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Did you know that Ravi Shankar performed at Monterey in 1967 and Woodstock in 1969? That he mentored George Harrison in the finer points of playing sitar (as Harrison did on “Norwegian Wood”)? That he also influenced music by American jazz and classical artists?

Shankar was perhaps one of the most unlikely of influences on American music when brought the sitar from his native India. Harrison bestowed on him the title, “the godfather of world music.” David Crosby, who was a member of The Byrds when Shankar’s influence started being felt in the rock world once said, “Any player on any instrument with any ears would be deeply moved by Ravi Shankar. If you love music, it would be impossible not to be.”

Shankar died this week (12/11) at age 92 in San Diego after undergoing heart surgery a few days earlier. His best known offspring, singer-songwriter-pianist Norah Jones issued a statement via her record label which said, “My dad’s music touched millions of people. He will be greatly missed by me and music lovers everywhere.”

• Watch Shankar’s performance at Woodstock

• Watch the teacher and his student, Shankar and Harrison

^{Photo (Harrison and Shankar in 1970) by Central Press/Getty Images}

Lots of good things come in boxes. Gifts, engagement rings, care packages from home when you’re serving in the military.

Good music comes in boxes, too — collections of it from artists whose work we remember well, and might like to experience again.

In 2012, we got boxes full of music of most every flavor of classic rock you can think of. READ MORE

What is it that’s so appealing about live albums? The same thing that makes the concert experience so appealing to the audience. It’s the ultimate test of an artist’s ability to achieve perfection in one take, and to create a bond with the audience.

This has been an exceptionally good year for live albums from classic rock artists — a year that has included Led Zeppelin’s 2007 reunion concert, a previously unreleased Janis Joplin performance from 1968, and a restored version of a 1968 gig with The Doors.

And that’s just for starters! READ MORE

This actually started out to be a Top 10 list. But as I started looking back over the year’s new releases, I realized I had come up with 10 before I was even halfway through the year!

To be sure, I had noticed a lot of good material coming down the pipeline, but since it was spread pretty evenly throughout the year (not bunched up around the year-end holidays like they used to be) it hadn’t occurred to me how many there actually were.

And thus it was that the list of the Top 25 classic rock studio album releases in 2012 came to be. READ MORE