Bangla Desh (song)
Encyclopedia
"Bangla Desh" is a song by George Harrison
released as a charity single
after the disasters in East Pakistan
in 1971.
virtuoso, mentor and friend Ravi Shankar
in which Shankar asked Harrison to help his country in any way he could. The collaboration for the song later evolved into The Concert for Bangladesh
, where Harrison performed a live version of the song.
The studio version of "Bangla Desh" has only been released on compact disc
on the EMI
compilation album
, The Best of George Harrison
(1976). The single's B-side "Deep Blue" had never been released on any album until it was included on the 2006 remastered version of Harrison's Living in the Material World
album as a bonus track
.
In 2004, the song appeared in the final episode of Himalaya with Michael Palin.
In 2010, AOL radio listeners chose "Bangla Desh" as one of the 10 Best George Harrison Songs, appearing at #10 on the list.
George Harrison
George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
released as a charity single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
after the disasters in East Pakistan
East Pakistan
East Pakistan was a provincial state of Pakistan established in 14 August 1947. The provincial state existed until its declaration of independence on 26 March 1971 as the independent nation of Bangladesh. Pakistan recognized the new nation on 16 December 1971. East Pakistan was created from Bengal...
in 1971.
Background
"Bangla Desh" starts with the lyrics "My friend came to me, with sadness in his eyes. He told me that he wanted help, before his country dies.". This refers to the conversation he had with sitarSitar
The 'Tablaman' is a plucked stringed instrument predominantly used in Hindustani classical music, where it has been ubiquitous since the Middle Ages...
virtuoso, mentor and friend Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar , often referred to by the title Pandit, is an Indian musician and composer who plays the plucked string instrument sitar. He has been described as the best known contemporary Indian musician by Hans Neuhoff in Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart.Shankar was born in Varanasi and spent...
in which Shankar asked Harrison to help his country in any way he could. The collaboration for the song later evolved into The Concert for Bangladesh
The Concert for Bangladesh
The Concert for Bangladesh was the name for two benefit concerts organised by George Harrison and Ravi Shankar, held at noon and at 7 PM on August 1, 1971, playing to a total of 40,000 people at Madison Square Garden in New York City...
, where Harrison performed a live version of the song.
The studio version of "Bangla Desh" has only been released on compact disc
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
on the EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
, The Best of George Harrison
The Best of George Harrison
The Best of George Harrison is the first compilation album of George Harrison's music and was released in 1976, following the expiration of his EMI contract...
(1976). The single's B-side "Deep Blue" had never been released on any album until it was included on the 2006 remastered version of Harrison's Living in the Material World
Living in the Material World
Living in the Material World is a studio album by George Harrison, released in 1973.-Background:As a follow-up to 1970's greatly received All Things Must Pass and his mammoth charity project, The Concert for Bangladesh, Living in the Material World was among the most highly anticipated releases of...
album as a bonus track
Bonus track
In terms of recorded music, a bonus track is a piece of music which has been included on specific releases or reissues of an album. This is most often done as a promotional device, either as an incentive to customers to purchase albums they might otherwise not, or to repurchase albums they already...
.
In 2004, the song appeared in the final episode of Himalaya with Michael Palin.
In 2010, AOL radio listeners chose "Bangla Desh" as one of the 10 Best George Harrison Songs, appearing at #10 on the list.
Chart positions
| Chart (1971) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Swiss Singles Chart Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
2 |
| Norwegian VG-lista VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... Singles Chart |
3 |
| Dutch Singles Chart | 7 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
10 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
23 |
| Japanese Oricon Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc... Singles Chart |
47 |