Echoes

Founding Pink Floyd member Rick Wright passed away due to cancer today.

When I got home from work today, my wife was really sad. She was sad because Richard Wright, the longtime keyboardist of the band Pink Floyd, had passed away at age 65. My wife is a huge fan of the Floyd and I came to know a lot of their music through her. Of the band members, Wright was my personal favorite because he seemed like the most normal guy there. He came across as low key class act amid the vitriolic exchanges between David Gilmour and Roger Waters. His understated, atmospheric keyboard style has been influential among rock keyboardists while his songwriting has played a part in classic songs like "Us and Them" or "The Great Gig in the Sky".

So in tribute to Rick Wright I included my favorite bit of his playing, the opening minutes to "Shine On You Crazy Diamond". The heavenly sounding synthesizers topped by another muted, sad almost trumpet like synth is a beautiful piece of music. And it all sets up a nice bed for the piercing guitar work from David Gilmour. A fantastic composition. He may not get the recognition he deserves, but Richard Wright was an important element in the sweeping classic Pink Floyd sound and will be missed.

Pink Floyd "The opening part to Shine On You Crazy Diamond"