Ravi Shankar Dead at 92

The 'Godfather of World Music' influenced the Beatles, the Grateful Dead and more

Ravi Shankar Credit: Express/Express/Getty Images

Ravi Shankar, the sitar master who helped popularize Indian music in the 1960s, influencing hippie culture and musicians from the Beatles and the Grateful Dead to John Coltrane, has died, the prime minister's office of India confirmed to The Associated Press. According to the Times of India, Shankar passed away in a San Diego hospital, where he had been in treatment since last week after complaining of difficulty breathing. He was 92. 

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Dubbed the Godfather of World Music by his most famous student, George Harrison, Shankar learned to play several Indian classical instruments in his teens and began touring abroad in the 1950s, introducing Indian ragas to audiences in Europe and the U.S. Shankar met Harrison in 1966 at a friend's house, where the Beatle approached him about learning to play the sitar after he'd used one on "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)." Under Shankar's tutelage, Harrison became proficient in the instrument and played it on the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band song "Within You Without You," further igniting interest in ragas and Shankar's work among Beatles fans. 


Shankar was also a teacher to jazz icon John Coltrane, who was so influenced by the musician that he named his own son Ravi. 

As his popularity rose, Shankar performed at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 and Woodstock two years later. In 1971, Shankar and Harrison organized the Concert for Bangladesh, which helped raise money for refugees fleeing that country for India and set the example for future all-star benefits like Live Aid.

A three-time Grammy winner, Shankar continued to tour into the 2000s with his daughter Anoushka, also a sitar player. He is also the father of singer-songwriter Norah Jones. 

Watch Shankar and Harrison playing sitar together in 1968