Think I mention this like every year but I don't care . . . . . . .bought when it came out and loved this at the cinema and the motives of George and Ravi behind it . . . . . .still for me the bench mark by which all other concerts in aid of charity should be judged . . . . . including George kicking off over record companies money grubbing hypocrisy

On this day in music history: December 20, 1971 - “The Concert For Bangladesh” by George Harrison & Friends is released (UK release date is on January 10, 1972). Produced by George Harrison and Phil Spector, it is recorded at Madison Square Garden in New York City on August 1, 1971. Spearheaded by George Harrison and Ravi Shankar, the nineteen track triple LP box set is taken from two concerts at Madison Square Garden in New York staged to benefit the people of Bangladesh, devastated by floods and the Liberation War in East Pakistan. The all star concert features Harrison along with friends Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr, Leon Russell, Billy Preston, and Badfinger. Once the mixing of the album is quickly completed, its release is delayed over three months, due to legal difficulties between Capitol and CBS Records over Bob Dylan’s appearance on the album and in the film. In spite of the performers all agreeing to participate in the concert without payment, CBS insists on receiving compensation. Eventually they are granted the rights to distribute the tape configurations for the US and the record and tape formats internationally. CBS also collects a twenty five cent royalty on every copy of the album sold, though none of this money goes to Dylan himself. Harrison runs into further problems with Capitol when he butts heads with label chairman Bhaskar Menon over the manufacturing and distribution costs of the album, in spite of the fact that Apple has paid for the manufacturing on the sets lavish box and sixty four page color booklet. George vents his frustration over the matter when he appears on the Dick Cavett Show in November of 1971. The negative press it stirs up against the record company forces Capitol to back down, and agrees to release the album on Harrison’s terms. The LP, concerts and film raise millions for the George Harrison Fund for UNICEF, also winning the Grammy Award for Album Of The Year in 1973. The album and film are fully restored, remastered and reissued on CD and DVD in 2005. “The Concert For Bangladesh” peaks at number two on the Billboard Top 200, and is certified Gold in the US by the RIAA.