Sweet Papa Crimbo Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/deep-purple-keyboardist-jon-lord-dead-at-71-20120716 Deep Purple Keyboardist Jon Lord Dead at 71 Co-wrote many of their biggest hits, including 'Smoke on the Water' Jon Lord of Deep Purple in the 1970s.Fin Costello/Redferns By Rolling StoneJuly 16, 2012 2:25 PM ETDeep Purple keyboardist Jon Lord, who played with the pioneering hard rock band from their formation in 1968 through his retirement in 2002, died in London today from a pulmonary embolism after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 71.Lord co-founded Deep Purple in 1968 and co-wrote many of their biggest hits, including "Smoke on the Water," "Black Night" and "Strange Kind of Woman." The band initially had a softer sound, scoring hits with covers of Billy Joe Royal's "Hush" and Neil Diamond's "Kentucky Woman" in 1968. The next year they recuited new singer Ian Gillan and quickly developed their signature hard rock sound on classic albums like Machine Head and Fireball. During this time the group regularly changed members, with Lord being one of the few constants.Two years after the group split in 1976, Lord began a six-year stint in Whitesnake. He also guested on albums with some of the biggest names in rock, including George Harrison and David Gilmour. He rejoined Deep Purple when they reformed in 1984, and stayed with the group in 2002. Twitter | Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/deep-purple-keyboardist-jon-lord-dead-at-71-20120716#ixzz20pq881K8 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kim Bodnia Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 It's been a very tragic year for the music world. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PopTodd Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 Top 5 all-time keys player.Rest in peace. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Vacant Horizon Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 this is sad. the classic guard is moving on. RIP. so, was lord in deep purple at present? that band has such an interesting history. steve morse, of all people, is in the band. i'm sure they'll continue touring. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 No - he retired from the band in 2002 (I think). Don Airey plays the keyboards in the band now. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Plumplechook Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 Some nice tributes from his old band mates. http://ultimateclassicrock.com/deep-purple-colleagues-fondly-remember-jon-lord/ I remember sneaking into a sound check for Deep Purple back in the mid 70s when I was about 17 (Tommy Bolin era) and Lord was just jamming for about 10 mins on the keyboards. Magic stuff - some blues, some jazz - and then a bit of Bach chucked in for good measure. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 I was watching a documentary about the Bolin era Deep Purple today on Youtube. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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