KOCH Entertainment to Release George Harrison Tribute Album To Mark Late Beatles 60th Birthday Friday February 21, 11:36 am ET

NEW YORK, Feb. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- KOCH Entertainment is proud to announce the release of "Songs From The Material World: A Tribute To George Harrison" on February 25th, 2003 -- the late Beatle and gifted solo performer's 60th birthday.

The compilation features all new recordings of Harrison's best known songs by an eclectic mix of musicians including Todd Rundgren ("While My Guitar Gently Weeps"), Dave Davies ("Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)"), John Entwistle ("Here Comes The Sun"), Big Head Todd & The Monsters ("Within You, Without You"), They Might Be Giants ("Savoy Truffle"), The Smithereens ("Want To Tell You"), Leslie West ("Old Brown Shoe"), Bill Wyman ("Taxman"), Wayne Kramer ("It's All Too Much") and Jay Bennett & Edward Burch ("Isn't It A Pity"). Noted designer Milton Glaser, perhaps most famous for his I Love New York logo, created original artwork for the release.

Harrison, who passed away from cancer in November 2001, was widely respected as both a master musician and as a role model for those seeking to lead a spiritual life in the material world of our modern day. A passionate supporter of various charities throughout his life, Harrison organized the legendary Concert For Bangladesh at Madison Square Garden in 1971 and in doing so laid the foundation for the music industry's proud tradition of star- studded benefit work, including the Tibetan Freedom Concert and Farm Aid series as well as 1985's spectacular Live-Aid.

In 1973, Harrison established the Material World Charitable Foundation to sponsor diverse forms of artistic expression and to encourage the exploration of alternative life views and philosophies. The Foundation also supports established charitable organizations with consideration to those with special needs. A portion of the profits from "Songs From The Material World" will be donated to the charity.

Update (2/13/03)

Update (2/12/03) Above you can see the cover for "Songs From the Material World: A Tribute to George Harrison." (Thanks to Koch Records.)

Update (12/13/02)

Update (12/12/02) Here's the official press release, with the latest track listing for the tribute album for George called "Songs From the Material World: A Tribute to George Harrison":

KOCH Entertainment Presents Songs From The Material World: A Tribute To George Harrison

NEW YORK, Dec. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- KOCH Entertainment is proud to present Songs From The Material World: A Tribute To George Harrison. The album, a collection of Harrison's most well known songs as performed by his peers and followers will be released on February 25th, 2003 to commemorate what would have been the late Beatle's 60th birthday. In addition to the all-star line up of artists, the album also features original artwork by noted designer Milton Glaser, and extensive liner notes by Beatle authority Jody Denberg (also PD of KGSR/Austin). All tracks were recorded specifically for this project.

Bob Frank, President of KOCH Entertainment says, "This is a thrilling tribute to George Harrison. What better way to honor him than to have fellow talented musicians performing his songs."

Todd Rundgren, who covers one of the most beloved Harrison songs, "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" says, "Although I was a young guitar player before I'd heard of the Beatles, I'd never heard the term 'lead guitarist'. George created the job description for my first paying gig, the vocation that I'm still lucky enough to practice today and that kind of enthusiasm is shared by the artists who are featured on the album, many of whom were influenced by Harrison to take up music in the first place."

Dave Davies of The Kinks, shares a similar attitude, "I'm not a great lover of covers. I wouldn't normally do one. George Harrison, because of his Shinning Spirituality is an exception. I pay tribute to George as a great musical talent but primarily as an advanced soul who was unafraid to share his spiritual vision and journey with us."

   
Track Listing:

     1.  Todd Rundgren - "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"
     2.  Masters Of Reality - "Devil's Radio"
     3.  Marc Ford - "I, Me, Mine"
     4.  Dave Davies - "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)"
     5.  Wayne Kramer - "It's All Too Much"
     6.  John Entwistle - "Here Comes The Sun"
     7.  Jay Bennet/Edward Burch - "Isn't It A Pity"
     8.  Big Head Todd and The Monsters - "Within You, Without You"
     9.  The Smithereens - "I Want To Tell You"
    10.  Roger McGuinn - "If I Needed Someone"
    11.  Bill Wyman - "Taxman"

KOCH Entertainment is the leading and fastest-growing independent music company in the U.S. KOCH'S operations encompass record labels and distribution companies in the U.S. and Canada. KOCH Entertainment is the market leader among independents in both the U.S. and Canada and its record labels had the largest number of Billboard charting albums among independents in 2001/2002.

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Source: KOCH Entertainment

Update (12/5/02) Rolling Stone.com has posted what it says is the final tracklisting for the album, and it's quite different than what we've seen previously. Here's their list:

• "I Want to Tell You," The Smithereens
• "Devil's Radio," Masters of Reality
• "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," Todd Rundgren
• "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)," Dave Davies
• "I, Me, Mine," Marc Ford
• "Within You, Without You," Big Head Todd and the Monsters
• "It's All Too Much," Wayne Kramer
• "Isn't It a Pity," Jay Bennett/Edward Burch
• "Old Brown Shoe," Leslie West
• "Here Comes the Sun," John Entwistle
• "Savoy Truffle," They Might Be Giants
• "Something," Bonnie Bramlett

Joey (Molland) will be going to New York after Beatlefest to record "Love You To" for the George Harrison tribute album due out in February on Koch Records. The session will be produced by Ted Mason from Modern English. Joey also may be participating in the Harrison Tribute concert at the Royal Albert Hall on November 29th.

