Pink Floyd Keyboardist Richard Wright Dead at 65

Richard Wright, keyboardist for the multi-platinum selling progressive rock band Pink Floyd, died in London, England Monday September 15, 2008 after a prolonged battle with cancer, according to the Associated Press. Wright was 65.

Richard Wright met Roger Waters and Nick Mason in college in the 1960's and the three formed a band, Sigma 6. After adding guitarist Syd Barrett, the four became Pink Floyd in 1967. Pink Floyd would go on to record numerous studio and live albums of eclectic, psychodelic jazz- and blues- infused albums over the next several decades, winning them a worldwide following of diehard fans and a couple of recordings that rank in the Top 25 selling albums of all time, Dark Side of the Moon (15 times platinum) and The Wall (23 times platinum),according to Billboard magazine.

I became a lifelong fan of Pink Floyd the first time Dark Side of the Moon was heard in its entirety. From the lyrics to the vocals to the bluesy guitar of David Gilmour, who joined the band in January 1968 (Syd Barrett would leave the group in April 1968 with increasing mental problems), the album was a showcase of unequalled brilliance. I would seek out other Pink Floyd albums then and find that their music appealed to me on different levels, with long artsy, space progressions to flat-out rock songs. But on Wish You Were Here, Pink Floyd's tribute to missing band mate Syd Barrett, I found the song that appealed to me most and remains one of my favorite songs.

"Welcome To The Machine" is an ingenious blend of sounds. It is Richard Wright's virtuosity on the keyboards that gives this song its amazing breadth. There is a musical sweep to this number that captivates you from the very beginning, where the machinery pulses and sounds of steam (?) mix with the keyboard screams, Roger Waters forlorn cries of "Welcome, my son; welcome to the machine," and the strums of an acoustic guitar. Roger Waters penned this Big Brother-conjuring number about an uncaring music industry's acceptance of Syd Barrett and the band. The driving tune stills pulls me into its cogs every time I hear it - all the way through its eight minutes to the closing of that Jaguar door.

As a collector, I would buy everything Pink Floyd produced (except for the live albums) on vinyl until Division Bell. I have over half of those same albums in CD format. My favorite numbers continue to be those soaring keyboards on Wish You Were Here and Obscured By Clouds.

My brother and I saw Pink Floyd in July 1994 in Washington, D. C., when they toured in support of Division Bell. By this time, Roger Waters had left the group for a solo career after a falling out with the band members about firing Richard Wright. We were about one hundred feet from the stage and stood on our folding chairs for the entire show, pigs and beds and lasers flying overhead the entire night. The stage show was phenomenal and the light show intense. It remains one of the best concerts I've ever attended.

All four band members appeared together on stage for the first time in 25 years in July 2005 for the "Live 8" charity concert in London. Although there have been many rumors in the past several years of a reunion, David Gilmour has made several comments to the fact that he was simply not inerested.

Richard Wright also performed on several solo projects, releasing Wet Dream (1978) and Broken China (1996). He also formed the band Zee and released one album, Identity.

Richard Wright is the second Pink Floyd band member to pass on. Syd Barrett died in 2006.

The world has lost one of its great musicians. Truly, sir, I wish you were here...

Sources:

Associated Press
Billboard.com
Wikipedia.org