History Music / RaviShankar

Shankar kept touring and releasing new albums until his death in 2012. His daughters, Music/NorahJones and Anoushka Shankar are famous musicians in their own right.

* CoolOldGuy: He was the only non-Westerner and non-rock musician to perform on rock festivals like ''Monterey Pop'' (1967) and ''Film/{{Woodstock}}'' (1969).

** His daughter Anoushka Shankar is fairly familiar on account of high-profile collaborations with the likes of Sting, Lenny Kravitz and Joshua Bell; a lot of people who like Norah Jones's music probably don't even realise that she's Ravi Shankar's daughter.

Ravi Shankar (7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) is the world's most famous Indian musician.

Notability in the West came in the 1950s and 1960s, when he collaborated with renowned classical violinist Yehudi Menuhin, which resulted in the albums "West Meets East" (2 volumes, 1966 and 1968). This made him well known in ClassicalMusic circles, but halfway the 1960s he also became known among pop music fans. In 1965 Shankar met Music/GeorgeHarrison with whom he struck a life long friendship. He taught Harrison to play sitar and also imparted knowledge about Indian philosophy, religion, history and culture. This inspired a lot of Music/TheBeatles and Harrison solo songs with traditional Indian music, including "Norwegian Wood" (''Music/RubberSoul'' (1965), "Love You To" (''Music/{{Revolver}}'' (1966)), "Within You Without You" (''Music/SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand'' (1967)), Harrison's solo album ''Music/WonderwallMusic'' (1968) and ''Music/TheConcertForBangladesh'' (1971). Soon Shankar's fame and popularity spread among other Western music artists. On the cover of Music/BobDylan's ''Music/BringingItAllBackHome'' (1965) a copy of "India's Master Musician" can be seen. Music/FrankZappa mentions Shankar as an influence in the liner notes of ''Music/FreakOut'' (1966). Music/JohnColtrane named his son "Ravi" after the musician. [[{{Minimalism}} Minimalist]] composer Music/PhilipGlass started his career as a copyist for Shankar, an experience he credits as formative for his own musical style, and they later collaborated on the album ''Passages'' together.

Notability in the West came in the 1950s and 1960s, when he collaborated with renowned classical violinist Yehudi Menuhin, which resulted in the albums "West Meets East" (2 volumes, 1966 and 1968). This made him well known in ClassicalMusic circles, but halfway the 1960s he also became known among pop music fans. In 1965 Shankar met Music/GeorgeHarrison with whom he struck a life long friendship. He taught Harrison to play sitar and also imparted knowledge about Indian philosophy, religion, history and culture. This inspired a lot of Music/TheBeatles and Harrison solo songs with traditional Indian music, including "Norwegian Wood" (''Music/RubberSoul'' (1965), "Love You To" (''Music/{{Revolver}}'' (1966)), "Within You Without You" (''Music/SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand'' (1967)), Harrison's solo album ''Music/WonderwallMusic'' (1968) and the ''Music/ConcertForBangladesh'' (1971). Soon Shankar's fame and popularity spread among other Western music artists. On the cover of Music/BobDylan's ''Music/BringingItAllBackHome'' (1965) a copy of "India's Master Musician" can be seen. Music/FrankZappa mentions Shankar as an influence in the liner notes of ''Music/FreakOut'' (1966). Music/JohnColtrane named his son "Ravi" after the musician. [[{{Minimalism}} Minimalist]] composer Music/PhilipGlass started his career as a copyist for Shankar, an experience he credits as formative for his own musical style, and they later collaborated on the album ''Passages'' together.

* DeadpanSnarker: He was warm and serious most of the time, but on the ''Concert for Bangladesh'' album he has a moment. Shankar explains to the audience that he and Ali Akbar Khan are going to play some Indian music and that he'd appreciate it if they concentrate a bit and refrain from smoking.[[note]]To people who know nothing about Indian music, Shankar and Khan sharing a stage is a bit like a duet between Music/JimiHendrix and Music/EricClapton.[[/note]] Then the musicians play a few flourishes for a minute or so, and the audience applauds respectfully.