Update (9/17/02) Contrary to what we wrote last week, Pat DiNizio of the Smithereens has now posted info on his website that the group may indeed be involved with the George tribute. He links to the Launch news item about the album with these words: "Here's an interesting item regarding THE SMITHEREENS proposed involvement with a new GEORGE HARRISON Tribute Album- It's news to me, and this is the first I'm hearing of it, so I guess we must be doing it!" (A very special Abbeyrd's Beatles Page thank to Mr. Dave Persails, webmaster of Dave's Smithereens Page.)

Update (9/9/02) Here's Koch Records' latest press release on the George tribute album. It basically confirms the most recent news stories:

KOCH Records To Release George Harrison Tribute Album To Mark Late Beatles 60th Birthday

KOCH Records is in the process of compiling a tribute record to late Beatle George Harrison. The album, titled "Songs From The Material World," is scheduled for release on February 25th, 2003 - which would have been Harrison's 60th birthday. Featured artists are scheduled to include Julian Lennon, Roger McGuinn, Bonnie Bramlett (Delaney and Bonnie), Dave Davies (The Kinks), Peter Green (Fleetwood Mac), Al Kooper (Bob Dylan), Wayne Kramer (MC5), Masters of Reality, Todd Rundgren, The Smithereens, Simon Townsend, Leslie West (Mountain), They Might Be Giants, Jay Bennett (Wilco), Donovan, former Black Crowes guitarist Marc Ford and Midge Ure among many others.

George Harrison, who passed away from cancer in November of last year, was one of the most well respected musicians of his time who also passionately supported various charities throughout his life. In organizing the legendary Concert For Bangladesh at Madison Square Garden in 1971, Harrison set a standard that wasn't to be matched again until 1985 with Live-Aid. Later charity work included a benefit album for the Romanian Angel Appeal in 1990 and contributing to a Greenpeace album in 1985.

KOCH Entertainment is the leading and fastest-growing independent music company in the U.S. KOCH'S operations encompass record labels and distribution companies in the U.S. and Canada. KOCH Entertainment is the market leader among independents in both the U.S. and Canada and its record labels had the largest number of Billboard charting albums among independents in 2001/2002.

Update (9/8/02) Our source that informed us that the Smithereens were not involved in the album told us that nothing has changed with the earlier information he provided us. So it's possible that what Launch has reported (and what we linked to Saturday) may not be completely correct. We're hoping to get some word from Koch. If we do, we'll pass it on.

Update (9/7/02) More details are out on the George tribute album coming on Koch Records in a report from Launch Music. The album, which Launch says is titled "Songs From The Material World," to be released Feb. 25, will feature cover versions of Harrison and Beatles songs by artists including Dave Davies of the Kinks, Roger McGuinn of the Byrds (whose song "The Bells of Rhymney" was the inspiration for "If I Needed Someone," the song McGuinn will cover), Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac and Mountain's Leslie West. (You'll note that except for West and Green, we named the others when we first reported about this album one month ago.) "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" also be covered as an all-star effort, says Launch.

Hi Steve,

I read about the rumoured George tribute album featuring Julian on the opening track singing "My Sweet Lord." I e-mailed his official web page and got this response:

From Derek Gibson at Silkhouse:

"I think it's unlikely that Julian has recorded MSL, although I can't be categorical as sometimes recording are made but not disclosed for contractual reasons."

So I guess we'll all just have to wait and see.

And from Tim Swaddling:

Hey Steve,

Long time no news tip from me, as I've moved and don't get access to a computer all that often. I was catching up on all the latest Fab News, and noticed that you had reported on the George tribute disc coming, but then reported that it may not be true as some artists denied being involved in anything.

But not to fret, there IS a George tribute album coming, as I received my Coming Soon Titles August issue (I'm an assistant manager at CD Plus, a Canadian music store chain), and it lists a release for October for "George Harrison - Songs From The Material World". So there's the title at least, and yes, there is a tribute album coming. Speaking of which, why did it take so long to get one of these together in the first place? I think he deserved one while he was alive, in my own opinion. Anyways, there's no word on who may or may not be on it, but there will be one.

Peace and what not,
Tim Swaddling

And our good buddy Dave Persails, who runs Dave's Smithereens Page, tells us that Pat DiNizio of that band denied that they are involved. The original info came from a knowledgable source, so all we can fathom is that it's possible the project might be on shaky ground. We'll see...

Update II (8/7/02) Here's the possible track list for the tribute:

• Julian Lennon "My Sweet Lord"
• Bill Wyman's Rhythm King's "Taxman"
• Dave Davies "Not Guilty"
• Marc Ford "I, Me, Mine"
• Peter Frampton "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"
• Bonnie Bramlett "Something"
• Heart "Wah Wah"
• Todd Rundgren "Cloud 9"
• The Smithereens "If I Needed Someone"
• Chrissie Hynde
• Midge Ure "Here Comes The Sun"
• Masters Of Reality "Devil's Radio"
• Wayne Kramer "It's All Too Much"
• They Might Be Giants "Savoy Truffle"
• Violent Femmes "Got My Mind Set On You"

(8/7/02) Koch Records, Ringo's new label, has a tribute disc to George in the planning stages. Jody Denberg of KGSR Radio in Texas has been asked to do the liner notes. If you're wondering if Ringo could be involved, as far as we know, he's not.

This news item copyright Abbeyrd's Beatles Page