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George Harrison Loses His Battle With Cancer


11-30-01 antiGUY

The Associated Press is reporting that George Harrison has died. The 58 year-old former Beatle lead guitarist and spiritual seeker had been undergoing treatment for cancer. 

Harrison passed away at 1:30 Thursday Afternoon at a friend�s Los Angeles home,  longtime friend Gavin De Becker told The Associated Press late Thursday.

�He died with one thought in mind � love one another,� De Becker said. She also told AP that Harrison�s wife, Olivia Harrison, and son Dhani, 24, were with him when he died.

Harrison�s family released a statement late Thursday stating, �He left this world as he lived in it, conscious of God, fearless of death, and at peace, surrounded by family and friends. He often said, �Everything else can wait, but the search for God cannot wait, and love one another.��

Rumors that Harrison was losing his battle with cancer began surfacing last July when a London newspaper, the London Mail, reported that former Beatle Producer George Martin told them �he [Harrison] is going to die soon and he is accepting that�.  A few days later a spokesman for Harrison denied the rumor, calling them false and stating that Martin never gave the paper an exclusive interview. He told CBS news that "George Harrison is fine and working on his new album.�

According to press accounts Harrison had recently been treated for a brain tumor and had previously been treated for throat and lung cancer.

Harrison, the youngest Beatle, brought his own spiritual and emotional touch to many of the latter day Beatles compositions with songs like �While My Guitar Gently Weeps�, �Something�, �Here Comes The Sun�, �I, Me, Mine� and �Taxman�. He went on to have a successful solo career after the band split in 1970 with chart topping hits like �My Sweet Lord� and �Got My Mind Set On You� and collaborated with Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, and Roy Orbison in 1988 when they formed the Traveling Wilburys.

Always considering himself more a musician than "superstar", Harrison spent his life time expressing his thoughts and emotions through his music with true integrity. Many of his compositions reflected Harrison's thoughts on spirituality and his search for Higher Truth.  

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