Ravi Shankar Dead At 92

The sitar master introduced the Western world to Indian music.

Shankar was a hippie musical icon of the 1960s, playing at Woodstock and hobnobbing with The Beatles.

In 1966 the Indian musician met Beatle George Harrison (pictured with Shankar), who became his most famous disciple and gave the musician-composer unexpected pop-culture cachet. Harrison labeled Shankar “the godfather of world music.”

Shankar continued to give virtuoso performances into his 90s, including one in 2011 at Walt Disney Concert Hall.

In New Delhi, the Inidan prime minister’s office confirmed Shankar’s death and called him a “national treasure.”

The sitarist also pioneered the concept of the rock benefit with the 1971 Concert For Bangladesh. To later generations, he was known as the estranged father of popular American singer Norah Jones.

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.