Already a thread on this: RIP: Jon Lord, Deep Purple keyboardist - Cafe Society - Straight Dope Message Board
This was posted on Steve Morse’s Facebook page (no copyright problem since it has that “share” button on the bottom)
[QUOTE=Steve Morse]
Jon just died. I’m shocked and don’t know what to do, so I’m going to try to tell you a little about Jon.
Jon was the powerhouse keyboard player that brought rock and classical directly together many times. The first was his timeless organ solo on “Highway Star”. The next was his “Concerto for Band and Orchestra”. I was able to perform with the whole band as it was played at Albert Hall before we toured extensively with it. Just weeks ago, I was able to play on a studio recording of Jon’s concerto and share some heartfelt thoughts and words with him.
Jon was the guy that would stop us from giving up on an idea in songwriting because it wasn’t immediately obvious. I remember him encouraging me in the studio to keep doing what I was doing as I played around with an idea that I was intrigued with. After writing something as amazing as his concerto, he still had the imagination to hear ideas on top of anything I suggested. He always had a regal, gentlemanly manner. Like any of us, he could get annoyed, but he would only show it with his wry and dry wit.
Mostly, he was upbeat and a pleasure for anybody to be around. His humor was right up my alley, with us exchanging ridiculous thoughts like,“If Brenda Lee married Tommy Lee, her new name would be Brenda Lee…” Or having him finish the tune when an announcement at an airport would start with several musical notes to get your attention. It’s hard to give anecdotes that convey an ease that somebody could give you, but he sure had that ability. We all love people that will pay attention to our kids, and years ago he charmed my (then) 5 year old son, Kevin with a Donald Duck imitation even while he was being hurried to get out of the dressing room and go to the green room for after show greetings.
Jon retired from the endless DP tour schedule, but continued to do appearances with original material and performances of his concerto. I knew he missed the band he helped start, but at the same time couldn’t stand the relentless travel. From time to time, we would see him on tour, and he would sit in with us. The last time we played, less than a year ago, at the Sunflower Jam at Royal Albert Hall, he had just come offstage from performing with Rick Wakeman. Later I talked with him and his wife about how strange it felt to look around at the keyboards and not see him there at Albert Hall. We promised to do something together. Soon thereafter, we all learned of his battle with Pancreatic cancer. I kept hearing hopeful, positive reports that they might be making progress, but this sudden death caught me totally unaware. I thought we would meet and do a recording project in the future when he recovered from the chemotherapy. Well, we sort of did, but I had to record it and send it to him, as we were in different countries.
If you have friends, family, especially kids, don’t ever miss a chance to do or say something special…or simply appreciate the fact that they are there. One day, they won’t be.
Steve Morse
[/QUOTE]
But God punished Ritchie good- he’s doing Renaissance Faire music now!
Okay, as soon as I get home, I’ve got to play*** Deep Purple In Rock ***in its entirety about 40 or 50 times.
(My poor wife.)
Or maybe just “Child in Time” 500 times.
RIP. Not much to say but his tone and his technique weren’t much seen then or since. Plus DP ruled as a group.
Testament to his greatness: I’d bet most really heavy pros in commercial bands learned a lot of their chops from Lord.
And propers to him – he had full command and didn’t bother using the Leslie gimmick speaker
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(not using a smiley because of javascript on certain sites, but you get the idea)
Merged threads.
In partnership with his hot blonde wife who’s young enough to be his daughter. Some punishment.
I saw Jon Lord in concert just once, with Whitesnake. (They were opening for Jethro Tull.) I thought Lord’s presence would have been that band’s one redeeming feature; unfortunately he was totally inaudible in the live mix.
Reading the various tributes to him, one of the most consistent is that nobody who ever met him has a bad word to say about the man.
But she probably makes him say “Prithee, milady” when he wants sex.
Blackmore did post a short note regarding Jon’s passing;
That sound was one of the most distinctive in rock and roll. You could here one note and know it was Deep Purple.
God Speed, Jon. You will be missed.
While saddened by the news, I’m somewhat “pleasantly” surprised by the coverage of his death in the media - printed, TV and radio. For a non-front guy it is quite interesting. My only explanation is that innovative pioneers and truly original artists do get apprecaited.
He is a musician’s musician. I speak to it in passing above - regardless of the instrument he played, he was such a solid rhythm/groove player…
There are only a few rock musicians whose instruments I recognize instantly.
I can recognize Tony Iommi’s guitar in one note. Same for Mark Knopfler, Brian May, and maybe a handful of other guitarists.
Jon Lord’s Hammond organ was the same- I recognized that sound anywhere, in two notes or less.
Cool. And yes, there is an element of “instant recognition” that goes into it. But there is also that element of either “wow, s/he is doing stuff at a whole 'nother level” and/or “wow, imagine what it would be like to play with him/her”
With someone like Jon Lord, man, what a huge “safety net of groove” you could hang out in! Lead players could range all over the place because his playing is so rock solid and propulsive.
At the extreme/most simple end of that groove/“want to play with” scale, you have someone like Phil Rudd, the original-and-now-back drummer for AC/DC. Would you recognize his playing in a note or two? It’s so freakin’ simple that you might not - but man, the groove he lays down is just perfect and really well respected among muso’s.
At the “whole 'nother level of technique” end of the spectrum, you would find folks like the guitarist Jeff Beck. No one can do what he does - and most other top players just shake their heads and embrace that fact.
Jon Lord was fits somewhere on that spectrum in a very good way.