August 1971: I Cannot Thank You All Enough for Being Here

Pictured above: Poster for The Ravellers and Friends’ Concert for Bangladesh, 1971

As the state of Bangladesh struggled to become its own state independent from Pakistan during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, a massive refugee problem involving the state’s citizens was taking place due to the political and military turmoil that plagued the country. Appalled the worried about the situation in his homeland, Bengali musician Ravi Shankar brought the issue to his friend George Harrison over dinner in the early months of 1971. Between April and June of 1971, while working on The Ravellers’ second album in Miami, Harrison spent a lot of time on the phone organizing a charity concert for Bangladesh.

Shankar originally hoped to raise $25,000 with a benefit concert of his own, yet with Harrison’s backing and the outlets of film and records available through Apple Corps, the project soon was envisioned to be a star-studded event, involving both Western and Eastern musicians. During initial brainstorming with his wife Pattie Boyd, Harrison brainstormed some possible performers beyond himself and The Ravellers. Leon Russell, Badfinger, John Lennon, and Jim Kelter were all mentioned during this initial brainstorming.

Albeit initially planned to be mostly a Ravellers concert, the idea for other bands and artists to individually perform came up. Among names brought up between The Ravellers were mostly Apple and Red Maple acts, James Taylor, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Band, Jackie Lomax, and War. Most people asked to participate in the concert were on board almost immediately, albeit some acts were simply unable to participate on such short notice. The concert was formerly announced around the middle of July in a small ad in the New York Times. Tickets were sold out almost immediately, albeit the ad also brought along some unexpected participants to the lineup.

“We were touring around New York at that time, and I was reading the newspaper, and I noticed an ad for this Concert for Bangladesh by ‘The Ravellers and Friends’. Now the thing is, I’m a very charitable person, so I called up the folk at Apple and asked if there was any chance The Beach Boys could play a song or two in the concert.”

- Mike Love, 1973

“You see, I knew of the concert already by the time Dylan called me, and I had my doubts about participating, given I was raising my son Gabriel at the time and I was all the way in Arizona, but it was for a good cause and all I had to do was play for about 15 minutes, so I decided, ‘you know what? I’m going over there and I’m going to put on the best 15 minutes I could.’”

- Joan Baez, 1989

“From what I remember, the only reason we got in the concert at all was because they used Stephen’s gig stuff. George wanted all of us there, so the rest of us quickly came over to New York, just for that.”

- David Crosby, 2018

Pictured above: Ravi Shankar and Friends, 1971

With a lineup assembled and rehearsals finished on July 31st, everything was set for the concert. The concert started on August 1st, 2:30 P.M. George Harrison walked on stage with a cheering crowd. Harrison opened the show, explaining how the first section of the show would consist of Indian music, asking the crowd to settle down and “get into it” before introducing Ravi Shankar and the other musicians, the sarood player Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, the tabla player Allah Rakha, and the tamboora player Kamala. Harrison left the stage, leaving Ravi to speak.

"We are trying to set the music to this special event, this historical program, which is just not a program as usual but which has a message. And this is to just make you aware of a very serious situation that is happening. We are not trying to make any politic. We are artists, but through our music, we would like you to feel the agony and also the pain and lot of sad happenings in Bangladesh, and also the refugees who have come to India.”

- Ravi Shankar, 1971

After explaining what they would be performing and requesting the audience to avoid smoking, he began to play. Harrison says his section lasted forty-five minutes, but only a little under seventeen of those would end up on tape.

Pictured above: The Beach Boys, 1971

Following a short intermission with a movie about the atrocities taking place in Bangladesh, The Beach Boys walked onto the stage with a roaring crowd.

“Thank you, thank you. We’re glad to be here for such a great cause. First, we’re going to be playing a song from an album we’re gonna put out, this song is called Student Demonstration Song, uh, Student Demonstration Time, it’s the Old Riot in Cell Block Number 9, but the album is called Landlocked.”

- Carl Wilson, 1971

The crowd cheered as Carl finished speaking and the song began. They played three more songs, God Only Knows, Good Vibrations, and Heroes and Villains, after which they thanked the crowd and introduced the next performer, Joan Baez.

Pictured above: Joan Baez, 1971

“You know, what we’re all doing here is pretty amazing. A whole bunch of musicians and you all getting together to show our support for the people of Bangladesh, and I cannot thank you all enough for being here.”

- Joan Baez, 1971

Baez’s set allegedly consisted of four songs, Song of Bangladesh, I Shall Be Released, Sweet Sir Galahad, and We Shall Overcome, however, the tape containing the first of those songs was stolen just a day after the concert and remains unlocated to this day.

Pictured above: James Taylor, 1971

James Taylor’s set consisted of four of his live staples, Fire and Rain, Carolina on my Mind, Sweet Baby James, and You Can Close Your Eyes. His set was well-received, in part due to a perceived intimacy with Taylor cracking jokes between songs and his set consisting of merely him and his acoustic guitar.