Notability in the West came in the 1950s and 1960s, when he collaborated with renowned classical violinist Yehudi Menuhin, which resulted in the albums "West Meets East" (2 volumes, 1966 and 1968). This made him well known in ClassicalMusic circles, but halfway the 1960s he also became known among pop music fans. In 1965 Shankar met Music/GeorgeHarrison with whom he struck a life long friendship. He taught Harrison to play sitar and also imparted knowledge about Indian philosophy, religion, history and culture. This inspired a lot of Music/TheBeatles and Harrison solo songs with traditional Indian music, including "Norwegian Wood" (''Music/RubberSoul'' (1965), "Love You To" (''Music/{{Revolver}}'' (1966)), "Within You Without You" (''Music/SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand'' (1967)), Harrison's solo album ''Music/WonderwallMusic'' (1968) and the ''Music/ConcertForBanglaDesh'' (1971). Soon Shankar's fame and popularity spread among other Western music artists. On the cover of Music/BobDylan's ''Music/BringingItAllBackHome'' (1965) a copy of "India's Master Musician" can be seen. Music/FrankZappa mentions Shankar as an influence in the liner notes of ''Music/FreakOut'' (1966). Music/JohnColtrane named his son "Ravi" after the musician. [[{{Minimalism}} Minimalist]] composer Music/PhilipGlass started his career as a copyist for Shankar, an experience he credits as formative for his own musical style, and they later collaborated on the album ''Passages'' together.

* RefrainFromAssuming: Ravi Shankar is not related to violinist L. Shankar.

Notability in the West came in the 1950s and 1960s, when he collaborated with renowned classical violinist Yehudi Menuhin, which resulted in the albums "West Meets East" (2 volumes, 1966 and (1968). This made him well known in ClassicalMusic circles, but halfway the 1960s he also became known among pop music fans. In 1965 Shankar met Music/GeorgeHarrison with whom he struck a life long friendship. He taught Harrison to play sitar and also imparted knowledge about Indian philosophy, religion, history and culture. This inspired a lot of Music/TheBeatles and Harrison solo songs with traditional Indian music, including "Norwegian Wood" (''Music/RubberSoul'' (1965), "Love You To" (''Music/{{Revolver}}'' (1966)), "Within You Without You" (''Music/SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand'' (1967)), Harrison's solo album ''Music/WonderwallMusic'' (1968) and the ''Music/ConcertForBanglaDesh'' (1971). Soon Shankar's fame and popularity spread among other Western music artists. On the cover of Music/BobDylan's ''Music/BringingItAllBackHome'' (1965) a copy of "India's Master Musician" can be seen. Music/FrankZappa mentions Shankar as an influence in the liner notes of ''Music/FreakOut'' (1966). Music/JohnColtrane named his son "Ravi" after the musician. [[{{Minimalism}} Minimalist]] composer Music/PhilipGlass started his career as a copyist for Shankar, an experience he credits as formative for his own musical style, and they later collaborated on the album ''Passages'' together.

Notability in the West came in the 1950s and 1960s, when he collaborated with renowned classical violinist Yehudi Menuhin, which resulted in the albums "West Meets East" (2 volumes, 1966 and (1968). He also became well known for his scores for the renowned arthouse films of ''The Apu Trilogy'' by Creator/SatyajitRay. This made him well known in ClassicalMusic circles, but halfway the 1960s he also became known among pop music fans. In 1965 Shankar met Music/GeorgeHarrison with whom he struck a life long friendship. He taught Harrison to play sitar and also imparted knowledge about Indian philosophy, religion, history and culture. This inspired a lot of Music/TheBeatles and Harrison solo songs with traditional Indian music, including "Norwegian Wood" (''Music/RubberSoul'' (1965), "Love You To" (''Music/{{Revolver}}'' (1966)), "Within You Without You" (''Music/SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand'' (1967)), Harrison's solo album ''Music/WonderwallMusic'' (1968) and the ''Music/ConcertForBanglaDesh'' (1971). Soon Shankar's fame and popularity spread among other Western music artists. On the cover of Music/BobDylan's ''Music/BringingItAllBackHome'' (1965) a copy of "India's Master Musician" can be seen. Music/FrankZappa mentions Shankar as an influence in the liner notes of ''Music/FreakOut'' (1966). Music/JohnColtrane named his son "Ravi" after the musician. [[{{Minimalism}} Minimalist]] composer Music/PhilipGlass started his career as a copyist for Shankar, an experience he credits as formative for his own musical style, and they later collaborated on the album ''Passages'' together.

