John Douglas Lord (9 June 194116 July 2012) was an English orchestral and rock composer, pianist, and
Hammond organ
The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated s ...
player known for his pioneering work in fusing rock with classical or
baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
forms, especially with the British rock band
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock music, but their musical style has changed over the course of its existence. Ori ...
. He also spent time in the bands
Whitesnake
Whitesnake are an English hard rock band formed in London in 1978. The group was originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their own entit ...
,
Paice Ashton Lord
Paice Ashton Lord was a short-lived British rock band featuring Deep Purple band members Ian Paice and Jon Lord with singer Tony Ashton. The band was formed in 1976, released its only album in 1977 and broke up in 1978.
History
After Deep Pur ...
,
The Artwoods
The Artwoods (also sometimes known by Decca Records as the Art Woods) were an English rock band who formed in 1963 and were professionally active between 1964 and 1967. They were a popular live attraction, rivalling groups such as the Animals, a ...
,
The Flower Pot Men
The Flower Pot Men were an English pop group created in 1967 as a result of the single, "Let's Go to San Francisco", recorded by session musicians, becoming a major UK Top 20 and Continental Europe hit in the autumn of 1967. The group's sound ...
and
Santa Barbara Machine Head
Santa Barbara Machine Head were a short-lived British electric blues combo that formed and disbanded in 1967. They recorded three instrumental songs together for Immediate Records; "Albert", "Porcupine Juice" and "Rubber Monkey", written by Jon L ...
. In 1968, Lord co-founded Deep Purple, a
hard rock
Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...
band of which he was regarded as the leader in its early years. Together with the other members, he collaborated on most of his band's most popular songs. Lord's distinctive organ playing during Deep Purple's
hard rock
Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...
period was essential to the band's signature heavy sound and contributed to the early development of
heavy metal. He and drummer
Ian Paice
Ian Anderson Paice (born 29 June 1948) is an English musician, best known as the drummer and last remaining original member of the rock band Deep Purple.
He is often cited as one of the greatest drummers of all-time. He remains the only membe ...
were the only continuous presence in the band between 1968 and 1976, and also from when it was re-established, in 1984, until Lord's retirement in 2002. On 11 November 2010, he was inducted as an
Honorary Fellow
Honorary titles (professor, reader, lecturer) in academia may be conferred on persons in recognition of contributions by a non-employee or by an employee beyond regular duties. This practice primarily exists in the UK and Germany, as well as in m ...
of
Stevenson College in Edinburgh, Scotland. On 15 July 2011, he was awarded an honorary
Doctor of Music
The Doctor of Music degree (D.Mus., D.M., Mus.D. or occasionally Mus.Doc.) is a higher doctorate awarded on the basis of a substantial portfolio of compositions and/or scholarly publications on music. Like other higher doctorates, it is granted b ...
degree at
De Montfort Hall
De Montfort Hall is the largest music and performance venue in Leicester, England. It is situated adjacent to Victoria Park and is named after the "Father of Parliament", Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester.
History
The hall was built by the ...
by the
University of Leicester
, mottoeng = So that they may have life
, established =
, type = public research university
, endowment = £20.0 million
, budget = £326 million
, chancellor = David Willetts
, vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah
, head_labe ...
. Lord was posthumously inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum
A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...
on 8 April 2016 as a member of Deep Purple.
Early life
Growing up in Leicester
Lord was born in
Leicester
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city l ...
on 9 June 1941 to Miriam (1909–1995; née Hudson) and Reginald Lord, growing up at 120 Averil Road and retaining a strong bond with the city throughout his life. His father was an amateur saxophonist and encouraged Lord from an early age. He studied classical piano from the age of five, with a local teacher, Frederick Allt, and this focus on a classical grounding to his material was a recurring trademark in his work, both in composition, arranging and his instrumental solos on piano, organ and electronic keyboards. In particular his influences ranged from
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...
(a constant reference in his music and in his keyboard improvisation) to Medieval popular music and the English tradition of
Edward Elgar
Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...
. He attended
Wyggeston Grammar School for Boys
Wyggeston Grammar School for Boys was a grammar school in Leicester, England, in existence from 1876 to 1976.
It was succeeded by the present-day Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College.
History
After William Wyggeston's death in 1536, his bro ...
between 1952 and 1958 where he gained
O Level
The O-Level (Ordinary Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education. It was introduced in place of the School Certificate in 1951 as part of an educational reform alongside the more in-depth ...
passes in French, music and mathematics, participated in amateur dramatics and the school choir alongside his organ and piano studies and then worked as a clerk in a solicitor's office for two years.
Lord absorbed the
blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
sounds that played a key part in his rock career, principally the raw sounds of the great American jazz and blues organists, such as
Wild Bill Davis
Wild Bill Davis (November 24, 1918 – August 17, 1995) was the stage name of American jazz pianist, organist, and arranger William Strethen Davis. He is best known for his pioneering jazz electric organ recordings and for his tenure with t ...
,
Jimmy Smith,
Jimmy McGriff
James Harrell McGriff (April 3, 1936 – May 24, 2008) was an American hard bop and soul-jazz organist and organ trio bandleader.
Biography Early years and influences
Born in Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Germantown, Pennsylvania, Uni ...
and "Brother"
Jack McDuff
Eugene McDuff (September 17, 1926 – January 23, 2001), known professionally as "Brother" Jack McDuff or "Captain" Jack McDuff, was an American jazz organist and organ trio bandleader who was most prominent during the hard bop and soul jazz era ...
