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CNN Talkback Live

Remembering George Harrison

Aired November 30, 2001 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOIE CHEN, HOST: Welcome to TALKBACK LIVE: "America Speaks Out."

Today America speaks out about an icon over several generations, today focusing on the life of the Beatles. The girls, the ones in the '60s said that the one Beatle who was the quiet one, the mystic. George Harrison, a man who went from guitar to sitar, and back again.

As you know probably by now, George Harrison has died of cancer. Memorials are popping up across London, from Abbey Road to Liverpool, and everywhere you go, people, especially baby boomers, have a story to tell.

Before we trip down the lane of your memories, let's trip down Abbey Road, in London, with CNN's Richard Quest there.

Richard, thanks for being with us. It's rather dark where you are, quite late at night. But I know you are there at Abbey Road. Can you talk about the folks who have been to this sort of makeshift memorial tonight?

RICHARD QUEST, CNN LONDON: Good evening, Joie, from a cold and drizzly London. As you said, I'm at Abbey Road, which is a north London street, a busy thoroughfare, where this evening people have gathering. Because of course, it's one of the most famous streets in music.

For example, this also has to be one of the most famous crosswalks, or pedestrian pelican crossings, as they're known in Britain, in the world. It is, of course, one where the Beatles walked across back in late 1960s. Abbey Road is significant because it was the home of the studios, the Abbey Road studios, where they recorded most of their albums, the last one being in 1968, named after the studios.

And it's here this evening that people have been gathering to pay their own tribute, to write messages and to leave flowers in memory of George Harrison. Let me show you some of the things that people have been writing. There have been pictures, "whilst you in heaven sleep, your guitar will still gently weep," a reference, of course, to the last song.

And they've been writing messages on the wall as well. There's one just over there, which says, "thank you very much," basically saying that George Harrison, "to the passing of another great legend, George Harrison, Dennis, 30th of 11-01."

The flower messages are very much in that sync. "Rest in peace, George." One over here says "George, you've now joined John." So that's been happening here in London, Joie.

CHEN: Hey, Richard, can I ask you about the folks who have come out there? Are they mostly Brits, is this sort of an international group of people paying tribute there? Are they young, are they old? What generation?

QUEST: Well, it's a very interesting point, because you might have thought -- it's 31 years since the Beatles were together. I certainly remember when they were (UNINTELLIGIBLE), and I can remember my sisters and my family bursting into tears when it was announced.

But what we're seeing here tonight is a complete and utter age range. Come this way with me, and it will become clear. A lot of young people are here this evening that really were neither alive or, probably, had never even been thought of when the Beatles were actually making music. And in just a second, Joie, if you like, we can certainly have a word with one or two of them. Of course, the mere question of that, and everyone runs in the opposite direction.

You, sir, you've decided to come here to say -- well, why?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just thought it's a (UNINTELLIGIBLE) day in history. And living fairly close, I thought it'd be silly not to come up here today and sort of pay respects to George Harrison.

QUEST: How old are you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 23.

QUEST: Now, you're 23. The Beatles broke up seven years before you were born.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Great music, I guess it's timeless. And I have a lot of Beatles CDs back home and I've always enjoyed it, so I don't know. I just love the Beatles, too.

QUEST: Thank you very much. That sentiment is expressed many fold, and many times. Like the many young children who have been brought here to leave flowers and write messages -- Joie.

CHEN: Richard Quest for us at Abbey Road. And as a Liverpoolian, I guess we should offer our regrets to you, as well. This is a very difficult time for those of you there. Thanks very much to Richard Quest, our man on the streets in London today.

Joining us now, Martin Lewis, leading authority on the Beatles. He's written extensively, produced TV and radio specials on the Fab Four. He writes for Time.com as well. Last July he investigated a tabloid story that claimed George Harrison was close to death.

Also with us at this point, Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, former lead guitarist for both Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers. Gentlemen, we thank you both.

Skunk, I know that we have spoken to you most recently in your role as defense analyst. Now, to see you here today in this context, quite different. But just to get a picture for how much this is felt across all spectrums, you were on your way to the Pentagon this afternoon.

