Why no George Harrison at The Last Waltz?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Interpolantics, Mar 7, 2018.

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  1. mrjinks

    mrjinks Optimistically Challenged

    Location:
    Boise, ID.
    Well, I've always heard the duets were not "live" on Saturday Night, but I'd certainly never heard it said that they weren't in front of a live audience. The post I quoted basically said "no way would George appear in front of a live audience at this point in time" and that's why I posted the audio from the rehearsal - clearly the rehearsal tracks were done in front of a live audience. Since the broadcast tracks have live audience "sound", I see no reason to think they were recorded any differently. :shrug:

    Probably have discussed it enough here though, as it's pretty definitely OT - apologies to anyone who may have felt this topic was hijacking the one at hand.
     
  2. czeskleba

    czeskleba Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    Yeah, I was too hard on the poets in my earlier comments. The point I wanted to make was just that it seems like a no-brainer to cut some (or all) of them before any of the musical guests, if time constraints really were a concern.
     
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  3. Brother Maynard

    Brother Maynard Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dallas, TX
    What a bummer that would've been if John and Paul had actually gone there and George was gone.
     
  4. RayS

    RayS A Little Bit Older and a Little Bit Slower

    Location:
    Out of My Element
    George was in the live opening of the show - He even said "Live from New York it's Saturday Night".
     
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  5. the pope ondine

    the pope ondine Forum Resident

    Location:
    Virginia

    hmmm odd that he would be live for that and yet just play the dress rehearsal set with paul....do we know this for sure? maybe they played live and it wasn't so hot so they used the rehearsal footage on future shows/west coast?. the only thing I could find online was a Wikipedia post that was deleted
     
  6. Vinyl Socks

    Vinyl Socks The Buzz Driver

    Location:
    DuBois, PA
    How in the heck could they include that performance in the same movie as Dylan performing "Forever Young" and "Baby, Let Me Follow You Down"? It's the low-light of the film.
     
  7. dudley07726

    dudley07726 Forum Resident

    Location:
    FLA
    I think it’s the people that are working for show that’s the audience in this clip.
     
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  8. bostonscoots

    bostonscoots Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston, MA
    The audience reaction is live - because they too were watching the performance taped earlier.

    From George Harrison: Behind The Locked Door
    "To promote it in the States, now by far his biggest market, Harrison undertook a five-city blitz and made a taped appearance on Saturday Night Live with Paul Simon which once again made one yearn for a little more simplicity in the presentation of his own music."
     
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  9. czeskleba

    czeskleba Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    The date when John and Paul considered going down to 30 Rock was not the same date on which George appeared. John and Paul were watching the April 24, 1976 episode in which Michaels made his initial offer of $3000 for a reunion. Harrison appeared on the November 20, 1976 episode on which they continued the gag with George trying to collect the money and being told he could only have $750.
     
  10. Brother Maynard

    Brother Maynard Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dallas, TX
    Well I'll be, I never knew that. Thanks.
     
  11. the pope ondine

    the pope ondine Forum Resident

    Location:
    Virginia
  12. RayS

    RayS A Little Bit Older and a Little Bit Slower

    Location:
    Out of My Element
    This report seems to suggest that the entire program was pre-recorded. They wouldn't have needed 3 hours to tape a 10 minute music sequence, and Simon's intro for the "Crackerbox Palace" promo film certainly didn't require George's presence.

    For what it's worth, the Wikipedia entry for SNL Season 2 makes no mention of the show being taped, APART from "Harrison's appearances".
     
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  13. davmar77

    davmar77 I'd rather be drummin'...

    Location:
    clifton park,ny
    Saturday night live did a full dress rehearsal earlier the same night as the live broadcast. I attended a few of these. They had a full audience and even had extra material so they could pick the best parts and still have a full show.
     
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  14. Summer of Malcontent

    Summer of Malcontent Forum Resident

    But it wasn't where it wasn't at.
     
  15. Summer of Malcontent

    Summer of Malcontent Forum Resident

    No idea about U2, but at least in the case of R.E.M., all four members contributed substantially to the actual songwriting. It wasn't just a publishing formality. Berry, Buck and Mills all brought their own song ideas to the sessions, which were then worked on and developed as a band, with Stipe adding lyrics to as many as he liked.
     
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  16. the pope ondine

    the pope ondine Forum Resident

    Location:
    Virginia
    I don't know, sound check, rehearsaing, breaks, messing around, it could....I think if they taped the whole thing It would be more well known, the only time they had a real delay was for pryor and that got a lot of attention
     
  17. guy incognito

    guy incognito Senior Member

    Location:
    Mee-chigan
    That’s who shoulda been there but wasn’t. Uriah Heep! :D
     
  18. czeskleba

    czeskleba Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    I don't think she's saying the entire program was pre-recorded. She only mentions seeing musical numbers, and also says that "Here Comes the Sun" was done four different times. The timetable is unclear, but it seems pretty certain that the George taping couldn't have lasted from 7-10 pm, because she also says that George left the studio "about two hours after the taping." So they couldn't have finished the taping at 10 pm, because that would have meant George was still at the studio until midnight. And if he was still there then, it would have negated the need to pre-tape his cold open.

    If I had to guess, I'd speculate that they taped George's bits first (from 7-8 pm) and then did their dress rehearsal, which George stuck around to watch. And then he probably left around 10 pm.
     
    Last edited: Mar 8, 2018
  19. Greenalishi

    Greenalishi Birds Aren’t Real

    Location:
    San Francisco
    So many people played went on for a real long time. Not sure how many more people time would allow. Would have been cool, but, Ringo made up for it.
     
  20. mrjinks

    mrjinks Optimistically Challenged

    Location:
    Boise, ID.
    Ok, so even though there are bootlegged audience tapes of the rehearsal, you’re still maintaining George wouldn’t perform in front of a live audience? And even though this dailymotion video shows the full intro from Simon, and George reacting to the applause, presumably you’re speculating that he pretended to react to this applause, which only occurred when the audience watched a tape of their performance? And even though, if you look closely at the bottom and sides of the screen, you can actually see people reacting to this performance, you’re still maintaining this wasn’t done live? Ok, I give up.
    :shrug:
    Paul Simon & Goerge Harrison - Here Comes The Sun - Video Dailymotion

    Regardless of the book you cite, I’d prefer to refer to forum member @lennonology and his definitive solo compendium Eight Arms To Hold You, where he states the songs were taped two days prior to the show (Thursday, not Saturday). Perhaps he’d care to weigh on this, if he has the time...
     
    Last edited: Mar 9, 2018
  21. Wasn’t this a Last Waltz Thread ??? :tiphat:

    Oh well.
     
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  22. the pope ondine

    the pope ondine Forum Resident

    Location:
    Virginia

    you know how these threads can go off on tangents.... and I think we got to the bottom of why George didn't play at the last waltz. answer: no one knows.
     
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  23. I’m fine with it. Just wanted to make sure.
     
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  24. kunstwork

    kunstwork Forum Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    To set the record straight, George's musical performances with Paul Simon (and possibly his opening with Lorne Michaels) was taped in Brooklyn on the Thursday before the Saturday night show. If they did any of Saturday Night Live at 30 Rockefeller Plaza that Saturday night (because I believe Studio 8H was used for something else that week and hence the relocation to Brooklyn for George's bit) I doubt George was even in the building.
     
  25. redsock

    redsock Writer, reader, grouch.

    :tsk: Van will now give you one of those end-of-Caravan kicks (and with any luck not split his jumpsuit in the process).
     
    Mazzy likes this.
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