Pictured above: Badfinger and George Harrison, 1971

Badfinger’s afternoon set consisted of three songs, Better Days, I Can’t Take It, Come and Get It, which took on more energetic forms during the concert.  After their set, George Harrison walked on stage, looking down at the setlist he had in his hands, seeing the word “Bob” followed by a question mark.

“I looked around, and he was so nervous - he had his guitar on and his shades - and he was sort of coming on... it was only at that moment that I knew for sure he was going to do it.”

- George Harrison, 1974

Pictured above: Bob Dylan, 1971

The crowd went absolutely wild as Bob Dylan was introduced and walked on stage. Backed by Harrison on guitar, Leon Russell on bass, and Ringo Starr on tambourine, Dylan proceeded to play four of his most well-regarded songs from the 60s: A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall, Blowin’ in the Wind, Mr. Tambourine Man and Just Like a Woman. To this day, Dylan’s solo performance is considered the crowning achievement of The Concert for Bangladesh.

Pictured above: George Harrison, 1971

Bob Dylan walked off stage, Ringo Starr got behind his drum kit, and finally Eric Clapton, Billy Preston, and Klaus Voorman walked onto the stage. It was time for the main event. The Ravellers’ set began with Harrison’s Awaiting On You All, to a loud and boisterous crowd. After which was Billy Preston’s solo song That’s The Way God Planned It. Towards the end of the song, Preston felt compelled to get up from behind his Hammond organ and take a show-stealing boogie across the front of the stage.

The next song to be played by The Ravellers’ was the Ringo-sung It Don’t Come Easy, which despite Ringo forgetting some of the lyrics, went down in history as an iconic Ringo moment. George then gives his iconic performance of Something, before introducing the band.

“The next song we’re gonna play is off our upcoming album, which will be out next month, and it was written by Eric Clapton. The song is called Layla, I hope you enjoy.”

- George Harrison, 1971

As the song kicked in the crowd had their minds blown. It was the first time they heard the song that would go down in legend as a true rock classic. The song included a dual guitar solo by George Harrison and Eric Clapton. After the song, Eric Clapton thanked the audience, after which they performed an encore of the song Bangla Desh, closing out the first set.

Pictured above: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, 1971

The evening set opened much like the afternoon set, with an introduction by George Harrison and Ravi Shankar, followed with a traditional Indian piece performed by the latter. The first western act of the night was Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.

“Hello, New York. We're going to be your first Western music group for the night. Now our first number was written after the atrocities of Kent State, four students were killed and another nine were injured. And with what's been happening in East Pakistan, it only seems fitting that we give you Ohio.”

- Neil Young, 1971

The next song to be played by the group was Long Time Gone, written in dedication to Robert F. Kennedy shortly after his assassination, shortly followed up by Chicago, which referred to the anti-Vietnam war protests that had taken place during the 1968 Democratic National Convention, and the subsequent trial of the Chicago Eight in which they were charged with conspiracy to start a riot. Before plying it, Graham Nash gave a sarcastic dedication to the then-mayor of Chicago, Richard Daley, who was greatly antagonistic towards anti-war protesters. Their set then concluded with Find the Cost of Freedom.

Pictured above: John Fogerty, 1971

John Fogerty came onto the stage to a great cheer by the audience, yet, strangely enough, his bandmates Doug Clifford and Stu Cook were absent. He was instead backed by George Harrison on guitar and backing vocals, Leon Russell on bass and backing vocals, and Ringo Starr on drums. He played three of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s greatest hits, Born on the Bayou, Fortunate Son, and Down on the Corner, before finally addressing the absence of his bandmates. The tapes containing his speech were either lost or destroyed, but eyewitnesses remember him explaining that the band had broken up earlier that year soon after the departure of Tom Fogerty. He had planned to play Suzie Q to close off the set, however, he frustratingly walked off stage after getting in an argument with a group of hecklers.

Pictured above: Leon Russell, 1971

After a 10-minute break, Leon Russell came onto stage backed by George Harrison, Don Preston, Klaus Voorman, Billy Preston, Ringo Starr, and Badfinger, to play a medley of The Rolling Stones’ Jumpin’ Jack Flash and The Coasters’ Youngblood.

“Admittedly we didn’t plan to play that one, sure we rehearsed it but it wasn’t really something we were planning on doing, but after Fogerty walked out like he did we felt we needed something to fill the time.”

- Leon Russell, 1975

Badfinger’s evening setlist was relatively shorter than their afternoon set in terms of songs, only consisting of an extended version of their song Suitcase, and We’re For The Dark. After they played, there was allegedly 5 to 10 more minutes since the next act came on stage.

Pictured above: The Band, 1971

Bob Dylan was joined by the rest of The Band during the evening. Their set consisted of two new songs, sung by Dylan, Down in the Flood and When I Paint My Masterpiece, followed by two of their early hits from their debut, This Wheel’s On Fire and The Weight.

Pictured above: George Harrison and Pete Ham, 1971

Before The Ravellers’ set began proper, George Harrison played his solo hit Here Comes the Sun solely accompanied by Pete Ham in an acoustic guitar duet, after which Klaus Voorman, Ringo Starr, Billy Preston, and a notably sick Eric Clapton walked onto the stage.