His soundtrack credits include the three films of the famous "Apu Trilogy" (''Literature/PatherPanchali'', ''Film/{{Aparajito}}'', and ''Film/ApurSansar''), as well as ''Film/{{Gandhi}}'' and Canadian short film ''Film/AChairyTale''.

Soon Shankar was performing on rock festivals like ''Monterey Pop'' (1967) and ''Music/{{Woodstock}}'' (1969), despite just playing sitar music. Fans of PsychedelicRock did enjoy his performances, though, and soon he was a household name among the hippie crowd. Yet Shankar distanced himself from the movement. He felt many people just came to trip on hallucinogenic drugs and babble on about social change, without actually doing something. He was also conscious that his notability and popularity would probably fade away when the hippie movement petered out. A prophecy that turned out to be correct. From the mid 1970s onward only his true fans remained. But he didn't mind. He preferred people coming to listen to the music and respect his culture, rather than just being there because he was hip.

Ravi Shankar (1920-2012) is the world's most famous Indian musician.

* DeadpanSnarker: He was warm and serious most of the time, but on the ''Concert for Bangladesh'' album he has a moment. Shankar explains to the audience that he and Ali Akbar Khan are going to play some Indian music and that he'd appreciate it if they concentrate a bit and refrain from smoking.[[note]]To people who know nothing about Indian music, Shankar and Khan sharing a stage is a bit like a duet between Creator/JimiHendrix and Creator/EricClapton.[[/note]] Then the musicians play a few flourishes for a minute or so, and the audience applauds respectfully.

Notability in the West came in the 1950s and 1960s, when he collaborated with renowned classical violinist Yehudi Menuhin, which resulted in the albums "West Meets East" (2 volumes, 1966 and (1968). This made him well known in ClassicalMusic circles, but halfway the 1960s he also became known among pop music fans. In 1965 Shankar met Music/GeorgeHarrison with whom he struck a life long friendship. He taught Harrison to play sitar and also imparted knowledge about Indian philosophy, religion, history and culture. This inspired a lot of Music/TheBeatles and Harrison solo songs with traditional Indian music, including "Norwegian Wood" (''Music/RubberSoul'' (1965), "Love You To" (''Music/{{Revolver}}'' (1966)), "Within You Without You" (''Music/SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand'' (1967)), Harrison's solo album ''Music/WonderwallMusic'' (1968) and the ''Music/ConcertForBanglaDesh'' (1971). Soon Shankar's fame and popularity spread among other Western music artists. On the cover of Music/BobDylan's ''Music/BringingItAllBackHome'' (1965) a copy of "India's Master Musician" can be seen. Music/FrankZappa mentions Shankar as an influence in the liner notes of ''Music/FreakOut'' (1966). Music/JohnColtrane named his son "Ravi" after the musician. [[{{Minimalism}} Minimalist]] composer Music/PhilipGlass started his career as a copyist for Shankar, an experience he credits as formative for his own musical style, and they later collaborated on the album ''Passages'' together.

* CrossOver: He dueted with Indian composer Ali Akbar Khan, violinist Yehudi Menuhin, composer André Previn, Music/GeorgeHarrison and composer Music/PhilipGlass throughout his career.

** His daughter Anoushka Shankar is pretty well well known on account of high-profile collaborations with the likes of Sting, Lenny Kravitz and Joshua Bell; a lot of people who like Norah Jones's music probably don't even realise that she's Ravi Shankar's daughter.

* SmallReferencePools: If you have to name a famous Indian musician Ravi Shankar will be the only name most Westerners will be able to name.

* {{Improv}}: Much of his music was improvised on stage. His album "Improvisations" (1962) is a prime example.

-->'''Ravi Shankar''': Thank you -- if you liked the tuning so much, I hope you like the music even more.

'''Ravi Shankar''' (1920-2012) is the world's most famous Indian musician.

