Tuesday, January 31, 2023

RIP Louise Harrison

George Harrison's older sister, who moved to America in the 1950s, has died.

A Beatles sister dying at age 91, 21 years after her more famous brother, wouldn't normally be newsworthy but Louise Harrison actually did help play a part with The Beatles' triumph in America:
In September 1963, almost no one in America had heard of the Beatles, much less of George Harrison, their quiet lead guitarist. Back in England, things were different. Needing a break from touring and recording, in September Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr visited Greece. John Lennon and his wife went to Paris. George chose to visit his sister, in Benton, Illinois (pop. 7,000).

While George enjoyed his R&R, Louise was busy promoting the Beatles. Besides dropping off records at the area radio stations, she prevailed upon local influencers—well, high school girls—to interview him. Her efforts got the band's song From Me To You played on a radio station in Illinois, which is one of the first known instances of the band hitting airwaves in the United States, according to the Daily Mail.
Okay it's not exactly playing The Ed Sullivan Show in front of 74 million people, but even the fact that she's the reason George was the first Beatle to ever visit America is something to remember her for. 

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