Ringo! Paul! John! George! The Fab Four, known as The Beatles are widely recognized as the greatest rock band of all time. Categorized, they were popularly considered as Paul “the cute one,” John “the smart one,” Ringo “the funny one,” and George “the quiet one.” Though their nicknames do not encompass holistically who they are, they did represent part of their public personalities. And even though George was “the quiet one,” he didn’t stay quiet for very long.

Throughout his life in the spotlight, George Harrison was a singer, songwriter, author, and film producer. Harrison was born in Liverpool, England in 1943. He grew up there, attending Dovedale Road Infants & Juniors School then the Liverpool Institute for Boys from 1954 to 1959 where he met future bandmate Paul McCartney. When The Beatles were still called the Quarrymen, McCartney asked Harrison to join. As the new, and youngest, member of the group he became the lead guitarist for The Beatles.

His ability on the guitar went through more than one dramatic transformation. When they began playing together, Harrison’s guitar playing skills were not highly regarded, leading producer George Martin to direct and modify his solos. Martin later admitted that he’d been hard on Harrison, though in the 1970s, Harrison became known for his slide work. Then in 1964 he got a Rickenbacker 360/12 model guitar, a 12-string electric guitar with the headstock of a 6-string. He worked extensively in the studio with the new guitar and developed a coveted sound that was quickly adopted by Roger McGuinn of the Byrds.

When it came time for Beatles song writing, Paul McCartney and John Lennon were usually at the helm. While he was sick one day in 1963, George decided to try his hand at scribing a song. He wrote “Don’t Bother Me” that day, which went on to appear on The Beatles second album With the Beatles, the U.S. release Meet the Beatles, and later in 1964 in the film A Hard Day’s Night. He sang lead vocals for every Beatles song he wrote, including “Chains,” “Do You Want to Know a Secret,” “Roll Over Beethoven,” and “Devil in Her Heart.”

At the height of Beatlemania, Harrison started exploring, and expanding his spiritual side. While the band was filming Help! in the Bahamas, a local Hindu devotee gave each of The Beatles a book on reincarnation. Harrison became more interested in the religion, intently reading the book’s contents. He also began listening to Indian classical music after friend and Byrds member David Crosby introduced him to the sound. After exploring Hinduism, he converted, becoming a supporter of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKON). After he began practicing Hinduism his music reflected the spirituality and garnered interest in Indian culture.

In the 1970s Harrison embarked on his successful solo career and became a member of a few other groups, including the Traveling Wilburys. Of the four Beatles, George was the first to have a number one solo album with All Things Must Pass and number one single “My Sweet Lord.” He released a large number of songs he had compiled while still a member of The Beatles that had not seen fruition with the band. All Things Must Pass was the first triple album released by a single artist in rock history, and was revived in 2001 in a remastered version, hitting #4 on the Billboard’s Pop Catalog chart. He continued making music through the 1970s, including the album Dark Horse which also released a major tour in the U.S.

In the 1980s Harrison began exploring other career avenues, along with music. He published the autobiography I Me Mine in 1980, making him the only Beatle to do so, though it did not include many details about the band. In 1987 he released the critically acclaimed album Cloud Nine, including a retrospective on The Beatles called “When We Was Fab.” Also in the late 1980s he co-founded the production company Handmade Films and began backing the anarchic humor of Monty Python, including their film, The Life of Brian.

The Beatles, minus Lennon, reunited in the mid-1990s. From 1994 to 1996 he, Starr, and McCartney and producer Jeff Lynne worked on the Beatles Anthology project. They recorded two new Beatles songs, along with solo vocals and piano tapes recorded by Lennon in the late 1970s prior to his death. In the late ‘90s he began having throat problems, as a result of being a longtime smoker. He was diagnosed with cancer and died in November 2001.

George Harrison, and The Beatles have become indestructible icons in pop culture history around the world. Celebrating his legacy, Hake’s Americana, a division of Geppi’s Entertainment, is featuring a check signed by George Harrison, in their current auction. The National Westminster Bank Ltd. check measures 3.5 X 7-7/8” and is dated February 23, 1971. To view this, and many other items in Hake’s auction, click here.