Richard Wright, Pink Floyd Keyboardist, RIP

Fuck man, I’ve been out of town, not paying attention to music news. I wondered why the flags were at half-mast in Vancouver… I’m only half-joking here. Founding member of legendary progressive / psychedelic rock band Pink Floyd, Richard Wright, passed away on Monday from cancer. This is the first I’ve heard of it, so sorry about the late news. Best known for his organ playing in the band, Richard Wright was responsible for much of teh band’s sonic palette, combining piano, organs and early synthesizers into an etherial backdrop for Roger Waters’ rich lyrics. Wright was dismissed by the band in the early ’80s for purported drug abuse, then re-hired when guitarist David Gilmour revived the band in the mid-’80s.

Richard Wright was kinda the George Harrison of the group, if you will (except, really, Wright’s solo albums were pretty bland.) His contributions to Dark Side of The Moon (”Us and Them” and “Great Gig in the Sky” specifically) were monumental, and while his influence on Pink Floyd’s music after the mid ’70s is debatable, his re-joining the group after Water’s departure certainly helped the new lineup hold water against the band’s former fans/detractors. Time to dust off that copy of Live at Pompeii…

From AP:

LONDON (AP) — Richard Wright, a founding member of Pink Floyd, died Monday. He was 65.

The rock group’s spokesman, Doug Wright, who’s unrelated, said Wright died after a battle with cancer at his home in Britain. He said the band member’s family did not want to give more details about his death.