backing vocals
 * Viji Shankar – tambura, backing vocals