JEFF "SKUNK" BAXTER, FMR. LEAD GUITARIST, STEELY DAN: Yes, ma'am.

CHEN: And you told them that you had to come here to talk about this. What happened?

BAXTER: They said, "go do it." I was just backstage with General Shepperd, and General Shepperd was very touched. You could see how emotional he was about it. The Beatles touched everybody. They were more powerful than nuclear weapons, and they probably saved American music from turning into oatmeal.

I guess I relate to George Harrison on the same level as many guitar players. A guitar player is sort of the wing man in any band, and George Harrison, to me, was the guy who didn't play too much. There's always guys who tend to play way too much. And George picked the right notes, put them in the right place.

And, as the alternative melody maker in a band, had a very important position. And I really enjoyed his playing. I thought it was tasty, which to me, is the highest compliment anybody could pay.

CHEN: Skunk, there is emotion shared all across the audience here as well. This is Randy from Michigan.

RANDY: My wife and I were teenagers in the mid-'60s, and with the Beatle invasion, as it was called when they came to America, it was a real exciting, a fun time to be a teenager in this country.

CHEN: Does it surprise you, Randy, to see so many young people who still seem to have some connection? I mean, after all, this is like two generations.

RANDY: It doesn't, because the music is so often heard to this day in so many places, that it's familiar to everybody, I believe.

CHEN: We're going to have to take a break. We're going to come back and hear from Martin Lewis and the rest of our guests as well. Right after the break, Collective Soul's Ed Roland is going to be with us as well. Stand by.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHEN: Our opportunity to listen to music of George Harrison this hour. The former Beatles producer, George Martin, sometimes called the fifth Beatle. He expressed his sorrow today. Let's listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GEORGE MARTIN, FORMER BEATLES PRODUCER: It's an awful shock today, because -- I mean, we've known it's been coming for a long while. But it still doesn't prepare you for the day when it actually happens. George is a wonderful man, and a fine musician. But most importantly, I think he was a very loving person, full of humor.

And, I don't think he really wanted to be a famous person. I think he wanted to do his own stuff by himself. And fortunately, he had, in Olivia and Danny, he had a wonderful family. And my thoughts are with them right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHEN: I want to bring back just for a moment here Martin Lewis, who we hadn't heard from in our last segment, to talk about this notion of George Harrison, and why he was the quiet one. You have met him, interviewed him yourself. Was he the quiet one in person, or is this something of a public persona?

MARTIN LEWIS, TIME.COM: I think the word "quiet Beatle" was always a misnomer. George had plenty to say within the Beatles. And in fact your first guest, Peter from "People" magazine, says that he was rather overshadowed by John and Paul in the song writing, which he was. But that was only in the early days. And he flourished and became their equal, as a songwriter, in later days of the Beatles.

But even the early days of the Beatles, George had an enormous influence. It was his guitar playing and his adventuresome spirit. He was always looking for new textures and new sounds. It was George Harrison who first introduced western music to the sound of Indian music -- sitars. He brought the two together. And he was always looking to make something sound different. The texture, to be unusual from the previous song.

And so George was always bringing that to the Beatles. He brought his humor, and he also brought his great quest for philosophical, and for the mystical. He was interested in life, and how we can make ourselves better people. And these factors were an integral part of the Beatles success and their evolution.

CHEN: Martin, I want to interrupt you and just talk about the kind of e-mails we're receiving, the kind of comments I've seen on our Web site and the chat there as well. Just few of the e-mails that we have stacked up here. Pat in Houston, Texas: "George is one of four gentleman who changed not only music, but the conscience of our society," which you referred to just a little bit there, Martin.

"Music knows no ages," says Tommy in Amesbury, Massachusetts. "I'm 14 years old," Tommy is, "and the Beatles are my favorite. I am very saddened."

