Famous sitarist who introduced India's
classical music to the rest of the world.
He founded
India's National Orchestra,
Vadya Vrinda, composed music for
ballet, toured
Europe,
Japan, and
America, performed with
Yehudi Menuhin (who said of him "his
genius and his
humanity can only be compared to that of
Mozart's"), created many award-winning film
soundtracks,
taught John Coltrane, and composed music for
Buddy Rich. All of this he accomplished before
1966, when he met
George Harrison, and began his rise to true
fame.
Since then, he has appeared at the legendary
Monterrey Pop and
Woodstock Music Festivals, won
Grammy Awards, been nominated for an
Oscar (for the film
Ghandi), and performed with such
luminaries as
Andre Previn's
London Philharmonic,
Zubin Metha's
New York Philharmonic, and noted
flautist Jean-Pierre Rampal.
Oh yeah, there was also that thing with the
Beatles, and later
George Harrison, and the
Concert for Bangladesh, but all that was just a
blip in the career of this
giant.
If there were a contest for the greatest
musician in all of History, he would have to be a
contender.
Editor's note: Ravi Shankar died on December 11, 2012 at the age of 92. At the time he was suffering from upper respiratory and heart-related issues.