'All Things Must Pass' is more than the name of a song

In pop music, the year 1964 began with "There! I've Said It Again" by Bobby Vinton at the number one spot on the list of Top 40 Hits. In early December, Vinton was back atop the list with "Mr. Lonely."
But sandwiched between Vinton's two easy-listening hits there had been a revolution. A group that hadn't had a record released in the United States until the last week of 1963 had 19 songs in the Top 40, six of which made No. 1, during 1964.
The Beatles had arrived in America.
They came in their matching dark suits, with scandalously long hair, and had girls screaming their lungs out and boys arguing with their parents about overdue trips to the barber shop.
The boys: Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr not only changed popular music, they changed popular culture. And as they changed -- evolving from a band of mop tops singing "I Want to Hold Your Hand" to four musicians on the verge of going their own ways singing "Long and Winding Road" -- they changed the way people thought about themselves.
The first of the Beatles died tragically young at the hands of a madman. John Lennon was gunned down outside his New York apartment Dec. 8, 1980.
Now, the second Beatle has died, George Harrison is dead of cancer at the age of 58. He was known as the quiet Beatle at the height of the group's popularity and was the Beatle who blossomed the most when left to his own devices.
In retrospect, perhaps the most amazing thing about the Beatles, given the lasting effect they had on popular music, was the relatively short time they were together. They appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show" in February 1964 and played their last live concert in August 1966. The group officially broke up in April 1970.
Harrison spent the rest of his life pursuing spirituality, organizing concerts for good causes -- his Bangladesh benefit was the model for other benefits to follow -- and writing and performing his music.
Mortality: It belies the particularly self-centered nature of the Baby Boomer generation to even mention it, but it must be said. Harrison's death by natural causes at 58 is a reminder of approaching mortality for millions of Americans used only to seeing the icons of other generations die off.
And that might even appeal to Harrison, a man who apparently came to accept his own mortality in the prime of his life, when he wrote "My Sweet Lord," which included these lyrics:
"I really want to see you
Really want to be with you
Really want to see you, Lord
But it takes so long, my Lord."
Long, perhaps, but not long enough for many of us, George. Not nearly long enough.