ACK in the early 1960's, choosing a favorite Beatle was a pressing decision. Rock `n' rollers and literary types claimed John, while romantics and love-struck girls fell for Paul. Almost by default (Ringo didn't really count), George was for independent thinkers, contrarians and lovers of underdogs who refused to toe the John and Paul line.

George Harrison, who died on Thursday of cancer, was not so much the quiet Beatle as the modest Beatle. Where John wanted to be bigger than Elvis, and Paul could scream like Little Richard, Mr. Harrison gravitated toward Carl Perkins, the 50's rocker whose skills as a songwriter and guitarist were undermined by a distinct lack of charisma.

Without the aggressive, chest-thumping belligerence of Mr. Lennon, or the serene self-confidence of Mr. McCartney, Mr. Harrison simply allowed his musical contributions to speak for themselves. Sometimes he didn't even do that, particularly in the 1970's when he was pointedly derisive of the band's music.

His contributions are easy to ignore. Yet the evidence is there. "Don't Bother Me" may have been a fittingly modest songwriting debut, but Mr. Harrison's short guitar solo rocks as hard as anything in the Beatles' early canon. Similarly, his country-tinged solo on "All My Loving" is a concise model of good taste.

It was Mr. Harrison who introduced the 12-string electric guitar to rock-and-roll, but it was Roger McGuinn, whose 12-string work with the Byrds was inspired by Mr. Harrison, who is identified with the sound. In his own songs, he was deferential, giving Mr. McCartney the opportunity to play the stinging solo in "Taxman" and bringing in Eric Clapton to play the anthem-like lead in "While My Guitar Gently Weeps." Later, as Mr. Harrison developed his solo musical style, he settled on a quavery slide as his guitar signature, a far cry from the blustery soloing of the 1970's.

At least a few lapses in modesty occurred. The breakup of the Beatles was so liberating that his first solo album, "All Things Must Pass," was a giddy three- record set, at least one disk too many. He called his autobiography "I, Me, Mine."

But soon enough, he reverted to form, taking a behind-the-scenes role in his film company, enjoying ensemble work as part of The Traveling Wilburys with Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne. Fittingly, at a concert in the early 90's celebrating Mr. Dylan's 30th anniversary as a recording artist, he joined other starts in performing Dylan songs. Where the others grabbed hits and anthems like "Blowin' in the Wind" and "Like a Rolling Stone," Mr. Harrison performed lesser, quiet numbers like "If Not for You" and "Absolutely Sweet Marie."

He went out as he lived, modestly.