George didn't "invent" charity concerts; they'd been around in some form for some time. What he did that everyone acknowledges was unique was pull together a superstar set, which in this case even played together as a band, to promote some cause and raise awareness to an issue. That he did unquestionably, and it pressured Western govts to re-examine their stance on the East Pakistan problem. Even from the beginning, Harrison considered the money secondary, although he raised $250K from the gate that was instantly sent to Unicef for relief, and $45 million (or more) eventually followed through sales of the CD and movie showings.
The Monterey Pop festival was indeed the first real rock festival ever held, but to call it a charity in the same sense is misleading. The point was not to raise money or awareness (patrons paid a nominal $1 fee), but to get together and listen to groovy music for 3 days while stoned. The only reason the Monterey Pop festival turned into a "charity" is because the original organizer was muscled out by the follow-up organizers in a Hollywood takeover. Derek Taylor, the publicity director, tells a pretty amusing account of it in his book "It Was Twenty Years Ago Today" (which is now, of course 40 years ago). All bands had their expenses paid, which is also unlike Bangla Desh. I assume Ravi got paid because he was the original act the first organizer hired (before it was turned into a "charity", which meant, don't pay the performers), and he had a signed contract for his participation.