Want to bring in now with us Howard Cohen, owner of the Beatles fan club and the Beatles store in London, for us right now. Howard Cohen, can you talk to us a little about George Harrison's legacy in particular, not only in music, but as a social phenomenon? HOWARD COHEN, OWNER, BEATLES FAN CLUB: Yeah, I mean, George -- George was always called the quiet one, but he was a very funny, zany guy. I mean, he was involved in the Rutles, he was involved in Monty Python. Musically, he brought the Indian music into the Beatles, from 1965 onwards. I mean, his legacy is like a very, major part of the band. The band were four people, and George was a very important one of them. They all equal, really.

CHEN: Zany, you say that he was zany. I mean, I can see that he was interested in some zany things, Howard. But in person, was he zany himself? Did he like to pull pranks? I mean, what sort of person was he?

COHEN: Could you repeat that again?

CHEN: You made a reference to him being zany, and you said that he was interested in the Rutles, and that sort of thing. But did that -- I mean, was he the kind of person to pull pranks, or that sort of thing? Was he a joke teller, or was he just that serious kind of guy that we remember, of him?

COHEN: Yeah, he was a very serious kind of guys. He was always a serious person. But he had a great side to him that maybe a lot of people don't realize. Lot of people look upon George as the quiet one, as they say. And you know, that he was a recluse. But he had a lot of friends in the music business. And he had a great humor. And that's something I hope people see and realize over the next few weeks.

CHEN: Howard Cohen, the Beatles fan club. Thanks for being with us from the streets of London this evening. We'll take a break here, talk more of the life and the legacy of George Harrison, right after this.

(APPLAUSE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was known as the quiet one, it stayed that way throughout his career. He had to force himself, to teach himself to play, ripped his fingers to shreds, we're told. And look what he gave us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE HARRISON (singing): I look at the world, and I know it is turning, while my guitar gently weeps.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHEN: Let's just play music for the hour, shall we? On the telephone line with us, Ed Roland, lead singer for Collective Soul, who is with us today and to share his thoughts and memories of George Harrison on this day.

Ed, you are from an entirely different generation, and we've seen in some of the e-mails that we've been getting, some of the that, even in a completely different generation, there is still this relationship to the Beatles to and George Harrison. Why is that?

ED ROLAND, LEAD SINGER, COLLECTIVE SOUL: We've always said the Beatles are rock 'n' roll 101. That's what every band should start -- what to have a career like, I think. And it all goes back to the music.

CHEN: Do you mean a career like that, in terms of its phenomenal success, or do you mean from a music standpoint?

ROLAND: From all standpoints, really. I mean, but mostly the musical end of it, and also how to handle the career. I mean, they reinvented themselves, basically every record. And just to see the growth, that's one of the great things.

Look at Beatles, just Beatles, themselves, in a seven-year period, how they grew. And even George, in his solo career. He's one of the first artists to bring spirituality into his music, you know, and not be afraid to use that in his music.

CHEN: Martin Lewis, can you talk to the question of his spirituality? We know that he had a great deal to do with south Asia, the concert for Bangladesh, and so forth. Was he a Hindu, or what was his faith?

LEWIS: His faith was very much to simply embrace humanity. The surprising thing is that George Harrison was really only about 23 years old when he went on his spiritual quest. In 1966 he went to India. He studied under Ravi Shankar, and he gained an interest, not just in the music, but also in eastern philosophy.

And he brought that back into the Beatles. He interested the other Beatles in meditation. He interested them in social and political issues. And in doing that, he helped the transition of the Beatles from merely entertainers into artists.

And the other thing that's been mentioned, here, I just want to address, there seems to be sometimes surprise that young people like the Beatles so much. The Beatles are completely timeless. And there are so many young people who attend their fan conventions -- over 75 percent of people at their fan conventions are 25 and under. For them it's not nostalgia. The Beatles music is timeless. Their message is timeless.

CHEN: Still very much alive. Jim, in Union Lake, Missouri, sent us an e-mail: "The Beatles are my 10-year old daughter's favorite group. Sorry, Britney." That's what Jim says. I guess Britney may not stand the test of time. But we do have questions here in our audience. This is Lisa from Delaware with us.

