When he chose to be, George Harrison could be skeptical, but his buddy Tom Petty said he was usually amusing about it. Nevertheless, he never allowed his skepticism to evolve into resentment, rage, or hatred. He told Petty that experiencing those sentiments was useless. The quest for solutions from the cosmos is often more vital.
George Harrison, according to Tom Petty, could be humorous even when he was cynical.
George has a tendency to be cynical. It stemmed from a difficult childhood in Liverpool in the 1940s. In addition, The Beatles are wearing him down. He, on the other hand, understood how to keep stuff lighthearted. George’s caustic, sarcastic humor was felt by Tom Petty.
Petty stated in a special edition of Rolling Stone titled “Remembering George,” “George really said everything that crossed his mind. I used to say, ‘You really can’t get a thought to your brain without it slipping out your mouth.’
“And he was painfully honest. It was an endearing trait, but sometimes you hoped that he wouldn’t be quite as honest as he was going to be.
“Let’s be honest. There was Cranky George, and he could be very cynical at times. He would always be the first to nail himself as being too cynical, but he was quite funny when he was really cynical. But he was very funny, like, ‘The Beatles, they weren’t all that they were cracked up to be’ [laughs].”
Petty was instructed not to be resentful or furious by George.
Despite his cynicism about stardom, the media, record labels, and fans’ demands, George never let hatred and pessimism dictate his existence.
“I’ll tell you, the media wasn’t very sweet in the last year of his life,” Petty said. “He was probably the most hounded of his whole life when he was trying to deal with that. Especially in Europe, he never got a moment’s peace. He would have helicopters follow him when he left the house.
“I guess that comes with the territory. That’s part of the price you pay. He paid that price so many times — well, overpaid. But he’d be the first to say there’s nothing to be gained by bitterness or anger, hatred. I don’t know how many times he would remind me that bitterness or pessimism is only going to slow you down finding the solution. And he lived that way.”
George, on the other hand, decided to be passionate about music, friends, family, and spirituality. “His enthusiasm was very contagious in a recording session, in a writing session,” Petty continued. “He just had unbridled enthusiasm.”