i dont know why he is labeled the quiet one in every bit of Beatles footage ive ever saw, he is the most genuine and funniest of the four? He has such a quick wit and always seems like he's the boy from liverpool more so than the other 3 with ringo a close second.

Is this label more about him in general or when he is front of the camera ?

We've discussed this before-- remember where, mods? So there's more speculation on this if you can find it.

Anyway, from what I can tell, George started out quite chatty (look for 1963 YouTube clips), but gradually clammed up out of sheer boredom of answering the same questions again and again. By the time they'd reached America, the first buzz had worn off and George only spoke up when he cared to. You can still see him animated on occasion, but between Paul's willingness to answer anything, and John's wisecracks, he often didn't bother to say anything, so the American press invented this label to distinguish him from the others.

He wasn't quiet in person. Who said the quote "None of them are particularly quiet." I think it was Linda who reported coming to a Beatles dinner, and it sounded like there were 100 people in the house when there were, like, 6.  I love Michael Palin's remark about George in the Concert for George extras: "He could talk for England."

Larry Kane has a lovely chapter in his book "Ticket to Ride" where he gives his impression of each Beatle. Here's a quote specifically pertaining to George and his quietness:

Quoted from Larry Kane

George was always the most polite Beatle, but it seemed to me during this 1965 tour that George had suddenly blossomed into a more public figure. On the way to Houston, I sat down and recorded a relaxed George Harrison.

KANE: On your first US visit, George, you were known as the quiet Beatle, the somber, thoughtful and pensive one, and suddenly here in 1965 you've kind of, according to most people's way of thinking, opened up. You're talking a lot at the press conferences, a lot of the questions are directed at you. What's the reason for all of that?
HARRISON: Actually, I did talk about the same amount on the last tour. It's just that, you know, first of all, when we first came over here they didn't know us all that well. People, like, hang tags on you. Ringo was the cuddly one or something. Paul was the lovely one, and I was the quiet one, and John was the shouting one. I've been the same all along. I talk when I feel like it. I shut up when I don't feel like talking.

That last line tells you all you need to know about George Harrison: no pretense, no showboating, a strong sense of self and, for an entertainer in the glare of the spotlight, nary an ounce of superficiality. But he definitely was, on the second go-round of America, less shy and more willing to speak out.

I always liked this little interview:

On the evening of December 20th 1966, each of the Beatles arrived separately for the group's scheduled recording session. Each was interviewed by ITN-TV just outside of EMI's Abbey Road Studios. The evening's session included John, Paul and George overdubbing the background harmonies for the song 'When I'm Sixty Four.' Ringo also added the large 'bell' percussion to the recording.
(You can read what Paul, John, and Ringo said in contrast to George here: http://www.geocities.com/~beatleboy1/db1966.1220.beatles.html)

Q: "Hi, can I stop you?"
GEORGE: "Well..."
Q: "I just want to ask you-- Do you think that in the New Year you're going to be going your own ways instead of being a group?"
GEORGE: "No. No."
Q: "No?"
GEORGE: (continuing through the doorway) "Definitely not."
Q: "What about another word?"
GEORGE: (from a distance) "There aren't any more words."

lol jolly old ringo, one cheery guy

The media feel that they have to put labels on everyone. George's slightly more restrained approach at interviews - despite often being the funniest - got him labeled 'The Quiet One.' Purely a media invention, as was Posh, Sporty, Baby, Scary, and Ginger an invention by The BBC's Top Of The Pops magazine, and not by the band.

yh i kinda understood the whole spice girls thing as it did kinda fit, it was just as you said he was often the wittiest and most pleasant at interviews , not all but some and i felt it was a bit of a mislabeling.

What i like about George was that he was a very centerd person ,a screaming Hurricane of fans could rage around him and he just smileld made a joke and got on with the job in hand . Don't think he was quiet just COOL  

DaveRam

Quoted from 679

Don't think he was quiet just COOL  

Great comment, DaveRam!

Pattie says in her book how George reacted during the drug bust. Here is a quote:

Quoted from Pattie Boyd

I rang George at Apple. "George, it's your worst nightmare. Come home."
"What are you talking about?" he said.
"The police are here. Come home."

