Bangla Desh (song) - Reception and Legacy

Reception and Legacy

Among music critics at the time, even the traditionally Harrison-hostile pair of Carr and Tyler at the NME conceded that "Bangla Desh" had "performed the service for which it was specifically intended". A wave of public goodwill accompanied the single's release in 1971, as was the case with the two benefit concerts, the subsequent live album, and the 1972 concert film. Simon Leng has identified genuine friendship as being key to the success of Harrison and Shankar's relief project: the friendship between the two of them that saw the ex-Beatle become involved, and the friendships Harrison had cultivated with Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton and Ringo Starr that ensured their participation. Leng notes that the opening lyrics to "Bangla Desh" ("My friend came to me ...") could equally have applied to Harrison's efforts to enlist the reluctant Dylan and heroin-sidelined Clapton.

Away from its context as a song designed "specifically to get attention to the war prior to the concert", as Harrison himself described it, "Bangla Desh" has often been viewed as a rushed and somewhat underwhelming composition. Robert Rodriguez qualifies this opinion, however: "As a single, the song was possibly not the most commercial of records, but as a call to service, it could scarcely have been improved upon." "Bangla Desh"'s standing as rock music's first charity single is not overlooked, with Ian Inglis stating: "'Bangla Desh' serves as a model for the charity singles that would become commonplace in the decades ahead, although, in this instance, the power of Harrison's song lies not in its assembly of famous performers but in its literal and absolute commitment." On this point, Leng deems the song as having "as much raw energy as anything Plastic Ono Band ever offered". In The Dawn of Indian Music in the West, Peter Lavezzoli writes: "Harrison's lyric and vocal were concise and powerful, a direct call for action in a specific crisis. As such, 'Bangla Desh' remains one of the most cogent social statements in music history."

In his interview for the 2005 reissue of Saul Swimmer's Concert for Bangladesh film, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan acknowledged Harrison and Shankar as "pioneers" in their efforts for the people of Bangladesh, and credited the song's opening verse for showing "the man behind the music". Thirty-three years before this, on 5 June 1972, UNICEF officially recognised Harrison and Shankar with its annual Child Is the Father of the Man award.

In 2004, "Bangla Desh" was played during the final episode of the BBC television series Himalaya with Michael Palin, in which Palin travels south from Bhutan to Bay of Bengal. Six years later, AOL Radio listeners placed it at number 10 in a poll to decide the ten best post-Beatle Harrison songs.