LISA: Hi, I have two questions. One, Ed from Collective Soul. How has the music of the Beatles, and particularly George, affected your music?

ROLAND: They're probably the most influential band on our band, per se. But once again, it goes back to the song writing and, just how to handle a career. To be creative as you can, and be in charge of your career.

CHEN: Yeah, I had heard from one of our producer, Mike, is a big Beatles fan. He was talking about really, the Beatles, Martin, actually making sort of the first of the videos that we have come to see as just being ubiquitous today.

LEWIS: Oh, of course, yes, these were done in 1965, when they did promotional films, they were called then, for some of their songs, because they were in such demand they couldn't possibly appear on every TV show. So they did these films.

And of course, their first film, "A Hard Days Night," was such a surprise, because until then, we'd been used to pop singers like Elvis Presley, just doing a cheap vehicle that was knock-off film for the kids. Whereas, "A Hard Days Night," they showed that they had wonderful comedic personalities -- very engaging. And that also was part of the Beatles' success. It wasn't just the music, but their personalities, their sincerity. And you know, they took their music and their work seriously, but they never took themselves seriously. They were very self-deprecating.

CHEN: Yes, I want to talk here with Tom from Washington state. Now, Tom says -- and we talk about this inter-generational thing. Tom says that you remember the Beatles invasion, but you also remember some of the concern parents had?

TOM: I remember that parents were more concerned about their daughters than they were their sons. They were a little bit worried about their sons. They were scared death about their daughters going to Seattle to witness the Beatles invasion. It was more like a -- greater than a presidential visit.

CHEN: I know that it was a very big time and that -- and that really raises an interesting point about the Beatles, Elvis, all those influences came right out of the Ed Sullivan show.

Skunk, talk to us little bit about your own life and what you remember about the Beatles invasion about -- maybe -- maybe I'm making you older than you really are, Skunk. But in any case, can you tell us...

BAXTER: That's OK. I've been around for a while, Joie. I'll admit it.

CHEN: I don't want to presume anything, Skunk. Can you talk about their influence in your own life and your own images of what you would be as rock star?

BAXTER: Well, I didn't -- at the time when I heard the Beatles I wasn't so much interested in being a rock star as I was in trying to play the guitar. And what I found fascinating about the Beatles was American music was starting to turn to oatmeal. And I think the Beatles actually saved pop music. They stepped in with fresh new concept and kept us from going down -- you know what happens in, like, in any situation. Things just start to get stale.

And the Beatles took the elements of Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, the blues, skiffle music, country music, rock and roll music, the Ventures, anything you can think of, and resynthesized it into something fresh and exciting.

And when I started first hearing George Harrison play guitar I said to myself, well, this guy is not the fastest guitar player in the world but what he's done is he's synthesized elements country and skiffle and rock and roll.

And when he played a note he picked the right note. It's like you could eat a whole tree full of apples or you could just pick the right one. He was such a tasty player.

And when I -- I didn't get a chance to spend that much time with him. We met occasionally. And every time we would get together we'd always talk about guitars, because he was a consummate guitar player, guitar owner, guitarist.

We're talking a lot about the Beatles but I really want to focus on George Harrison. I think as a guitar player he was a tremendous influence, because he taught kids -- kids, he taught every guitar player you don't necessarily have to play at Mach three to be a wonderful guitar player. You can pick your time, you can pick your notes, you can pick your melodies and you can pick your phrasing and you can do wonderful, wonderful job. And I thought he was awesome.

CHEN: A quick comment from Lisa?

LISA: We've talked a lot about -- a lot about George Harrison the musician, but I think we should go to George Harrison the humanitarian and how the concert for Bangladesh really introduced the idea, I think, of merging musicians and what kind of impact they can have socially.

CHEN: Yes. Live Aid and everything grew out of that.

LISA: Came out of that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Joie, can I say a word about that?

CHEN: Wait, wait. Can you do that after the break?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's cool.