He said he would sort something out--he was always very calm. (Notes about the mysterious lump of cash found in George's boot.) Eventually George arrived and found us in the middle of this policeman's tea party. He was still calm but he wasn't happy. The police were obviously excited to meet him. They stood to attention and were almost elbowing each other to get closer to him while Sergeant Pilcher went into his "I am arresting you..." bit.

Not exactly a screaming hurricane of fans, but composed enough for my money! Just love the "It's your worst nightmare" -- "I'll sort something out" contrast.

Quoted from 679

What i like about George was that he was a very centerd person ,a screaming Hurricane of fans could rage around him and he just smileld made a joke and got on with the job in hand . Don't think he was quiet just COOL  

DaveRam

Nice comment Dave. You're not wrong!

Thank You BlueMeanie , i just love watching George on the old Beatles film he's just great one of the good guys and their's not a lot of them around in show biz ?

DaveRam

I've always liked George. He really was the quiet one. You're right Dave Ram about his attitude in all the Beatles early films. I love the fact that he always seems to be really peaceful and really more serious than the other three.

I think all of them babbled on a lot in interviews! (even Ringo! )
I can see the Quiet One with George in the early days but i think he opened
up a lot later on, he was the one who always came out with a joke or something
out of the blue in Press Conference's!

Found this fun little quote on Wiki, which is discussing George's Byrds cover If I Needed Someone:
"If I Needed Someone" was the only Harrison composition played during any of the Beatles' tours; The Quiet Beatle otherwise only sang covers onstage."
The implication seems to be that the lack of Harrison songs played live had more to do with his natural reticence rather than the quality of his songs.

Quoted from Kevin

Found this fun little quote on Wiki, which is discussing George's Byrds cover If I Needed Someone:
"If I Needed Someone" was the only Harrison composition played during any of the Beatles' tours; The Quiet Beatle otherwise only sang covers onstage."
The implication seems to be that the lack of Harrison songs played live had more to do with his natural reticence rather than the quality of his songs.

It does doesn't it. Though in the old Cavern, and Hamburg days George probably sang a quarter of the songs. In fact he sung 4 songs at the Decca audition. Even when they did 25 minute sets he had a song - even if it wasn't his own. I think If I Needed Someone was the first song he'd written that could stand up alongside the Lennon/McCartney songs live.

Quoted from BlueMeanie

I think If I Needed Someone was the first song he'd written that could stand up alongside the Lennon/McCartney songs live.

But still (from Wiki):"The song was heavily influenced by the music of The Byrds. Reportedly, Harrison sent an acetate of the song to Roger McGuinn — on which he had written, "This is for Jim" — because the riff in "If I Needed Someone" was based on McGuinn's riff in "The Bells of Rhymney." The song's introduction and coda are also very similar to those of The Byrds' song."
And considering Taxman is really a Harrison/Lennon composition and he knicked bits of a James Taylor song for Something, the list of true Harrison classics grows steadily shorter.
And lets not even talk about My Sweet Lord.

Quoted from Kevin

But still (from Wiki):"The song was heavily influenced by the music of The Byrds. Reportedly, Harrison sent an acetate of the song to Roger McGuinn — on which he had written, "This is for Jim" — because the riff in "If I Needed Someone" was based on McGuinn's riff in "The Bells of Rhymney." The song's introduction and coda are also very similar to those of The Byrds' song."
And considering Taxman is really a Harrison/Lennon composition and he knicked bits of a James Taylor song for Something, the list of true Harrison classics grows steadily shorter.
And lets not even talk about My Sweet Lord.

Taylor gets signed to Apple, can't believe his luck, and George nick's the opening lines to one of his songs!

It gets worse. Seems Here Comes The Sun is really a McQuinn/Clapton/Harrison composition:
"The song had its genesis with a songwriting collaboration between Harrison and close friend Eric Clapton called "Badge," recorded by Clapton's group Cream, and featuring an arpeggiated guitar riff that is similar to the one that forms the bridge of "Here Comes the Sun."
Harrison capoed his guitar on the 7th fret, resulting the final key of A major. He also used the same technique on his 1965 song "If I Needed Someone," which shares a similar melodic pattern."

