Prince and George Harrison are undeniably two of the greatest guitarists of all time. Between their catalogs of music, they each share 23 No. 1 hits and 11 Grammys. Despite their decorated careers, the two seemingly didn’t outwardly share much in common. Prince, who was loud and proud, rivals Harrison’s far more humble and reserved personality.
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Regardless of their contradicting personality traits, the two held each other in a regard not many musicians have ever reached. That being so, when Harrison was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, Prince broke out a guitar solo that was face-melting and delightful. And the best part of is, it was completely improvised and off the cuff. Furthermore, the importance of this performance is thoroughly amplified given that Harrison died three years before his induction in 2001.
George Harrison’s 2004 Induction
Ever since The Beatles became The Beatles, each member’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction was inevitable. Hence, George Harrison’s induction came as the second to last one of the Fab Four. The Beatles as a whole were inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1988. As stated previously, Harrison’s induction came three years after his passing. So, to honor both his life and his musical legacy, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame organized the supergroup of Prince, Tom Petty, Jeff Lyne, Steve Winwood, and George’s son, Dhani Harrison to play at his induction.
Other than Petty and Lyne performing, the two of them gave a heartfelt speech articulating the monumental legacy George Harrison has left on rock ‘n’ and roll. Petty simply stated, “He just loved playing music with his friends and he loved guitars” and he then went on to state everything else Harrison loved to do as both a father and a musician. Petty’s comments about George Harrison were Short, simple, and sweet. What would followed, was quite the opposite.
Prince Lights up the Stage
Prince’s three-minute guitar solo on “My Guitar Gently Weeps” was aggressively serine and musically verbose to the highest degree. However, it seemingly was right on par with what Harrison would have wanted. The supergroup’s rendition starts verbatim to the original. Although, as they continue, Prince takes hold of the song surprising all his fellow musicians on stage.
Once Petty sings one of the last crescendos of the song, Prince steals the reins and adds another three minutes to the tune. The solo is Prince in all his glory, as he adds an excessively exuberant flare to the song’s original solo. Although, he does so by staying on track with the original rhythm and melody and does not stray from the song’s intended path. Prince closed out the performance in his normal fashion by throwing his guitar up in the air and waltzing off stage without uttering a word.
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