CHEN: We're going to take a little break here and talk more about that subject: George Harrison and his influence -- his social influence -- right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My boys have been into the Beatles, especially my older boys, for a few years now. And the whole way in all we do is listen to different radio stations, talking about George and all he did for the world, you know, especially Bangladesh which was at least 16 years before Live Aid he did that, you know. So he really started all these benefit programs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHEN: You think about Live Aid. We had a question from Lisa in our audience about that. We want to bring Martin Lewis who we kept through the break just to talk about this influence that George Harrison had, Martin, the social element of it.

MARTIN LEWIS, BIOGRAPHER OF GEORGE HARRISON: Very much so. You see, in 1971 when George organized the concert for Bangladesh, rock stars had never got together for a cause.

They'd done concerts like Woodstock and festivals like that but they'd never banded together to raise money or raise consciousness for an event. And George Harrison did that. He brought Bob Dylan, Billy Preston, Leon Russell, Eric Clapton together. This was a landmark.

And I noticed myself because a few years later I organized some benefit concerts for Amnesty International and I got folks such as Sting and Pete Townshend and Eric Clapton and they did it because they wanted to emulate the wonderful example that George Harrison had given. And we were always conscious that he had done this first.

And you know, Bob Geldof -- quite rightly -- got a knighthood for his work with Live Aid. Sadly, people did not really recognize how much George Harrison had done. But he led with his example and we honor that today.

CHEN: As well. Martin Lewis, thanks very much. Biographer of George Harrison and had written for -- written about him for "People" magazine. We appreciate your being with us.

Joining us now on the telephone line, Phil Lesh, bass player for the Grateful Dead. And with me here in the studio in Atlanta, Ryan Newell, lead guitarist with Sister Hazel is here as well.

You know, I want to talk to you both. Phil, first to you on this question of the influence of the rock musician as part of a social movement. I mean, was it really at that point that musicians started to understand that it's not just enough to have the girls and the money.

PHIL LESH, GRATEFUL DEAD: Well, in -- when our band started up in San Francisco there was a -- there was a kind of collective consciousness that was developing there in the mid '60s. And so we and all the other San Francisco bands had a -- had a habit of going out and playing for free in the park, just playing for free to the people. And during that period of time, we all -- we all did benefits locally. But...

CHEN: But on a global scale. I mean, Bangladesh, really, is the only thing I can think of from that period with that international kind of influence. And...

LESH: Absolutely. Absolutely. But there wasn't -- there wasn't that consciousness of the need for the help that was -- was raised by George. Not at all.

CHEN: Did you -- did you know him yourself?

LESH: No, I was not fortunate enough to have met him. But I -- you know, I felt like I -- I felt like I knew him through his music and through watching -- looking at his photographs and watching his films. Looking at and noticing his kind of understated presence and that kind of prankster twinkle that he had in his eye. You just knew he had a wicked sense of humor.

CHEN: Despite being called a quiet guy. Ryan Newell is here. He's with the band Sister Hazel. You know, Ryan, we've been talking about this generation gap notion but when we can go from Phil Lesh to you and you're still both talking about George Harrison as this big musical influence. I mean, that really is a testament in and of itself.

RYAN NEWELL, SISTER HAZEL: Right. They broke up before I was even born. So that shows you the scope of his influence.

CHEN: Ryan, you're making us feel very, very old around here. But really, it's only six year -- almost seven years of music that the Beatles put together.

NEWELL: Right. Well, they had a short period of time. But I mean, through that they have influenced so many people. And not only with their music but what it's like to be in a band, to write your own songs and play your own music and feel more of a part of the music because of the -- the personal touch you can give to it by being in a band.

CHEN: Peter here is in our audience and he has also got a band. Do you think that even in your band that there is some influence of the Beatles, or particularly of George Harrison?

PETER: George Harrison, he had licks, as they were just pointing out earlier, that just were in the right spot at the right time. And the Beatles as a whole were just a very good influence on music in general. The songs are still living on today.

CHEN: They are as good today as they were for, oh, a generation that Phil and I have been in, rather than you and Ryan?

PETER: They probably meant -- they mean different things now then they did to like my parents who were watching them on Ed Sullivan that night when they were playing. But they just...

