An Audience with Joe Brown

Rock royalty gathered in London’s Royal Albert Hall one year after George Harrison’s death to participate in a tribute concert. Paul and Ringo were there, of course, and Harrison’s fellow Traveling Wilburys Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne, and Eric Clapton and Billy Preston, among others. When it came time to close out the evening, Joe Brown came out on stage with a ukulele and sang one of the few songs that night not written by George, the 1924 standard “I’ll See You in My Dreams.” It was a lovely sendoff, by an artist whose role in the evolution of British pop (and folk) music was profound, but whose contributions have gone unrecognized in America.