Ravi Shankar, the legendary musician who helped introduce Indian music to the west back in the 60’s, passed away yesterday at the age of 92.
Shankar and his music were extremely influential to musicians like George Harrison and David Crosby and despite some cultural differences, western audiences occasionally had trouble differentiating between tuning and songs, Shankar in many ways illustrated the universal nature of the musical language.
According to a statement on Shankar’s website, the musician died in San Diego, California yesterday with his wife and daughter at his bedside. He had been suffering from an upper respiratory infection and heart problems that had required surgery last week.
Among Ravi Shankar’s many impressive accomplishments throughout his decades long career was the creation of the first rock benefit concert, his 1971, two-night event at Madison Square Garden,Concert for Bangladesh, an event that raised millions of dollars for UNICEF to help Indian refugees.