CHEN: You can share music that your -- your parents were into? I mean, you -- do you feel like you have the same identification or the same sort of attachment to it to something that your folks would be into?

PETER: Yeah. We still share music today. So, I mean the Beatles music with the consciousness they were bringing on at the time was just -- with social things and it just was really...

CHEN: How old are you?

NEWELL: I'm 25.

CHEN: 25 and the folks like the same music.

BAXTER: Joie?

CHEN: Yes, sir.

BAXTER: Joie, it's Skunk here.

CHEN: Skunk, go.

BAXTER: Let's just synthesize this really quickly. George -- one of the things that you're talking about is George Harrison made people realize that musicians were also human beings. They could think about other things.

Sometimes they think -- people tend to think of human beings -- of musicians as children. George Harrison showed that he had the ability to understand and comprehend and deal with the world around him. I probably owe my second career to the fact that he started the idea that musicians could conceive of other things and not only conceive of it, but bring innovative and nontraditional and new ways of looking at things.

So George Harrison in a way was the model for many of us musicians who have looked to do some different things with our lives.

CHEN: Yeah, Skunk, you really are influenced so much by that. Lead guitarist you share with George Harrison. Now you're really part of the defense analysis industry. So you have really gone the gamut. And I guess George Harrison did in a way too. Thomas on the telephone line with us from California. Tom, your question or comment.

THOMAS: Question -- well, actually just a comment is that - and I'm 29, and how the Beatles and George Harrison and their music and the way George would write his songs in chord progressions and how they would just come together and you wouldn't even think that something would come together like that.

Talking about the generational gap. I cut my teeth on the Beatles and with Skunk there, the Doobie Brothers growing up with my mom in the '70s. And I can take my guitar to my mom or dad's house and we can get together and play some music and just play some Doobie Brothers or some Beatles and we can have that connection there.

And there is just -- there's just something about the music that can draw us closer together and it's going to last forever. Even with the Grateful Dead you can just play their music and just, lie, wow and there is a connection there.

CHEN: Right. There is -- there is no end to a certain sort of music, and that is represented by all of you guys there. Thanks. This is Jesse. He's here in our audience. He's from Georgia.

JESSE: I just had a comment. Basically, in my opinion, George Harrison is probably most the underrated musician-songwriter ever. I mean, you can say all you want about John Lennon and Paul McCartney but, you know, they shared the spotlight.

When you think about it, George Harrison, he was just so underrated because he was the quiet Beatle and he didn't write many of the songs. But his solo albums "Like All Things Must Pass" and the ones later down the line -- even his '80s stuff -- is just excellent and he will be missed.

CHEN: Phil, can you talk to that issue for a moment just this notion of sometimes a band is very much dominated by one person's image, even if the band doesn't carry that guy's name? But sometimes that image just becomes the dominant one and people always think of John and Paul's songs. But don't necessarily think oh, yeah, that was one of George's songs.

LESH: Well, the thing about George's songs is that they're -- they're just such shining little -- shining nuggets of perfection, if you will. You think of "Within You, Without You." You think of "Here Comes the Sun." You think of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps."

These are songs that are just so unique and so perfect in their expression of -- of a human situation or a human consciousness that it's -- it's a shame that he didn't write more, but what he did write is so wonderful that I think we should be -- we should all be grateful to have what we have.

CHEN: This is from Amira in Washington sent to us on e-mail. "George is one of the greats. After all, he wrote "Something," the greatest love song ever." Embodying what you were saying, Phil, and what a lot of folks in our audience are saying. We're going to take a break here, talk more about George Harrison, his life and legacy, right after this. Please stand by.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT: My name is Scott Brownway (ph) from Boston University. I'm a musician and George Harrison of the Beatles influenced me as a songwriter and guitarist. Harrison was one fourth of the music group that revolutionized rock 'n roll history forever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHEN: The revolution in music. Also in looks. I just want to point out our TALKBACK LIVE viewer vote polling "What is your favorite George Harrison look, 1965, '74, 1995 or 2000?" The pollsters liked -- 39 percent, of course, that is a very unscientific poll, not that you much much science --but 1965 George Harrison's look then. I'm still picking about 1974.

