Source: CNN
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, December 1, 2001: After a prolonged battle with cancer, former Beatle lead guitarist and songwriter George Harrison is dead at 58. About Indian music and philosophy, Harrison had said: “After ‘Norwegian Wood,’ I met Ravi Shankar at a friend’s house in London for dinner. He offered to give me instructions in the basics of the sitar, like how to sit, how to hold it, and the basic exercises. It was the first time I had ever really learned music with a bit of discipline. Then I started to listen to Indian music for the next two years, and hardly touched the guitar, except for recordings. Having all these material things, I wanted something more. And it happened that at just the time I wanted it, it came to me in the form of Ravi Shankar, Indian music, and the whole Indian philosophy.”