Beatles Collaborator Ravi Shankar Dies At 92

Ravi Shankar, the legendary sitar musician who introduced the instrument to the legendary Beatle George Harrison and brought Indian music to the Western world, died Tuesday near his home in San Diego, Calif. He was 92.

In the 1960s, Shankar gained worldwide fame by working on the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper Lonely Hearts Club Band album, lending his music to the song “Within You Without You.” He also gave legendary performances at the Monterey Jazz Festival in 1967 and at Woodstock in 1969.

"Ravi was a great loss musically, spiritually and physically. God bless to Ravi's family. Peace & Love," Beatles drummer Ringo Starr, 72, said in a statement released through a representative.

Shankar was also a humanitarian. He teamed up with Harrison to organize “The Concert for Bangladesh,” held at Madison Square Garden in 1971. Proceeds from the concert went to Bangladesh refugees suffering from a devastating tropical storm in 1970 and the Bangladesh Liberation War. The two shows raised almost $250,000. To this day, sales of the live album and DVD benefit The George Harrison Fund for UNICEF.

In November, Shankar performed in his last concert with his daughter Anoushka, a world-renowned sitar player in her own right, for a concert in Long Beach, Calif. He is also the father of Grammy winning singer-songwriter Norah Jones, 33.

Shankar is survived by his wife Sukanya, three grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

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