Radha Krsna Temple - Charity Album

Charity Album

In May 1971 an eponymously titled album was released by Radha Krishna Temple (London) on Apple Records produced by George Harrison, featuring devotional music. The album sleeve pictures the deities situated in the original temple from whom the Temple name derives; these have now been moved to the ISKCON temple on Soho Square in London, where they are known as 'Radha-Londonishvara'.

Both "Hare Krishna Mantra" and "Govinda" had previously been released as singles. "Hare Krishna Mantra" backed by "Prayer to the Spiritual Masters" was issued on 22 August 1969 in the United States, and 29 August in Britain. After the single's surprise success in the UK (where it peaked at number 12), "Govinda" was released as a follow-up on 6 March 1970 (24 March in the United States), with "Govinda Jai Jai" − often spelt as "Govinda Jaya Jaya" − on the B-side. This second single likewise made the British top 30, peaking at number 23.

The band on the recordings consisted of Harrison on harmonium, guitar and bass; Tamal Krishna Goswami on flute; Harivilas, Yamuna, Jivananda, Lilavati and Yogesvara on lead vocals; and assembled Hare Krishna devotees on backing vocals, mridanga and kartals. In addition, Alan White played drums on the debut single, while John Barham supplied the orchestral arrangement for "Govinda". Another devotee, Mukunda Goswami (as Makunda Das Adhikary), originally a jazz musician himself, was credited with arranging the traditional songs.

The track "Govinda" is played every morning at all of the ISKCON temples around the world, to greet the deities. This was at the request of Srila Prabhupada. The album was later reissued as Goddess of Fortune on the Spiritual Sky record label. All royalties went to ISKCON. After an initial release on CD in 1993, The Radha Krsna Temple album was remastered and reissued in October 2010 as part of Apple's ongoing reissue campaign, and features in the box set Fresh from Apple Records.