Chapter 23: Bangla Desh (August 1 & 2, 1971)

August 1, 1971 - Madison Square Garden, 2:30 PM

George Harrison and Ravi Shankar at a press conference prior to the Concert for Bangladesh, 1971.

There was quiet chatter among the audience of twenty thousand as they waited patiently for the first of two shows to begin. As George Harrison walked up onto the stage to the microphone, they began to clap and cheer in his presence. In later years, he admitted to feeling nervous about turning up on stage on thought he would throw up.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," he said as the crowd continued cheering. "I'd just like to say before we start off with the concert, that, uh, to thank you all for coming here, and, uh, as you all know, it's a special benefit concert. We've got a good show lined up. I hope so, anyway. First part of the concert is gonna be an Indian music section. You're gonna hear a sitar and sarood duet. And, uh, as you realize, Hindi music's a little bit more serious than our music, and I'd appreciate it if you could, uh, try and settle down and get into the Hindi music section. So let me introduce, on sitar, Ravi Shankar." The crowd cheered again as they heard the famous sitarist's name. Harrison paused before continuing.

"And the master of sarood, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan. Sarood. I'm sure you all know Ravi's tabla player, Allah Rakha. And this evening, the drone instrument, the tamboora, is being played by Kamala." Each time, he paused to yet the audience clap and cheer for their names. "So I hope you enjoy the concert, thank you."[1] Harrison left the stage to more clapping and cheering as Ravi Shankar entered the stage to address the audience. He requested for the audience to be patient whilst listening to his, Khan's, Rakha's and Kamala's part of the show, acknowledging that they were anxious to listen to their favorite stars.

Ravi Shankar and friends performing "Bangla Dhun", August 1, 1971.

"We are trying to set the music to this special event, this historical program," he explained, "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." After describing what they would be playing, Shankar asked the audience not to smoke during the performance.

The audience clapped in respect as Shankar and his fellow Hindi musicians performed a traditional dhun titled "Bangla Dhun". According to Harrison, Shankar's segment lasted about forty-five minutes, but only seventeen minutes of the performance appeared on the live album.[1]

3:30 PM
Following a brief intermission in which a Dutch TV film was put on display showing footage of the atrocities and natural tragedies taking place in East Pakistan, the first rock group of the setlist performing before the crowd was Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.

"Hello, New York," Neil Young said into the microphone. "We're going to be your first Western music group for the day." This statement was met with more applause before Young continued.

"Now our first number for our setlist was written after the atrocities of Kent State," he explained. "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'."

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young performing at the Concert for Bangladesh.

The audience cheered as the folk supergroup began to play their first song of the setlist. Following that was Stephen Stills' "Love the One You're With" from their recent album Remember Our Names.

"Our next number was written when Robert Kennedy was assassinated," said David Crosby. "It was featured on our debut album before Neil joined us. I believed in Bobby as he wanted to make some positive changes in America. I dedicate this next number not just to him, but also to those suffering in East Pakistan."

The band then played "Long Time Gone", shortly followed up by Neil Young's solo song, "Cowgirl in the Sand". The penultimate song for their setlist was a song written by Graham Nash but had not made Remember Our Names; "Chicago" referred to anti-Vietnam War protests that had taken place during the 1968 Democratic National Convention and the trial of the Chicago Eight that followed afterwards in which the protest leaders were charged with conspiracy to start a riot. Just before playing it, Nash had sarcastically dedicated it to the then-mayor of Chicago, Richard Daley, who was notoriously antagonistic against anti-war protesters. The setlist concluded with "Find the Cost of Freedom".[2]

When asked why they didn't play any of their most beloved songs such as "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" or "Marrakesh Express", Stephen Stills explained that they wanted to focus on the more politically themed numbers in their catalog. "This was at a time when Vietnam was a huge deal," he recounted in a 2005 interview. "Not only that, but people were dying in Bangladesh, and it gave our music a different meaning when playing it live. You have to get a message across or people won't notice."

3:55 PM

Badfinger, 1971.

The next band to perform was Badfinger. They only performed two songs from their most recent release No Dice - "Better Days" and "We're for the Dark". Despite being known for their power pop sound, the short performance proved that they could rock out just as well as their Apple stablemates.[3]

4:05 PM

Eric Clapton performing "Bottle of Red Wine" with Cream.

