Ex-Beatle George Harrison has scored a number one hit on the British pop charts with the single “My Sweet Lord”–31 years after it was first released. Harrison died on November 29 at the age of 58, after a lengthy battle with cancer.
The single was originally released shortly after the Beatles split, and was the first solo number one for any of the Fab Four members.
Harrison‘s widow, Olivia, and son, Dhani, on the heels of strong public demand agreed to EMI’s re-release the song, provided the proceeds went to a fund administered by the Material World Charitable Foundation, The Associated Press reports. Harrison established the MWCF in 1973.
“We are very happy that the reissue of “My Sweet Lord” continues to spread George Harrison‘s music around the world,” EMI told the AP.
“It’s especially appropriate that the Material World Charitable Foundation, a charity that George set up some time ago, will benefit from the profits made from the success of the single, thus helping the needy all over the world.”
The charity single knocked Aaliyah‘s “More Than A Woman” off the top of the British charts. The R&B singer, who died in a plane crash in the Bahamas last August, had previously occupied the number one spot.
It might be the first time in chart history that two deceased artists have had consecutive number one hits.
