This is a blog I didn’t think I would write for years, but fate intervened. This morning I received the sad news via the Internet that a brilliant musician, Jon Lord, had passed away. Last year he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and had been receiving treatments for that disease. It was during one of those treatments that Mr. Lord had succumbed to a pulmonary embolism. I had the pleasure to see Jon Lord with Deep Purple twice. The first time was in 1985. The album was Perfect Strangers. The place was McNichols Arena in Denver, Colorado. My circle of friends in college all loved Deep Purple, so when we heard they were reforming, we waited in the ticket line for four hours, and it was worth it. We scored fourth row seats on the floor, and as fate would have it, we were on Jon Lord’s side of the stage. It was quite a night. The band played everything we wanted to hear. In the cacophony of sound that was Deep Purple, it was quite the spectacle to see Jon Lord rocking his Hammond organ back and forth. We all thought it might tip over at some point because a Hammond is a pretty heavy machine, but it never did. The next time I saw Deep Purple was again in Denver, this time at the outdoor venue Fiddler’s Green. They were touring in support of the album Abandon. Dream Theater and Emerson, Lake and Palmer were also on the bill. Jon didn’t abuse his Hammond like he did in 1985, but to hear him do call-and-response solos with Steve Morse was simply breathtaking.
Who was Jon Lord? Jon Lord was not a household name in the Michael Jackson or Whitney Houston sense, but in the rock community Jon Lord was a legend. He was a founding member of one of my favorite bands of all time, Deep Purple. He was their keyboard player, but he wasn’t just any keyboard player. After the 1960s turned into the 1970s there were three hard rock bands to come out of England to gain worldwide fame – Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and Deep Purple. Zeppelin and Sabbath were four-piece bands – guitar, bass, drums, and vocals. Zeppelin had their secret weapon in John Paul Jones. He is a multi-instrumentalist who could really play anything that had strings or a keyboard. Sometimes on-stage he would swap his bass for a keyboard instrument, usually an electric piano or a Hammond organ. Black Sabbath stuck with their four-piece set-up. If they had a keyboard player [usually Geoff Nichols], he would perform behind the stage curtain – you’d never see him on stage. This is what set Deep Purple apart from Zeppelin and Sabbath. Jon Lord was an integral part of Deep Purple. A classically trained musician who had a love for the blues and rock and roll, Jon Lord was the instrumental counterpoint to guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, a fantastic but mercurial musician. Jon Lord’s contribution to Deep Purple was taking a piece of furniture, the Hammond organ [then known mainly as a jazz instrument], linking it with a Marshall stack, and turning that “piece of furniture” into a fire-breathing, smoke-belching metallic beast. He gave Deep Purple a second solo voice that set them apart from the rest of the hard rock/heavy metal bands of the era.
In 1968, Jon Lord founded Deep Purple with Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Paice, Nick Simper and Rod Evans. The band recorded three albums with this line-up – Shades of Deep Purple [1968], Book of Taliesyn [1968], and Deep Purple [1969]. They had a Top 5 hit with a cover of Joe South’s song Hush. During those early years Deep Purple searched for a direction. Those first three records saw Deep Purple playing psychedelic rock, and some progressive rock with tinges of classical music thrown in. Given that, the foreshadowing of things to come arrived with the songs Mandrake Root and Wring That Neck. Each was a fairly short song on record, but in a live setting those pieces became vehicles of wondrous improvisation for both Jon and Ritchie. In 1969 the Ritchie Blackmore had an epiphany. He saw that Led Zeppelin had become successful by playing riff-based hard rock, and why couldn’t Deep Purple try it as well? Jon Lord and Ian Paice agreed, so Rod Evans and Nick Simper were out, Ian Gillan and Roger Glover were in. The first thing they took on as a group was Jon’s Concerto for Group and Orchestra. This project was written by Jon, with lyrics from Ian Gillan. It was a labor of love for Jon, but the band knew that they weren’t going to play with orchestras forever. They let Ritchie have his way, and a monster band was born.