Shortly after Badfinger's setlist was finished, Cream was next to enter the stage. Their setlist also lasted two songs, "Bottle of Red Wine" from Let It Rain and "Presence of the Lord" from Layla.[4] Multi-instrumentalist Leon Russell played with Cream during their short setlist, and then the band served as backing musicians for him and Don Preston (not to be confused for the keyboardist for Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention) for their cover medley of the Rolling Stones' "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and the Coasters' "Young Blood".[1]

4:30 PM

James Taylor performing "Carolina in My Mind".

Whilst Badfinger and Cream focused on the deeper cuts of their respective catalogs, James Taylor focused on three of his most popular songs; "Fire and Rain", "Carolina in My Mind", and "Sweet Baby James".[5] Taylor's setlist is often cited as being one of the best of the entire concert as it focused solely on the musician and his acoustic guitar.

4:45 PM
For Elton John's setlist, both tracks were from his 1970 self-titled release; "Take Me to the Pilot" and his first major hit, "Your Song".[6] When the single first came out, John Lennon had described "Your Song" as being McCartney-esque, which later became a term used to describe a song that sounds like something Paul McCartney would record. McCartney had become annoyed by the comparison, another bullet point, albeit a very minor one, to why he would end up being ditched by the others.

David Bowie, 1971.

After Elton had finished up "Your Song", he introduced David Bowie to the audience, who then performed "Space Oddity" and a cover of the Velvet Underground's "Waiting for the Man".[7] The remaining Rolling Stones were not available at the time due to being tax exiles, although Mick Jagger would later regret the decision of declining the invitation.

5:10 PM
But there was now the big question on everyone's mind as the minute drew nearer; would Bob Dylan actually be willing to perform on stage? On the handwritten setlist, a question mark was written next to Dylan's name. George Harrison remembered Dylan looking nervous with his guitar and shades. "It was only at that moment that I knew for sure he was going to it," George recalled (1974). He returned on stage to introduce Bob Dylan and the audience went wild he appeared on stage.

George Harrison and Bob Dylan performing at the Concert for Bangladesh.

Accompanied by Harrison on guitar and Russell on bass, Bob Dylan played five of his most well-regarded songs from the 1960s; "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall", "It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry", "Blowin' in the Wind", "Mr. Tambourine Man", and "Just Like a Woman".[1] Nearly fifty years since it was first performed, Bob Dylan's setlist has been regarded by many as the crowning glory of the Concert for Bangladesh.

But now would be time for the main event of the show; the Ladders.

5:35 PM
George Harrison was the first to enter the stage, followed by Ringo Starr on the drum kit, and then Billy Preston on keyboards and Klaus Voormann on bass. When John Lennon entered the stage, the crowd cheered wildly, and even more so when they performed the first song of their set, the Beatles classic "Come Together".[8] Their next song was Harrison's "My Sweet Lord", the Ladders' most recent single.[1] Lennon admitted in later years to have been feeling dodgy about performing a religious song live, and would have preferred to playing "Wah-Wah" instead.

Billy Preston performing "That's the Way God Planned It" with the Ladders.

Following this was Billy Preston's vocal spot on "That's the Way God Planned It".[1] Although he was a sideman to the Ladders, as well as having his own solo releases on Apple, John, George and Ringo still treated him like he was an equal and even allowed him to play alongside them for their setlist. Klaus Voormann was also seen as a member by the group, despite not contributing anything to the lyrics or vocals; he was just happy to be there.

Next was Ringo's vocal spot on "It Don't Come Easy", marking the first time that the public had heard the song.[1] Starr's performance was a bit sloppy, having forgotten some of the lyrics, but it was still regarded as a classic Ringo Starr moment. A cover of Elvis Presley's "Hound Dog" and the first ever live performance of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" followed, with Eric Clapton having a guest spot on the latter.[8][1]

"How's everyone enjoying the show so far?" Lennon asked the crowd. The response overall was extremely positive. "Alright, er, this song is another song from that album we made since, er, we left the Rolling Stones." There was some laughter in the audience at Lennon's deliberate mistake within the applause. "And a lot of people thought that it was just about my parents, but it's about 99% of the parents, alive or half-dead."

After counting off, the band delved into "Mother", dedicated not just to Lennon's parents Julia and Alfred, but also to the parents of the younger refugees who had died trying to support their families.[8] In a sense, especially after the death of his mother Louise the year before, the song had also resonated with George Harrison as well.

Pete Ham and George Harrison performing "Here Comes the Sun".

As a counter to the darkly depressing "Mother", Harrison next played "Here Comes the Sun", accompanied by Pete Ham on acoustic guitars.[1] The performance was lauded greatly by the audience, as where the next two songs, "Instant Karma!" and "Something".[8][1] Pattie Boyd was a part of the audience when the Ladders performed "Here Comes the Sun" and "Something", calling her then-husband's performance as magnificent.

