Ravi Shankar, the sitar virtuoso who became a hippie musical icon of the 1960s after hobnobbing with the Beatles and who introduced traditional Indian ragas to Western audiences over an eight-decade career, has died. He was 92.
He 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.
Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury
Born: 7 April 1920 Varanasi, United Provinces, British India
Died: 11 December 2012 (aged 92)
La Jolla, San Diego, California, United States
Genres: Hindustani classical music
Occupations: composer, musician
Instruments: sitar
Years active: 1939–2012
Labels: East Meets West Music
Associated acts: Uday Shankar, Allauddin Khan, Ali Akbar Khan, Lakshmi Shankar, Yehudi Menuhin, Chatur Lal, Alla Rakha, George Harrison, Anoushka Shankar, Norah Jones, The Beatles, John Coltrane
