George Harrison gives his last public performance
In 1997, George Harrison agreed to make a rare TV appearance, dropping by VH1 along with his longtime friend and collaborator, Ravi Shankar, and his wife to help promote Shankar's latest release, Chants of India, which the former Beatle had produced and played on.
Shankar was the only one set to perform music on the show that day. However, thanks to a mixture of kismet and a persistent host, it turned into a mini George Harrison concert, marking the final time the music legend would perform in front of an audience.
At the time, the former Beatle had largely moved away from the limelight. His last full-fledged U.S. tour concluded more than two decades before, in 1974. By this point in his career he was more comfortable behind the scenes, producing music and the occasional film, rather than performing.
However, as a favor to Shankar — whom Harrison and the Beatles had met through George's deep interest in Eastern music and philosophy — he was happy to make an exception. Harrison had been supportive of Shankar for years, helping him reach a new audience with his music and launching the groundbreaking Concert for Bangladesh in 1971 after the sitar master alerted him to that country's humanitarian disaster.
VH1 host John Fugelsang recalled that George committed to a short interview consisting of a soundbite about Shankar’s album, and that, if all went well, Harrison "might stick around a bit longer."
Source: guitarplayer.com/Jonathan Graham
