Shankarian Analysis

hello again!

you guys are so very helpful! i have another question, and this one is for the music theorists (an exciting lot, i’m sure).

my friend and i were discussing an article she’d read recently on shankerian analysis. this has nothing to do with ravi shankar! i promise. apparently, there is a man who believes (or believed, as the case may be, i’m not sure exactly who he is… or was) that all tonal music can be reduced to the basic progression of I-V-I. mind you, he believes this about all tonal music. is there anyone out there who can elaborate on this theory? the only thing i can find on the internet is a message board post, and it has no relevant information, other than offering a theory book based around shankerian analysis (which i am already in posession of. it makes no use of the actual term “shankerian analysis”, however). i am not so much concerned about the theory itself, because it seems pretty straightforward, but i am interested in the evolution of the theory, and the theorist himself. claiming that all tonal music can be reduced down to two chords is a pretty bold step.

thanks-
celine