Notability in the West came in the 1950s and 1960s, when he collaborated with renowned classical violinist Yehudi Menuhin, which resulted in the albums "West Meets East" (2 volumes, 1966 and (1968). This made him well known in ClassicalMusic circles, but halfway the 1960s he also became known among pop music fans. In 1965 Shankar met Music/GeorgeHarrison with whom he struck a life long friendship. He learned him to play sitar and taught the Beatle a lot about Indian philosophy, religion, history and culture. This inspired a lot of Music/TheBeatles and Harrison solo songs with traditional Indian music, including "Norwegian Wood" (''Music/RubberSoul'' (1965), "Love You To" (''Music/{{Revolver}}'' (1966)), "Within You Without You" (''Music/SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand'' (1967)), Harrison's solo album ''Music/WonderwallMusic'' (1968) and the ''Music/ConcertForBanglaDesh'' (1971). Soon Shankar's fame and popularity spread among other Western music artists. On the cover of Music/BobDylan's ''Music/BringingItAllBackHome'' (1965) a copy of "India's Master Musician" can be seen. Music/FrankZappa mentions Shankar as an influence in the liner notes of ''Music/FreakOut'' (1966). Music/JohnColtrane named his son "Ravi" after the musician. [[{{Minimalism}} Minimalist]] composer Music/PhilipGlass started his career as a copyist for Shankar, an experience he credits as formative for his own musical style, and they later collaborated on the album ''Passages'' together.

* TheMentor: As a music teacher and scholar, he definitely earned the title "Pandit." Who else can say they were a major influence on John Coltrane and David Crosby and The Byrds and The Beatles and Bob Dylan and Frank Zappa and Philip Glass?

* WorldMusic: Ravi Shankar popularized South Asian music, both from India and Pakistan, to the rest of the world.

Notability in the West came in the 1950s and 1960s, when he collaborated with renowned classical violinist Yehudi Menuhin, which resulted in the albums "West Meets East" (2 volumes, 1966 and (1968). This made him well known in ClassicalMusic circles, but halfway the 1960s he also became known among pop music fans. In 1965 Shankar met Music/GeorgeHarrison with whom he struck a life long friendship. He learned him to play sitar and taught the Beatle a lot about Indian philosophy, religion, history and culture. This inspired a lot of Music/TheBeatles and Harrison solo songs with traditional Indian music, including "Norwegian Wood" (''Music/RubberSoul'' (1965), "Love You To" (''Music/{{Revolver}}'' (1966)), "Within Without You" (''Music/SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand'' (1967)), Harrison's solo album ''Music/WonderwallMusic'' (1968) and the ''Music/ConcertForBanglaDesh'' (1971). Soon Shankar's fame and popularity spread among other Western music artists. On the cover of Music/BobDylan's ''Music/BringingItAllBackHome'' (1965) a copy of "India's Master Musician" can be seen. Music/FrankZappa mentions Shankar as an influence in the liner notes of ''Music/FreakOut'' (1966). Music/JohnColtrane named his son "Ravi" after the musician.

Notability in the West came in the 1950s and 1960s, when he collaborated with renowned classical violinist Yehudi Menuhin, which resulted in the albums "West Meets East" (2 volumes, 1966 and (1968). This made him more well known in ClassicalMusic circles, but the pop star levels would have to wait another decade further. In 1965 Shankar met Music/GeorgeHarrison with whom he struck a life long friendship. He learned him to play sitar and taught the Beatle a lot about Indian philosophy, religion, history and culture. This inspired a lot of Music/TheBeatles and Harrison solo songs with traditional Indian music, including "Norwegian Wood" (''Music/RubberSoul'' (1965), "Love You To" (''Music/{{Revolver}}'' (1966)), "Within Without You" (''Music/SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand'' (1967)), Harrison's solo album ''Music/WonderwallMusic'' (1968) and the ''Music/ConcertForBanglaDesh'' (1971). On the cover of Music/BobDylan's ''Music/BringingItAllBackHome'' (1965) a copy of "India's Master Musician" can be seen. Music/FrankZappa mentions Shankar as an influence in the liner notes of ''Music/FreakOut'' (1966). Music/JohnColtrane named his son "Ravi" after the musician.

Despite his popularity among the hippie crowd Shankar distanced himself from their lifestyle, especially the fact that many of them just took hallucinogenic drugs and listened to music without doing much else. Although he embraced the West he remained a devout Hindu and was very concerned about the globalization of Western culture over traditional cultures worldwide.

* CelebrityIsOverrated: While being glad with the attention the rest of the world got for UsefulNotes/{{India}} thanks to him Shankar remained a modest man who lived a simple life. He once claimed being glad that he was already in his forties when he became such a success among young PsychedelicRock fans: "Otherwise all that success may have gone to my head."