Rest in Peace... Jon Lord
Composer and keyboard player Jon Lord, best known for co-founding the legendary Deep Purple, has passed away at age 71. A classically trained musician, Lord was a pioneer in forging the sound that would evolve into heavy metal, using primarily a Hammond organ.
Please press play and take in the sound of Jon Lord's keyboard prowess before reading another word...
Deep Purple "Wring That Neck" 1970
What truly elevated Jon Lord above his contemporaries was not only his embracing the Blues in his playing style, or his amplifying a Hammond organ/Leslie speaker system through Marshall amplifiers, or even his ability to masterfully incorporate classical music elements into Rock & Roll, but his deft combination of melody and passion put into each and every press of the ivories, of which there is no better example than Deep Purple's epic piece, "Child in Time".
Born June 9th, 1941, Lord played in several post-British Invasion bands, including The Artwoods and The Flower Pot Men, as well as being a session musician, notably providing the keyboards for The Kinks' classic, "You Really Got Me". But it was in early 1968 that Lord, along with guitarist Ritchie Blackmore and business manager Tony Edwards, would form the first incarnation of Deep Purple. Deep Purple Mark I would release three albums in less than two years and have a Hot 100 hit single with their cover of Joe South's "Hush".
Deep Purple Live at The Playboy Mansion, with Hugh Hefner interviewing Jon Lord
The first release from Deep Purple Mark II would drop in 1969, in the form of a unique live performance, masterminded by Jon Lord. Concerto for Group and Orchestra combined rock and classical music into a three-part concerto played by the band and The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, under the direction of Malcolm Arnold. This is a truly spectacular recording, one which I cannot highly recommend enough for you to hear.
Following the release of that album, Deep Purple Mark II would go on to release a series of albums, who's sound would become part of the DNA of the future evolution of the Heavy Metal genre, due in no small part to the combination of the point-counterpoint of Ritchie Blackmore's guitar, and the Marshall amp-driven growl of Jon Lord's Hammond-Leslie. Go head and crank up "Highway Star" and let that keyboard solo wash over you.
Jon Lord played throughout two more iterations of Deep Purple during the 1970's, and would reunite with Deep Purple Mark II in 1984, performing with the group until his retirement from rock music in 2002. I was fortunate enough to see him play live during their 1998 tour. Following his retirement from the band, Lord began a phase of composing which resulted in several classical albums and a revisit to his blues roots with a new group called the Hoochie Coochie Men.
A stunning Jon Lord Keyboard Solo, Melbourne, Australia, 1999
Jon Lord was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2011. His website announced today he passed away from a pulmonary embolism at the London Clinic with family by his side. The passing of Jon Lord is a significant loss for the music world, especially because of his renewed interest in classical composition and the resulting pieces which he recorded and released over the past decade. Music aficionados are blessed to have such a vastly varied canon of his music to enjoy, and the keyboard section of the great gig in the sky just got that much better. RIP, Jon Lord...
Photo credit: Menerbes, used under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication
Well said.
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