6:20 PM
The Ladders then took a five-minute break before John Lennon returned to the stage for the encore.

John Lennon performing "Imagine" with the Ladders.

"This song is more about why we're here," he told the audience, "apart from rocking and that." He then began to play the opening notes to "Imagine" and began to sing the lyrics to it: "Imagine there's no heaven, it's easy if you try..."[8] For the twenty thousand people in the audience, this was the first time they'd ever heard "Imagine", and it was a memory that would resonate with them for the rest of their lives. When John finished the song, there was a rapturous applause. Their admiration for John Winston Ono Lennon had reached a new peak.

Joining the Ladders for the final song of the show were David Crosby, Graham Nash, Pete Ham, Tom Evans, Eric Clapton, Bobby Whitlock, Leon Russell, David Bowie and Elton John. George Harrison led the whole ensemble to a rendition of "Bangla Desh" to close out the show, exactly four hours since it first started.[1]

The second of the shows began at 10:00 PM and ended at 2:00 AM on August 2.[9] Despite staying up for very late, the artists involved were feeling more energetic and some even changed up their setlists slightly. For the album release, the best performances from both shows were chosen. Reception for both concerts were very positive, with many concertgoers being indecisive as to who was the best performer of the day and night.

Around half a million dollars in American money were raised as a result of both shows and were donated to UNICEF to administer.[10] The live album - a quadruple - was intended for release by the end of August, but the release was blocked by Columbia Records (Bob Dylan's label), resulting in a dispute between that and Capitol over who would a rightful claim to distribute the album; Capitol claimed that the majority of its artists were under the Apple label, so they claimed they should have the right to distribute the album.

Whilst the dispute was taking place, Harrison and head of Apple Films Michael Lindsay-Hogg went over the footage filmed during both shows to showcase the highlights from each artist. Around eight hours' worth of footage had been filmed for both shows but it had to be trimmed down to two and a half hours for a theatrical release, giving moviegoers the chance to see what they couldn't on August 1. Both album and documentary were expected to generate $15 million.

The cover for The Concert for Bangladesh live album, released December 1971.

The Concert for Bangladesh quadruple live album was finally released on December 17, with funds going to UNICEF. Despite the hefty price tag, it reached #1 in both the United States and the United Kingdom. The Ladders' double A-side single, "Bangla Desh"/"Imagine", also hit #1 on both sides. The documentary based around the concert was released November 19, having reduced the best of both four hour shows down to about two and a half hours' worth of screentime. By the end of 1971, the Ladders had achieved huge success with the biggest-selling single of the year in the United Kingdom (beating out the Beatles' very own "She Loves You"), their next album Imagine, the benefit concert, and a movie.

To many, the only downside to this success was that Paul McCartney wasn't with them.

Footnotes

1. The introduction, "Bangla Dhun", "Jumpin' Jack Flash/Youngblood", the Bob Dylan setlist, and the songs by George Harrison, Billy Preston and Ringo Starr during the Ladders' setlist are all sourced from The Concert for Bangladesh.
2. All tracks in Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's setlist are sourced from 4 Way Street.
3. "Better Days" and "We're for the Dark" are both sourced from Badfinger's BBC in Concert 1972-1973.
4. "Bottle of Red Wine" and "Presence of the Lord" are both sourced from Derek and the Dominos' Live at the Fillmore. Alternatively, they're also available on In Concert.
5. All of James Taylor's songs in his setlist are sourced from Amchitka with Joni Mitchell and Phil Ochs.
6. "Take Me to the Pilot" and "Your Song" are both sourced from Elton John's 17-11-70.
7. "Space Oddity" and "Waiting for the Man" are both sourced from David Bowie's Live Santa Monica '72.
8. All songs by John Lennon during the Ladders' setlist are sourced from Live in New York City.
9. The second show in OTL began at 8:00 PM. With a bigger setlist than in OTL, the second show would likely have been held back.
10. In OTL, the Concert for Bangladesh raised close to $250,000.

Author's Comments

Well, here it is; the first major concert of the series being covered in full. Choosing images to represent this alternate Concert for Bangladesh was not an easy feat, especially when it came to finding images of the artists included performing live from 1970-1972 (the general period I chose to go for with live performances). But you know, sometimes you just got to make do with what you can find. With a lot more artists represented, is it better than the concert from OTL? You decide!