Rick Wright - An Obituary
Pink Floyd Keyboardist Joins Great Gig In The Sky
Richard Wright has passed away today after a battle with cancer. The news comes as a shock for millions of Pink Floyd fans who will mourn the loss of a genuine musician. His music has touched the hearts of millions with the cornerstone of his achievements being the majestic "Great Gig In The Sky"from classic album Dark Side of the Moon.
Rick Wright and Pink Floyd
Rick was one of the founding members of The Pink Floyd and played keyboards and contributed vocals on all their albums. His contribution to the band can never be underestimated with stand out tracks such as Echoes and Great Gig In The Sky. It would be hard to picture a Pink Floyd album without his signature keyboards.
From 1968 to 1979 he was privy to some of the most outsatnding music of the decade and part of one of the biggest bands in the world ever. The series of classic albums from Meddle to Wish You Were Here cemented their place as pioneers of music. Dark Side of the Moon would become one of the
biggest albums ever made.
Rick Wright and The Wall
Rick encounterd problems when recording The Wall in 1979 and suffered the ignomony of being sacked from a band he had helped found. This lasted until Roger Waters left the band, at which point he was invited back into the fold - albeit only as a session player. He wouldn't regain full membership until the release of The Division Bell in 1994.
Since then Pink Floyd have only played once at the Live 88 concert in London where the band was reunited once mnore with Roger Waters. For a while it seemed like everything had been forgiven and they could once more revisit the majestic seventies. Sadly time move on and it wasn't to happen.
Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon: In Memory of Rick Wright
Perhaps the best way to honour Rick Wright's memory is to turn off the lights, lie back and put on the CD of Dark Side of the Moon. At the centrepoint of the album Rick willl take the listener on a journey once more up to the great gig that happens in the sky. It is truly a majestic song for a quiet, genuine musician who just happened to be in a band rife with turmoil for most of its career.
This event will surely pull the curtain down on Pink Floyd now and although it is not in the way anyone would have like it to happen at least they had the chance to shine one more time before this sad event happened. Many consolations to Rick's family and may they rest at ease knowing that millions of fans feel for them.
Shine on up in that great gig in the sky Rick.
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