Ravi Shankar: A Tribute

On December 11th, the musical phenomenon Ravi Shankar passed away at the age of 92 after undergoing a heart surgery. Many regard him one of the most talented and important artists, as he was the one who really introduced the musical world to the wonders of the sitar.  As his now famous daughter Nora Jones stated, "My dad's music touched millions of people.  He will be greatly missed by me and music lovers everywhere."  Born in Varanasi, India on April 7th, 1920, Ravi's childhood consisted of dance lessons.  He eventually  toured India and Europe with the dance group led by his older brother.  But at the age of eighteen, he had decided that he had had enough of dancing.  He began to take sitar lessons under a court musician Allauddin Khan. Little by little, his natural talent began to unveil itself and his instructor proposed to idea that Ravi should begin to compose his own music.  And beginning with that, Ravi Shankar began a career that would change the world of music.  

Ravi began touring throughout India, Europe and eventually America.  He played for small audiences and, during his performances, educated them about Indian music.  He released his first set of works in 1956, and LP album entitled Three Ragas. He then became the first Indian musician to record music for non-Indian films, and used a lot of his earnings to help establish the Kinnara School of Music in Mumbai in 1962.  

But one cannot talk about Ravi Shankar's career without bringing up the extraordinary amount of influence he had on western music.  After befriending Richard Bock, the owner of World Pacific Records, during his first US tour, Ravi began recording for the label.  Incidentally, the Byrds recorded at the same studio and heard some of his music while they were waiting for their session to begin.  They were amazed by the sound and decided to incorporate some elements of Ravi's music into their next works such as Eight Miles High.  David Crosby (of the Byrds) later stated, "Any player on any instrument with ears would be deeply moved by Ravi Shankar.  If you love music, it would be impossible not to be."

George Harrison and Ravi Shankar

And across the sea in England, George Harrison of the Beatles sat listening to the Byrd's records, fascinated by the hints of Indian music that they had combined with rock.  He immediately went and bought a sitar.  Figuring out the basics of the instrument, the sitar first appears on the Beatles' repertoire with Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown).  In 1966, George met with Ravi Shankar in India for six weeks of sitar lessons.  (See this video of a lesson between the two.)  After this, George and the rest of the Beatles created songs such as Within You Without You, Love You To, Across the Universe and The Inner Light, exposing Indian music to a whole new crowd of people. (George later went on to release the hit solo My Sweet Lord.) Ravi's popularity grew due to the fact that he was so closely connected to the Beatles and some referred to him as "the most famous Indian musician on the planet". 

Years later in 1971, Bangladesh was going through a rough period of floods, famine and war.  Millions of refugees fled to India to hide, and Ravi wanted to raise money for relief funds for the people.  He contacted George Harrison about this.  Immediately, George began preparations for what was to be the first ever relief concert: The Concert for Bangladesh.  That night in Madison Square Garden, the headliners were Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Billy Preston, and of course, George and Ravi.  The concert was a huge success (winning a Grammy) and led to many more concerts of that nature.  

Shankar (center) playing at the Concert for Bangladesh

The music school that Ravi had founded proudly taught many, including Robbie Krieger of The Doors.   There, he intensely studied the sitar and another Indian instrument called the sarod.  When he rejoined the band, he brought with him the knowledge he had gained, just as George Harrison did.  The biggest example of the Indian influence in The Door's music is The End.  The opening of the song features the use of indian scales and intonations that continues to drive the song till its end.

For the rest of his life, Ravi Shankar immersed himself in the art of Indian music.  He taught at many colleges, composed whole shows for the London Symphony Orchestra and was nominated for an Academy Award for having the best original score (the movie Gandhi).  Up till the day he died, he continued to perform and teach, his last concert being with his daughter in Long Beach, California.  When the news of his death arrived, the world knew that it had lost one of its best musicians.  The Prime Minister of India stated that Ravi was "a national treasure and global ambassador of India's cultural heritage."  George Harrison, one of Ravi's closest friends, bestowed upon him the title of "the godfather of world music".  His influence on music cannot be overstated, and he will always remain an immensely influential part of the culture that we have grown to love today. 

Also, happy birthday to Pink Floyd's original founder, Syd Barrett!