Friar Park is a Victorian neo-Gothic mansion in Henley-on-Thames, England, built in 1889. It was originally owned by eccentric lawyer Sir Frank Crisp and purchased in January 1970 by English rock musician and former Beatle George Harrison. The site covers about 62 acres. Features include caves, grottoes, underground passages, a multitude of garden gnomes, and an Alpine rock garden with a scale model of the Matterhorn. Though rumour and tabloid reports often claim the building has 120 rooms, this was denied by the current owner, Olivia Harrison, while speaking to NPR Fresh Air in March 2004, at which time she clarified the number was somewhere around 30.
Thirty Three & ⅓ is the seventh studio album by English musician George Harrison, released in November 1976. It was Harrison's first album release on his Dark Horse record label, the worldwide distribution for which changed from A&M Records to Warner Bros. as a result of his late delivery of the album's master tapes. Among other misfortunes affecting its creation, Harrison suffered hepatitis midway through recording, and the copyright infringement suit regarding his 1970–71 hit song "My Sweet Lord" was decided in favour of the plaintiff, Bright Tunes Music. The album contains the US top 30 singles "This Song" – Harrison's satire on that lawsuit and the notion of plagiarism in pop music – and "Crackerbox Palace". Despite the problems associated with the album, many music critics recognised Thirty Three & ⅓ as a return to form for Harrison after his poorly received work during 1974–75, and considered it his strongest collection of songs since 1970's acclaimed All Things Must Pass.
"All Those Years Ago" is a song by English musician George Harrison, released in May 1981 as a single from his album Somewhere in England. Having previously recorded the music for the song, Harrison tailored the lyrics to serve as a personal tribute to his former Beatles bandmate John Lennon, following the latter's murder in 1980. Ringo Starr is featured on drums, and Paul McCartney overdubbed backing vocals onto the basic track. The single spent three weeks at number 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100, behind "Bette Davis Eyes" by Kim Carnes, and it peaked at number 13 on the UK Singles Chart. It also topped Canada's RPM singles chart and spent one week at number 1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary listings.
"Badge" is a song written by Eric Clapton and George Harrison, and recorded by British rock music group Cream on their final album, Goodbye. Also issued as a single in March 1969, "Badge" peaked at number 18 in the UK Singles Chart and number 60 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.
"Got My Mind Set on You" is a song written and composed by Rudy Clark and originally recorded by James Ray in 1962, under the title "I've Got My Mind Set on You". An edited version of the song was released later in the year as a single on Dynamic Sound Records credited to James Ray with Hutch Davie Orchestra & Chorus.
"This Song" is a song by English rock musician George Harrison from his 1976 album Thirty Three & 1/3. It was released as the first single from the album and reached number 25 on the American pop charts but failed to chart in the UK. Harrison wrote the song as a response to the copyright infringement suit launched against him over his early 1970s hit "My Sweet Lord". The lyrics use terminology associated with the court case and mention other song titles as a satirical comment on the notion of plagiarism in popular music.
"Young Blood" is a song written by Doc Pomus along with the songwriting team Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller that first became a hit by The Coasters in 1957.
"Handy Man" is a song written by singer Jimmy Jones and songwriter Otis Blackwell. Recordings by Del Shannon and also The Sparks Of Rhythm list Charles Merenstein as a co-writer, as does BMI. The Sparks Of Rhythm version on the Apollo 541 single version released in 1959 credits Andrew Barksdale and Merenstein as writers omitting Jimmy Jones. The song is noted for Jones singing "Come-a, come-a come-a come-a, come come-a, yeah" lyrics, which are heard at the beginning as well as in the coda of the song, before the song's fade.
"Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" is a song recorded by Neil Sedaka, co-written by Sedaka and Howard Greenfield. Sedaka recorded this song twice, in 1962 and 1975, in two significantly different arrangements, and it is considered to be his signature song. Between 1970 and 1975, it was a top-40 hit three separate times for three separate artists: Lenny Welch, The Partridge Family and Sedaka's second version.
"Arrow Through Me" is a song by the British–American rock band Wings, released on their 1979 album Back to the Egg.
"Blow Away" is a song by English musician George Harrison that was released in February 1979 on his album George Harrison. It was also the lead single from the album. The song is one of Harrison's most popular recordings from his solo career and has appeared on the compilations Best of Dark Horse 1976–1989 and Let It Roll: Songs by George Harrison.
"Take It Away" is a single by Paul McCartney from his 1982 album Tug of War. The single spent sixteen weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, reaching #10 and spending five consecutive weeks at that position. It reached #15 in the UK. The music video, directed by John Makenzie, features former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr and long-time producer George Martin, both of whom played on the track, as well as actor John Hurt and Linda McCartney.
"Goodbye Stranger" is a song by the English rock band Supertramp; it was written by Rick Davies. The song first appeared on their sixth studio album, Breakfast in America (1979). The lyrics present an "optimistic view from a drifter."
"I Don't Want to Talk About It" is a song written by American guitarist Danny Whitten. It was first recorded by American rock band Crazy Horse and issued as the final track on side one of their 1971 eponymous album. It was Whitten's signature tune, but gained more fame via its numerous cover versions, especially that by Rod Stewart. Cash Box magazine has described it as "a magnificent ballad outing."
"Calling Dr. Love" is a song by American hard rock band Kiss, originally released on their 1976 album Rock and Roll Over.
"Teardrops" is a song by English rock musician George Harrison from his 1981 album Somewhere in England. It was also issued as the second single off the album, in July 1981. As with the lead single, "All Those Years Ago", Harrison completed the song after Warner Bros. Records had rejected his initial submission of Somewhere in England in September 1980. In response to Warner's concerns, he wrote "Teardrops" as an attempt at a commercially oriented song.
"Gemini Dream" is a 1981 single by the progressive rock band The Moody Blues. It reached number 12 on the US Hot 100, as well as number 1 on the Canada RPM Top 100 Singles chart. It is ranked as the 28th biggest Canadian hit of 1981.
"Desirée" is a 1977 song written and recorded by Neil Diamond and included as a track on Diamond's 1977 album, I'm Glad You're Here with Me Tonight. The single peaked at number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached number one on the U.S. Easy Listening chart to become his fifth number one on that chart. The song likewise reached number one on the Canadian AC chart.
Solitaire is the thirty-first studio album by American pop singer Andy Williams, released in the fall of 1973 by Columbia Records and was an attempt to move away from his formulaic series of recent releases that relied heavily on songs that other artists had made popular.
"Learning How to Love You" is a song by English musician George Harrison, released in 1976 as the closing track of his debut album on his Dark Horse record label, Thirty Three & 1/3. Harrison wrote the song for Herb Alpert, sometime singer and co-head of A&M Records, which at the time was the worldwide distributor for Dark Horse. Although the relationship with A&M soured due to Harrison's failure to deliver Thirty Three & 1/3 on schedule, resulting in litigation and a new distribution deal with Warner Bros. Records, Harrison still dedicated the song to Alpert in the album's liner notes.
