In November 1974 , Harrison became the first ex-Beatle to tour North America when he began his 45-date Dark Horse Tour . The shows included guest spots by his band members Billy Preston and Tom Scott , and traditional and contemporary Indian music performed by " Ravi Shankar , Family and Friends " . Despite numerous positive reviews , the consensus reaction to the tour was negative . Some fans found Shankar 's significant presence to be a bizarre disappointment , and many were affronted by what Inglis described as Harrison 's " sermonizing " . Further , he reworked the lyrics to several Beatles songs , and his laryngitis-affected vocals led to some critics calling the tour " dark hoarse " . The author Robert Rodriguez commented : " While the Dark Horse tour might be considered a noble failure , there were a number of fans who were tuned-in to what was being attempted . They went away ecstatic , conscious that they had just witnessed something so uplifting that it could never be repeated . " Simon Leng called the tour " groundbreaking " and " revolutionary in its presentation of Indian Music "
Dark Horse Tour
George Harrison and Ravi Shankar's 1974 North American tour
George Harrison