''Nobody's Child: Romanian Angel Appeal'' is a

charity album A charity record or charity single is a song released by musicians with most or all proceeds raised going to a dedicated foundation or charity. George Harrison's "Bangla Desh (song), Bangla Desh" single in 1971 is commonly acknowledged as the fir ...

released in July 1990 to benefit

Romanian orphans Orphanhood in Romania became prevalent as a consequence of the Socialist Republic of Romania's pro-natality policy under Nicolae Ceaușescu. Its effectiveness led to an increase in birth rates at the expense of adequate family planning and reproduc ...

, under the auspices of the Romanian Angel Appeal Foundation. It was compiled by English rock musician

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...

in response to concerns raised by his wife

Olivia Harrison Olivia Trinidad Harrison (née Arias; born May 18, 1948) is an American author and film producer, and the widow of English musician George Harrison of the Beatles. She first worked in the music industry in Los Angeles, for A&M Records, where s ...

, who had visited Romania and witnessed the suffering in the country's abandoned state orphanages following the fall of Communism. The release was preceded by a single, " Nobody's Child", recorded by Harrison's band the Traveling Wilburys. Other artists who donated songs to the album include

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...

, Duane Eddy, Van Morrison,

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKa ...

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...

, Ric Ocasek and

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

. Many of the recordings were previously unreleased.Album liner notes The Romanian Angel Appeal marked a rare foray into the media spotlight by Olivia Harrison, who created the foundation with support from the other wives of the former

Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...

– Barbara Bach, Yoko Ono and

Linda McCartney Linda Louise McCartney, Lady McCartney ( Eastman; September 24, 1941 – April 17, 1998) was an American photographer, musician, animal rights activist, vegetarian cookbook author and advocate, and entrepreneur. She was the keyboardist in th ...

. She and her husband promoted the project in the UK with appearances on the television talk show '' Wogan'' and in the one-hour

Radio 1 Radio 1 or Radio One most commonly refers to: *BBC Radio 1, a music radio station from the BBC ** BBC Radio 1Xtra, a digital radio station broadcasting black music *CBC Radio One, a talk radio station operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporatio ...

documentary ''Nobody's Child''. The album was released by Harrison's record company, Warner Bros. Records, on 23 July 1990. It was preceded by a launch at London's Hyde Park Hotel on 22 July, attended by the Harrisons, and Bach and Starr. The video for the "Nobody's Child" single included animated scenes and footage of the Romanian orphanages.

Song selection

George Harrison's involvement in the project reprised his role in assisting refugees of the 1971

Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War ( bn, মুক্তিযুদ্ধ, , also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh) was a revolution and War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Benga ...

, when he staged an all-star benefit concert and oversaw the release of an associated album and documentary film. Aside from the title track, his presence on ''Nobody's Child'' was reflected in the recordings submitted by Simon, Clapton and Eddy. Harrison said in compiling ''Nobody's Child'' he was conscious of not making it his album by dominating the content. He said that his request for a live track from

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

went unanswered, and his approach to Michael Jackson became confused in the acrimony taking place between Jackson and Paul McCartney over the ownership of the Beatles' Northern Songs catalogue. Selections by

Stevie Winwood Stephen Lawrence Winwood (born 12 May 1948) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter whose genres include blue-eyed soul, rhythm and blues, blues rock, and pop rock. Though primarily a keyboard player and vocalist prominent for his disti ...

and Queen arrived too late for inclusion on the album.

Track listing

Vinyl and cassette releases

Side one #"Nobody's Child" #"Wonderful Remark" #"Medicine Man" #"This Week" #"Homeward Bound" #"How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?" #"Lovechild" #"Big Day Little Boat" Side two #"Feeding Off the Love of the Land" #"That Kind of Woman" #"Goodnight Little One" #"The Trembler" #"Ain't That Peculiar" #"Civil War"

Notes

* On the included performance of "With a Little Help from My Friends", the All-Starr Band consisted of Ringo Starr, Joe Walsh,

Nils Lofgren Nils Hilmer Lofgren (born June 21, 1951) is an American rock musician, recording artist, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Along with his work as a solo artist, he has been a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band since 1984, a membe ...

Billy Preston William Everett Preston (September 2, 1946 – June 6, 2006) was an American keyboardist, singer and songwriter whose work encompassed R&B, rock, soul, funk, and gospel. Preston was a top session keyboardist in the 1960s, during which he ba ...

Dr. John Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer and songwriter. His music encompassed New Orleans blues, jazz, funk, and R&B. Active as a session musician from t ...

Levon Helm Mark Lavon "Levon" Helm (May 26, 1940 – April 19, 2012) was an American musician who achieved fame as the drummer and one of the three lead vocalists for the Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. H ...

, Rick Danko, Garth Hudson, Jim Keltner, Clarence Clemons and Zak Starkey. The song is only on the CD version of the album. * Aside from his contributions with the Traveling Wilburys and Paul Simon,

plays guitar on the tracks by Eric Clapton and Duane Eddy.

References

{{Authority control 1990 compilation albums Warner Records compilation albums Albums produced by George Harrison Charity albums Rock compilation albums George Harrison