George fans on the rack.

Take cover!

Isn't the bridge in 'Badge' the bit that he wrote though?

Quoted from BlueMeanie

Isn't the bridge in 'Badge' the bit that he wrote though?

Details schmetails. Lets not get hung up on technicalities here. At best he ripped himself off.

In August 1964 I did a series of four colour covers for Mersey Beat, each one of a solo Beatle. I had to give each one a name in the headline above the photo. When I came to John I thought: 'John Lennon: Literary Beatle.' With Paul it was 'Paul McCartney: Songwriter; for Ringo I put: 'Loveable Beatle: Ringo Starr.' Considering what to call George I put 'George Harrison: Quiet Beatle.' It's such a long time ago now that I don't know whether this was the first mention of him as the quiet Beatle. Does anyone know of an earlier time when he was called this in print?

But WHY did you call him the Quiet Beatle then, Bill?

as i originally posted in all the interviews around the time he was being labeled the quiet one, he always seemed to speak more than he would in the later years.

Because I kept meeting George on so many occasions and he just seemed reluctant to be involved in the songwriting activities or the interviews. You only had to see his comments re school to know that he had strong opinions, but always seemed reluctant to voice them. I kept meeting him in clubs at night and asked why he wasn't writing songs. I pointed out that the first mention of any original Beatles song was one he'd written called 'Cry For a Shadow', which was mentioned on the front cover of issue No. 2 of Mersey Beat.
I asked him why he wasn't writing again, why all the original numbers were just Lennon & McCartney numbers. I asked him if he'd write a number with Ringo and he later told me he did. But God knows what it was or what happened to it. I saw him coming out of the Cabin club in Wood Street and took him back to the Mersey Beat office around the corner and gave him a Kingsize Taylor album, under the name 'The Shakers', which they'd sent me from Hamburg and I quizzed him again about him writing songs. Then, when I was with them at the ABC, Blackpool, George thanked me. I asked him what for. He said he was going out to the clubs one night and thought he'd bump into me and I'd be hustling him about writing a song again, so he thought of the title 'Don't Bother Me' and decided to write a song with that name. He told me he'd already received over seven thousand pounds in royalties.
As for the name, when I was thinking of what to call George it just struck me that he was the quietest member as he wasn't as vocal as John, Paul or even Ringo. But as far as I'm concernedc, he had a unique and bizarre sense of humour, and if you want to know about it, I'll tell you.

I love this anecdote describing George's choice of first song-- 'Don't Bother Me'  

Bill, I'd adore hearing about his unique and bizarre sense of humour.

*sits down to listen*

meet too *sits down to listen also*

Well I'm definetly in Bill.