“I knew Eric was very sick at the time due to his heroin addiction, but he insisted on performing. Little did I do know is that between the afternoon and evening sets he shot up and he essentially came to the stage high.”

- George Harrison, 1971

The Ravellers’ set opened with the song My Sweet Lord, followed by the Blind Faith song written and sung by Clapton Presence of the Lord, after which he had to be temporarily removed from the stage. Following which, accompanied by Leon Russell, they played the Harrison tune Beware of Darkness, after which Clapton returned to stage, the band was introduced and a legendary performance of While My Guitar Gently Weeps took place featuring a “dueling” guitar solo by Harrison and Clapton during the long instrumental breakdown of the song, during which Clapton almost passed out.

Once the song ended, Clapton was removed from the stage once more, and one final encore of Bangla Desh with an ensemble that included The Ravellers (minus Clapton), Badfinger, Leon Russell, and The Band took place. The concert was a major success, raising upwards of over half a million dollars to be donated to UNICEF. A quadruple live album and concert film were released later that year.

The Concert for Bangladesh

Disc 1:

01. George Harrison & Ravi Shankar - George Harrison & Ravi Shankar Introduction (5:17) [1]

02. Ravi Shankar - Bangla Dhun (16:29) [1]

03. The Beach Boys - Student Demonstration Time (4:24) [1]

04. The Beach Boys - God Only Knows (2:33) [1]

05. The Beach Boys - Good Vibrations (4:35) [1]

06. The Beach Boys - Heroes and Villains (3:35) [1]

07. Joan Baez - I Shall Be Released (3:42) [1]

08. Joan Baez - Sweet Sir Galahad (4:25) [1]

09. Joan Baez - We Shall Overcome (4:17) [1]

10. James Taylor - Fire and Rain (3:52) [1]

11. James Taylor - Carolina In My Mind (4:37) [1]

12. James Taylor - Sweet Baby James (3:40) [1]

13. James Taylor - You Can Close Your Eyes (2:31) [1]

Disc 2:

01. Badfinger - Better Days (3:52) [1]

02. Badfinger - I Can’t Take It (4:22) [1]

03. Badfinger - Come and Get It (2:32) [1]

04. Bob Dylan - A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall (5:36) [1]

05. Bob Dylan - Blowin’ in the Wind (3:47) [1]

06. Bob Dylan - Hey Mr. Tambourine Man (5:00) [1]

07. Bob Dylan - Just Like a Woman (4:40) [1]

08. The Ravellers - Awaiting on You All (3:11) [1]

09. The Ravellers - That’s The Way God Planned It (4:20) [1]

10. The Ravellers - It Don’t Come Easy (2:57) [1]

11. The Ravellers - Something (3:31) [1]

12. The Ravellers - Layla (5:59) [1]

Disc 3:

01. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Ohio (3:59) [1]

02. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Long Time Gone (5:50) [1]

03. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Chicago (3:22) [1]

04. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Find the Cost of Freedom (2:21) [1]

05. John Fogerty - Born on the Bayou (4:40) [1]

06. John Fogerty - Fortunate Son (2:31) [1]

07. John Fogerty - Down on the Corner (2:38) [1]

08. Leon Russell - Medley: Jumpin’ Jack Flash / Youngblood (9:16) [1]

09. Badfinger - Suitcase (7:32) [1]

10. Badfinger - We’re For The Dark (4:45) [1]

Disc 4:

01. The Band - Down in the Flood (5:19) [1]

02. The Band - When I Paint My Masterpiece (4:06) [1]

03. The Band - This Wheel’s On Fire (3:49) [1]

04. The Band - The Weight (5:32) [1]

05. George Harrison and Pete Ham - Here Comes the Sun (3:06) [1]

06. The Ravellers - My Sweet Lord (4:33) [1]

07. The Ravellers - Presence of the Lord (6:16) [1]

08. The Ravellers - Beware of Darkness (3:48) [1]

09. George Harrison - Band Introduction (2:38) [1]

10. The Ravellers - While My Guitar Gently Weeps (5:03) [1]

11. The Ravellers - Bangla Desh (4:55) [1]

Released: September 10th, 1971

Track sources:

[1] - Custom mix by Auran

Author’s comments:

Sorry for the wait on this one, everyone. I know there’s been some silence lately, but school and other things kept me busy. Either way, I hope you enjoy this post, we put a lot of thought and effort into this one and we hope our work paid off. Thank you as always for reading.

Before I finish, however, I'd like to address a particular issue I had while working on this post. As Something Creative expands it's scope more and more and more and more artists and bands get added, we need to add more labels to the point where things end up a bit unorganized. As such, I'm considering taking another page from Strawberry Peppers' book and instead of using individual labels for each band and artist, instead have a set of "storylines" for the labels. I'm not sure what these are going to be yet, however, I want to hear what our readers have to think.

I'm opening a Google Forms to receive your thoughts on this, including some other general feedback things. You can fill that in here. Thank you once more for your time.