We were talking during the break with Ryan Newell about whether George Harrison or the Beatle songs -- if they were come out today in the environment of music today -- whether they would have the same sort of influence, whether people would still -- you know, I mean, we -- you can say any George Harrison song, any Beatles song and all us of have like an image in our heads. Do you think that musicians can have that kind of impact today?

NEWELL: I think the songs still stand up. I mean, they just put out a record of all their number one hits and it was the best-selling record in the country. So I think the music is definitely there. I think what's different about today is usually when bands get that big there tends to be backlash of they're not cool anymore, and that never happened to the Beatles back then. They were as big as they could get and they never suffered. The musical integrity that they -- they always maintained their musical integrity.

CHEN: Phil, can you talk a little bit about music and competition, and the difference today went between that and a time before? I mean, after all, today it seems like bands can release an album with like one good song on it and a whole bunch of other stuff.

LESH: Well...

CHEN: Not your band, right. But some bands -- some bands will do that. It seems like it. The industry seems to go that way.

LESH: Well, that's a -- that's a question of what's going in the industry itself. I don't think that has a lot to do with the bands or the musicians that create that music. The record industry seems to be -- it's hit driven, it's chart driven, and the kind of artist loyalty from the audience and the record industry, the companies and their promotion doesn't seem to exist now like it did back in the -- in the '60s.

But the Beatles -- in their time they were the paradigm, they were the defining factor in showing all the rest of us musicians how it should be done.

They played all their own instruments, which was first. They all sang beautifully. They wrote their own material. This was new in pop music and it was very, very exciting to -- to musicians and in fact obviously to young people around the world to -- to see -- see that this could go on. It could be -- that four people could just get together and create these -- these wonderful things which probably none of them could have thought up by themselves.

CHEN: Skunk, did -- did George Harrison did his due as a composer in his life?

BAXTER: I think eventually he did. It's tough. The guitar player is the wing man or the whizzo (ph) in the aircraft. The pilot gets all the -- the fame and the guy in the back seat doesn't get much. But he did because people began to realize that the Beatles were more than just the two songwriters. And the fact that his song writing was so good and so effective, it's something that you can't keep down.

As a matter of fact, Osama Bin Laden right now is a lot more scared of the Beatles than he is of anybody else. I mean, they allowed to have -- they allowed AK-47s to -- everybody to have an AK- 47 over there in Afghanistan. But as soon as you played a musical tape they took you out and shot you.

CHEN: Right, right. An interesting point. Dave is in our audience. He's from California.

DAVE: Hi.

CHEN: Hi.

DAVE: You know, as we grew up with this music, it feels like such a loss to our childhood and innocence. Albums like "Sergeant Pepper," "Abbey Road," which were some of the greatest albums -- if not the greatest albums ever written and produced.

And as a kid I remember just opening up the album covers -- which kids don't get to do today with CD covers -- and just sitting there watching and reading the words. And they were so socially conscious what was going on in the world, and it just seems like -- it's so sad to me because of their greatness. And it's hard to remove George Harrison from the Beatles because he was such an integral part of most of us growing up and the changes that were made.

CHEN: Just before we go here, a couple thoughts about the best Beatles song -- the best George Harrison song. Ryan.

NEWELL: I like "Something".

CHEN: "Something." Skunk.

BAXTER: "Taxman." Simple, to the point.

CHEN: "Taxman." And political. Last from Phil. The best Beatles -- best George Harrison song, Phil.

LESH: My favorite is "Here Comes the Sun."

CHEN: "Here Comes the Sun." And a good theme to remember about George Harrison. Thank you all for being with us today. We appreciate your input and that of our audience as well and those of you at home.

Please join us again on Monday, 3:00 Eastern, for more TALKBACK LIVE. Now before the hour, Judy Woodruff talks about what is coming up next hour here on CNN. And we leave you with this.

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