It is not long that I was introduced to Pink Floyd but since then there hasn’t been a day when I have not played Pink Floyd on my laptop. Listening to David Gilmour’s team is a part of my daily routine now, and it left a patch of sadness in me when I read that Pink Floyd’s keyboardist and co-founder Richard Wright, age 65 , died on 15th September, 2008 from cancer.
Wright, a London native, met bassist Roger Waters and drummer Nick Mason while at Regent Street School of Architecture, joining their band, which went under names such as the Meggadeaths and Sigma 6. The three musicians formed the Pink Floyd Show with Syd Barrett in 1965, evolving from a pop and R&B cover band into an improvisational, psychedelic outfit. Wright contributed to an easy Jazz piano style to the band, and much a part of the minimalistic style of the band’s arrangements as anyone.
Though not as prolific a songwriter as his bandmates Roger Waters and David Gilmour, he wrote significant parts of the music for classic albums such as Meddle, The Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here, as well as for Pink Floyd’s final studio album The Division Bell. My personal favourites as Wright’s greatest compositions are ‘Great Gig in the Sky’ and ‘Us and Them’. As a band, their 1973’s Dark Side of the Moon remains as their masterpiece, which stayed in the US top 200 for 15 years.
But the band’s relationships deteriorated after the 1979 album, The Wall, and Waters had threatened to withhold the album if Wright refused to quit. After a lengthy legal battle with Waters, Wright joined Gilmour and Mason. The group recorded two Pink Floyd albums and played on more than 100 shows on a Division Bell Tour in 1994, making it the most lucrative tour in the rock history at that time.
Wright also worked on Gilmour’s solo projects, most recently playing on the 2006 album “On an Island” and the world tour and there were continuous speculations about group reforming to tour again but now with Wright’s passing I guess that remains a dream.
As a musician Richard would be missed but his songs will always ‘Echo’ in our ears and would remind us of his great work and contribution to the Rock music.
This video is one of my personal favourites from the band, and one of the greatest contirbutions by Wright- The Great Gig in the Sky.
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September 25, 2008 at 11:43 am
Daddy Papersurfer
It’s very reassuring to hear that you young people listen to decent music – mind you, there’s good stuff around today as well ……. ho hum ……. best forget I said anything ……… OK?
September 25, 2008 at 12:30 pm
Scratch Bags
Uh oh? Where are my glasses? What have you written? Can you record it and send it to me? Oh Never mind!! let me search for my glasses!
September 25, 2008 at 10:17 pm
kayvan kaveh
Im40 years old.Ilive in IRAN .Its 28years that i listen to pinkfloyd.Ilove theme.when i heared about richard wright i cried.i live with pinks music.I play guitar and i play and sing their songs.here its a long time i listen to their music.viva pinkfloyd.viva Davidgilmor and Nick mason and Rogerwaters. whish they were here.viva pink floyd for ever. Here im waiting for hearing the good news about PINKFLOYD.if some day i meet the members of pink floyd i will kiss the hands of them.they made my life beautiful.they are in the top of the music of the world for ever. its very far from us but i fell them near myself.I have many of their pictures and albums and news about theme.i listen to their music every day.my wife and my daugter love theme too.pinkfloyd is a great part of our life.They are always alive.
Viva PINKFLOYD.
September 26, 2008 at 1:25 pm
Michael
When I was young and awkward student of music (circa 1969-70+), insulting the memory of Rachmaninov and Chopin with my cavalier style of playing, I lay the “blame” on the like of Nicky Hopkins, Steve Winwood…and, especially, Richard Wright. All three, while distracting me from the rigid discipline of classical music, also helped me to better appreciate its multifaceted nuances and broader scope through their own unique and innovative fashions. However, Wright often went above and beyond innovation to absolute inspiration in that his tonal layering/structuring on keyboards was BRILLIANT and SUPERB!!! I’ll miss him but his memory will always remain…which is how it should be, for both the living and the dead.
September 26, 2008 at 1:53 pm
Karen
I’ve been listening to and loving Pink Floyd since I first heard them back in 1977 at the tender age of 7, oo giving my age away there
It’s a sad loss to the music world to loose such a talented musician.
September 26, 2008 at 3:37 pm
Scratch Bags
Hi Kayvan,
Welcome to my blog. You know while I was writing this post I was thinking that at times we feel close to people even when we have never met them; Pink Floyd guys are one of those people. They have brought beauty to the music and I doubt if anyone would ever be able to create such music. I also listen to Floyd everyday and no matter ow many hours I listen to their band, I never get bored.
Michael- First of all, thank you for recommending my blog. My blog is ‘Blog of the Day’ on FMB just because of you. Thank you so very much.
Wright’s style fuses jazz and neoclassical influences that complemented the simple harmonic structures of the more blues and folk-based songs written by Roger Waters and David Gilmour. So, I guess that was really distracting you. And of course his vocals and contribution to the keyboard was something that would always be remembered and misses most of all.
Hi Karen- Welcome Aboard. Ammm! I am pretty weak at calculations so you know, I would never be able to know your age.
Yes, it’s a loss and none would be able to recover that.