What came next was a succession of some of the best rock ever committed to vinyl – Deep Purple In Rock [1970], Fireball [1971], Machine Head [1972], Made In Japan [1973], Who Do We Think We Are [1973], and Burn [1974]. My favorite Jon Lord moments with Deep Purple – Speed King, Flight of the Rat and Child In Time from Deep Purple In Rock, Highway Star, Lazy and Space Truckin’ from Made in Japan, the title track from Burn, and Mandrake Root [In Concert 1970/72, 1980]. Ian Gillan and Roger Glover left Deep Purple in June 1973, to be replaced by David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes respectively. They made one great album [Burn, 1974] and one not-so-great album [Stormbringer, 1974], Ritchie left the band in 1975, to be succeeded [not “replaced”] by Tommy Bolin. Deep Purple made Come Taste the Band with Bolin. It was a good album, definitely better than Stormbringer. A highlight for me was the Lord/Hughes piece This Time Around/Owed to “G.” Things didn’t last long with Tommy Bolin, and Deep Purple split up in 1976. A couple of years after that split, David Coverdale formed his own band, Whitesnake. Jon Lord joined as a hired hand. He wasn’t a soloist in Whitesnake like he was with Deep Purple. Whitesnake was a two-guitar blues rock band, so Jon added “color” to the music of Bernie Marsden and Micky Moody. But out of all the music that Whitesnake produced during Jon Lord’s stint in the band, I fondly remember one song – Here I Go Again. It was originally released in 1982 on the Saints & Sinners album. On this album, it wasn’t the fluffy, synthesized arena rock crap that came out in 1987. This version was more earthy and more real, more so because of Jon Lord’s Hammond organ. He stayed with Whitesnake until Deep Purple reformed with the Mk II line-up in 1984.
Jon Lord stayed with Deep Purple until 2002. The band maintained a very busy touring schedule, one that began to wear on him. So he amicably left the band to pursue his love for classical music. Although he played hard rock with Deep Purple and Whitesnake to pay the bills, Jon Lord still maintained an interest in and a commitment to classical music. He recorded several works during that time – Gemini Suite [1972], Windows [1974], Sarabande [1976], Before I Forget [1982]. Since leaving Deep Purple, Jon Lord composed and recorded several classical works – Durham Concerto [2007], Boom of the Tingling Strings [2008], and To Notice Such Things [2010]. He recently re-recorded his Concerto for Group and Orchestra which will sadly be released posthumously. They’re available as MP3s, so I think I will check them out. The last thing I heard from Jon was a song he played on from Ian Gillan and Tony Iommi called Out of My Mind. This was released under the banner WhoCares for charity. The charity is support for Armenian music schools, a thing very near and dear to both Gillan and Iommi. It was very cool to hear Jon Lord and Tony Iommi on the same recording.
Jon Lord left behind him a large musical body of work. One never wants to see a favorite musician or actor pass away, especially when he/she is still active and creative. I knew he was sick with cancer but I didn’t know how sick he was until he canceled an appearance in Germany not too long ago. That said, he had a helluva ride and left behind a lot of great music which I will enjoy for the rest of my days. Hopefully you will too.
It’s unthinkable that Jon is gone. My thoughts are for his wife Vicky and all his children and family at this sad moment in their lives. I wish them all strength.
A great sadness and sense of loss hangs over me. Not only has the music world lost a fantastic musician but a gentleman of the finest order. He was a giant in my life, a great friend, a fellow traveler, a teacher, not only of music, but of life. I am devastated at his passing - Roger Glover
Our beloved Jon passed away on this day Monday 16th July 2012.
We have lost a dear friend, a brother and a wonderful musician.
His dignity and graciousness touched us all. His music was an inspiration and took us to places beyond our imagination…
A truly great man.
We humbly express our eternal love and great respect.
Deep Purple
Friends: I have just landed in LA from London, to hear the sad news of the passing of our brother Jon Lord. I will miss him. – Glenn Hughes
All the members of Whitesnake & all at Whitesnake.com wish to express their sincere condolences to Jon's Family, Friends & Fans...David Coverdale said "It was an absolute joy & pleasure for me to know him & to work alongside him. He is missed already."
The news today has hurt me like no other loss of a musician I have known. I can only thank him for the legacy he has left us all with his great music, great vision and for his kindness as he was one of the most gentle and kind persons I have ever had the pleasure of being able to call my friend. My heart goes out to Vicki his wife and all his family. – Rick Wakeman
"Farewell To A Gentleman.
Jon has left us now but his music and inspiration will live forever.
I am deeply saddened by his departure."- Keith Emerson
A statement from his representatives reads simply: "Jon passes from Darkness to Light".
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