Count me in Bill

     George did have that dry ‘Scouse’ sense of humour. He also had that touch of surrealism which young British people developed through listening to ‘The Goon Show.’ This became evident fairly early on and later, as George became ‘stretched’ through his contact with the mystic qualities of Eastern philosophy, his comments acquired a maturity and insight.
     At one time George dated Iris Caldwell, sister of popular Liverpool singer Rory Storm. When he was in Hamburg in 1962 he sent Iris’s mother Vi a postcard that read:
     “Mrs Violent Stubb.
     “Darling Vi,
     “We are all missing you very much. To caress your teeth once more would be just heaven. Also to hold your lungs in mine and drink T.B. John sends you his lunch, also Paul and Ringworm greet you too.
     “It’s not too much fun here but only one week to go now, so it’s not so bad now. Have tea ready on Sunday 18th.
     “Cheerio, love from George and friends.”
      George’s deadpan humour was obvious right at the beginning. When Paul was late for the first official meeting between Brian Epstein and the Beatles at the Nems office; Epstein was annoyed at what he considered Paul’s tardiness. “Sorry, Mr Epstein,” said George, “He’s just been having a bath.”
     Brian was still angry and said, “This is disgraceful. He is going to be very late.”
     “Late,” said George, “but very clean.”
     It was George’s wit that helped them to secure their record contract with George Martin.
     Following their recording audition, Martin called them into the control room to listen to the playback, saying, “You must listen to it, and if there’s anything you don’t like, tell me, and we’ll try and do something about it.”
     George said, “Well, for a start, I don’t like your tie.”
     Martin was so amused by the comment; it endeared him to the Beatles and their sense of humour.    
     When the Beatles were in Washington in February 1964, local disc jockey Carroll James was interviewing the Beatles when George said to him, “I wanna be a baggy sweeger.” “A baggy sweeger?” asked James, wondering what George was talking about. “Oh yeah,” said the Beatle, “You know, in every town there’s twenty-five baggy sweegers and every morning they get up and go out to the airport and baggy sweeger all around.”
     In 1965, during the Beatles tour of America, a chartered aircraft developed engine trouble and was replaced by an old plane that was to fly them to the West Coast. Noting the worn fittings in the interior, a worried George began to examine them. He noted a dusty coil of rope on a rack and asked the stewardess what it was. “It’s an escape ladder,” she said. “How long is it?” asked George. “About 12 feet, I guess,” she replied. “I take it we shall fly to California at a steady 13 feet all the way then,” said George.
     Some examples of the Beatles sense of humour were taken seriously. The famous hairstyle was developed while they were in Hamburg, before they became famous. They had been asked about their hair so many times that when an American journalist in Paris in January, 1964 asked George how they came out their distinctive hair style, he said, “we were coming out of a swimming baths in Liverpool and we liked the way it looked.” As a result, the story continued to surface for many years that they discovered the hairstyle after they’d been swimming.
     When discussing their appearance in Holland George asked Paul if he remembered the house they stayed in at Harlech. Paul couldn’t. George told him, “Yes you do! There was a woman who had a dog with no legs. She used to take it out in the morning for a slide.”

What's a baggy sweeger!?!?    

Thank you, Bill, this was adorable. I will never think of lungs the same way again. *slides down the couch along with the dog with no legs... I think I know that dog...*

Love all the comments and different points of view!  
I always thought, as stated before, that George probably just didn't talk quite as much as the others, but didn't have to.  He had that attitude (not a bad thing) and look that just screams "cool". And when he did talk and didn't say a whole lot, what little he did say was enough in itself.

Im new to the board btw, and happy to be here!

Hello, HeatherBoo! Welcome to the Forums.

my dad says its not that George is really quiet and serious, its just that he has a darker sense of humor. " like me" he said. i'm not sure if i totally agree, because George was funny and witty, but i havent really seen that dark side he was talking about yet. if anyone understands what he meant by that, could you elaborate?

Quoted from Kevin

It gets worse. Seems Here Comes The Sun is really a McQuinn/Clapton/Harrison composition:
"The song had its genesis with a songwriting collaboration between Harrison and close friend Eric Clapton called "Badge," recorded by Clapton's group Cream, and featuring an arpeggiated guitar riff that is similar to the one that forms the bridge of "Here Comes the Sun."
Harrison capoed his guitar on the 7th fret, resulting the final key of A major. He also used the same technique on his 1965 song "If I Needed Someone," which shares a similar melodic pattern."

Are you mixing things up here?

Specifically, because George played that arpeggiated riff on both songs are you saying that therefore he didn't write it? I always thought it was George, and he just used it in two different songs. Is there something to the contrary that you are referring to?

Moving beyond that, excepting the riff (George's, right?), I don't recall much if any similarity between the two songs, do you? If not, why would "Here Comes the Sun" be a McGuinn/Clapton/Harrison composition?

I'm not completely gaga about George, but I think this is going a bit too far. But, if I'm wrong about this, please correct me!

Thanks!

Thanks, Alexis. Nice point.

Paul and John also on occasion used similar riffs/elements/chord progressions etc. from song to song. I think most songwriters do. But you can't plagiarize yourself!

Eric Clapton writes in his autobiography about watching George write HCTS in his garden, how cool it was watching him tweak and fashion it. He doesn't mention any contributions that he made, just his enjoyment at watching George work.