R.I.P. Jon Lord

TBird1958 · July 16, 2012, 11:51:11 AM

Sad day.........

Definately one of my fave keyboard player.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-18864409

gweimer · July 16, 2012, 11:54:39 AM

It just passed by my FB page, too. This is what the Deep Purple page has.

"We are all deeply saddened by the news that Jon Lord has passed away today at the age of 71 after suffering a pulmonary embolism. He had been suffering from pancreatic cancer and was surrounded by his family at the London Clinic. Our most heartfelt sympathies go to his family. Jon Lord, a giant among men."

uwe · July 16, 2012, 12:20:26 PM

As a life-long DP addict and having seen the man dozens of times I am stunned. He seemed to be winning the cancer battle and now this. $:-\$

He had a great sense for irony too, so there:

jumbodbassman · July 16, 2012, 12:46:36 PM

RIP -

more of a closet DP fan here

lowend1 · July 16, 2012, 01:57:02 PM

Nobody tortured the Hammond better - in a good way.

Highlander · July 16, 2012, 02:01:50 PM

I had the pleasure of meeting him a few times back in the eighties whilst with Whitesnake - such a kind person...

This is one battle nobody wins, Uwe... RIP, Mr Lord...

Just realised that along with Ian Paice he's the musician I'd seen more times than any other - DP & WS...

godofthunder · July 16, 2012, 02:09:12 PM

The only keyboard player I ever gave a damn about. RIP Jon.

Basvarken · July 16, 2012, 03:08:08 PM

Ouch I didn't see that coming.
This is sad news.

RIP Mr. Lord

Aussie Mark · July 16, 2012, 05:33:27 PM

Jon Lord was the key ingredient in DP as far as I'm concerned. Yes, Blackmore, Gillan, Paice and Glover were all important, but without Lord DP wouldn't have amounted to much IMHO.

gweimer · July 16, 2012, 05:49:31 PM

Quote from: Aussie Mark on July 16, 2012, 05:33:27 PM
Jon Lord was the key ingredient in DP as far as I'm concerned. Yes, Blackmore, Gillan, Paice and Glover were all important, but without Lord DP wouldn't have amounted to much IMHO.

So....Deep Purple-Jon Lord=Rainbow?

Basvarken · July 17, 2012, 01:49:07 AM

No, because Gillan never sang with Rainbow...

Iome · July 17, 2012, 04:07:41 AM

RIP, this is a sad day for rock 'n roll.

I ask again, why has D:P. never been inducted to the R.R. hall of fame???

uwe · July 17, 2012, 04:48:02 AM

They were nominated and would have been accepted, but under the then current regime of the RRHOF that would have required all living members of the key line up (Mk II) to show up. Everybody was prepared to go - except Blackmore who said he wouldn't mind if the others went and collected the prize, but that there was no way on earth they could get him to go there and accept a prize. So off the nominee roll DP went and instead the Bee Gees got the prize that year. Roger Glover was hugely pissed off with Ritchie because of that (Blackmore had by the planned induction of DP already left the band for the second time for several years and was happily minstrelating with his missus).

uwe · July 17, 2012, 05:06:16 AM

That's probably the last footage from him (this was already after cancer treatment), late last year during the studio re-recording of his beloved Concerto for Group and Orchestra with, inter alia, Joe Bonamassa. That just came out on CD and the fact that Jon wasn't around for any promotion of his musical love child was already a bad omen for me.

I've always said that Bonamassa has more than a touch of seventies Blackmore in his playing and you can hear it in that clip quite distinctly. People have always underestimated how bluesy Blackmore can be. He has, btw, named his newborn son "Rory", no doubt with a nod to Gallagher (Rory, not Noel or Liam!) whose playing also had strong parallels to Blackmore's.

Back to Jon, that is a nice obituary on him here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2012/jul/16/jon-lord-deep-purple-whitesnake

Lord wasn't a Keith Emerson or Rick Wakeman and he never claimed to be (except when he jokingly introduced himself at a DP concert with: "And my name is Rick Emerson!"), he was to DP more what Keith Richards is to the Stones eben if he had never written a song, a chief contributor of sound and groove. I always loved Jon's organ phrasing here:

TBird1958 · July 17, 2012, 07:45:00 AM

I only got to see him once......With DP on the "Stormbringer" tour.

Glover had been replaced by Glen Hughes (I was pissed about that!) Blackmore was at his over-the-top guitar egoist best, wrecking a couple of Strat copies on the PA stack and splitting the ass of his too tight pants onstage.............
Elf, with as I recall a young Ronnie James Dio opened for them.