Why no George Harrison at The Last Waltz?

Not to mention Paul's suit without tie.

 

maybe he was busy.

 

Yes indeed. I was at the show and thought he would be there.

 

Business differences would have kept Paul away.

 

That’s not fiction, that’s science fiction.

 

One way to look at it is The Beatles arrived as a formal band in matching business suits & ties. Over time their wardrobe became individualized and less casual before blossoming into hot colored scarves. Eastern minimalist white then getting back to mixed blue collar & business suits sans ties. Generally speaking....

 

Like most bands of the era. Early 60s was very much about matching outfits. Maybe a front singer wore something different. That all soon changed..

 

Did Jesse come and go to and from the United States during that time? He wasn't granted amnesty until 1977, so (in theory anyway) he would still have been a fugitive if he entered the United States for The Last Waltz.

 

Similar questions that have never been answered: Why no John Cleese at the Concert for George (the other Pythons still alive were there)? And why no Bob Dylan at the same event?

 

Dylan was on tour and wouldn't break dates. I never did understand that. He's Bob Flippin' Dylan - he could've postponed some shows if he'd wanted to. Maybe it's too much hassle with promoters. He performed a sloppy rendition of "Something" in tribute at one of his shows. Cleese I'd guess because he doesn't play nice with the other Pythons, but I'm not sure.

 

Me too. My point was simply that he's not as big a name as Muddy Waters. I most definitely wasn't suggesting his performance was bad or that he should have been omitted from the show.

 

Well, Levon says it was all Robbie's idea, but I think it's a mistake to unquestioningly take what Levon said at face value. Robbie had produced Diamond's most recent album, and Garth played on a couple tracks. To my knowledge, none of the other Band members ever expressed an opinion about Diamond's inclusion in the show, but I don't think we should assume Levon spoke for all of them.

 

The reason I heard at the time for Lucky Wilbury's absence from the Concert For George was because Clapton was very insistent that all the guests/participants must rehearse to Clapton's satisfaction and Bob just wasn't down with that. EC apparently even gave McCartney a hard time for not rehearsing his songs with the houseband to Clapton's satisfaction but Macca kinda pulled rank on him.

 

Oh, I agree with you and I wasn't referring to Levon's book at all. I was referring to several interviews with Robbie over the years where he said that he wanted someone from the Brill Building represented in the guest lineup and also the fact that Robbie had produced two of Diamond's then-recent albums.

 

That's great info! Thank you

 

Yeah... when people say it was "all Robbie's idea" though, that gives the impression the others were against it. And I just wanted to stress that we don't know how the others (besides Levon) felt.

 

A huge ego trip is what this show and movie were. I’m sure George was absolutely crushed about not being invited.

 

'I Me Mine' was the Last Beatles song, and was a Waltz.. so perhaps he thought.. 'it's been done'.

 

I thought that was quite beautiful...and moving. Sloppy in a perfect way for me.

 

Wasn't George getting his health back on track around the time of Last Waltz. He probably wouldn't have wanted to risk a relapse.

 

This has been reported a couple times in this thread, but it's not correct. Dylan's tour wrapped a week prior to the Concert for George.

 

Thanks for the reply, but:

"Dylan was on tour"

I don´t think so. The Concert for George was on Nov 29th. Dylan´s last tour date that year was Nov 22nd.

"Cleese I'd guess because he doesn't play nice with the other Pythons"

That makes sense, but he should have been there: George put up the money for the Python´s greatest film, Life of Brian.

 

Was he still in Canada unable to return to the US following his draft evasion? (Edit: Just checked Wikipedia which says he got amnesty in 1977, so not available for The Last Waltz show.)

 

I know what you meant. Most The Band fans I know, we're perplexed by Neil Diamond being there. When The Last Waltz was shown in theaters that sold beer, when Neil Diamond came on we hit the head.

When the Last Waltz has first shown on HBO, I used. A betamax to record it. Back then, Betamax only recorded on a one hour tape, so it took two.

For years and years we play it at parties. It was a great comradery experience. Once again Neil Diamond was the time to take a break, to go to the head or to indulge in other goodies. I wonder if Neil Diamond was ommited, would it have affect the box office or LP sales?

Yes, Yes, I know that there are lots of Last Waltz fans who love Neil Diamond.

Enough from me, this thread is about George Harrison.

George was in Dylan's orbit, while he like The Band I don't think he was in their obit like Eric Clapton.
At the time of the Last Waltz concert, it would of been totally surprising for George to be on the stage playing with them.