("Rock Candy"), as well as the stage showmanship of
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis made ...
and performers like
Buddy Holly
Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer and songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas ...
, whom he saw perform at the De Montfort Hall in Leicester in March 1958. The jazz-blues organ style of black R&B organ players in the 1950s and 1960s, using the trademark blues-organ sound of the
Hammond organ
The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated s ...
(B3 and C3 models) and combining it with the
Leslie speaker
The Leslie speaker is a combined amplifier and loudspeaker that projects the signal from an electric or electronic instrument and modifies the sound by rotating a baffle chamber ("drum") in front of the loudspeakers. A similar effect is provided ...
system (the well-known Hammond-Leslie speaker combination), were seminal influences on Lord. Lord also stated that he was heavily influenced by the organ-based
progressive rock
Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...
played by
Vanilla Fudge
Vanilla Fudge is an American rock band known predominantly for their slow extended heavy rock arrangements of contemporary hit songs, such as their hit cover of The Supremes' "You Keep Me Hangin' On".
The band's original line–up—vocalist a ...
after seeing that band perform in Great Britain in 1967, and earlier by the personal direction he received from British organ pioneer
Graham Bond
Graham John Clifton Bond (28 October 1937 – 8 May 1974) was an English rock/blues musician and vocalist, considered a founding father of the English rhythm and blues boom of the 1960s.
Bond was an innovator, described as "an important, und ...
.
Move to London
Lord moved to London in 1959–60, intent on an acting career and enrolling at the
Central School of Speech and Drama
The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama was founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as The Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students. It became a ...
, in London's
Swiss Cottage
Swiss Cottage is an area of Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden, England. It is centred on the junction of Avenue Road and Finchley Road and includes Swiss Cottage tube station. Swiss Cottage lies north-northwest of Charing Cross. The ...
. Following a celebrated student rebellion he became a founder of
Drama Centre London
Drama Centre London (often abbreviated as Drama Centre) was a British drama school in King's Cross, London, where it moved in 2011 after a major reshaping of the University of the Arts London. It was part of Central Saint Martins, a constitu ...
, from where he graduated in 1964. Small acting parts followed, including in the British TV series,
Emergency - Ward 10, and Lord continued playing the piano and the organ in
nightclub
A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music.
Nightclubs gener ...
s and as a session musician to earn a living. He started his band career in London in 1960 with the jazz ensemble
The Bill Ashton Combo. Ashton became a key figure in jazz education in Britain, creating what later became the
National Youth Jazz Orchestra
The National Youth Jazz Orchestra (NYJO) is a British jazz orchestra founded in 1965 by Bill Ashton. In 2010. Mark Armstrong took over as Music Director of the flagship performing band, and Artistic Director of the organisation; Bill Ashton becam ...
. Between 1960 and 1963, Lord and Ashton both moved on to Red Bludd's Bluesicians (also known as The Don Wilson Quartet), the latter of which featured the singer
Arthur "Art" Wood, brother of guitarist
Ronnie Wood
Ronald David Wood (born 1 June 1947) is an English rock musician, best known as an official member of the Rolling Stones since 1975, as well as a member of Faces and the Jeff Beck Group.
Wood began his career in 1964, playing guitar with a nu ...
. Wood had previously sung with
Alexis Korner
Alexis Andrew Nicholas Koerner (19 April 1928 – 1 January 1984), known professionally as Alexis Korner, was a British blues musician and radio broadcaster, who has sometimes been referred to as "a founding father of British blues". A major in ...
's
Blues Incorporated
Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated, or simply Blues Incorporated, were an English blues band formed in London in 1961, led by Alexis Korner and including at various times Jack Bruce, Charlie Watts, Terry Cox, Davy Graham, Ginger Baker, Art W ...
and was a junior figure in the British blues movement. In this period, Lord altered the spelling of his name from his birth name "John" to "Jon" and his session credits included playing the keyboards in "
You Really Got Me
"You Really Got Me" is a song written by Ray Davies for English rock band the Kinks. The song, originally performed in a more blues-oriented style, was inspired by artists such as Lead Belly and Big Bill Broonzy. Two versions of the song wer ...
",
The Kinks
The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhythm ...
number one hit of 1964 however in a ''Guitar World'' interview
Ray Davies
Sir Raymond Douglas Davies ( ; born 21 June 1944) is an English musician. He was the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and main songwriter for the rock band the Kinks, which he led with his younger brother Dave on lead guitar and backing voca ...
of The Kinks stated it was actually Arthur Greenslade playing piano on that particular track.
Following the break-up of Redd Bludd's Bluesicians in late 1963, Wood, Lord, and the drummer Red Dunnage put together a new band, The Art Wood Combo. This also included Derek Griffiths (guitar) and Malcolm Pool (bass guitar). Dunnage left in December 1964 to be replaced by
Keef Hartley
Keith "Keef" Hartley (8 April 1944 – 26 November 2011)
was an English drummer and bandleader. He fronted his own band ...
, who had previously replaced
Ringo Starr
Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...
in
Rory Storm
Rory Storm (born Alan Ernest Caldwell; 7 January 1938 – 28 September 1972) was an English musician and vocalist. Born in Liverpool, Storm was the singer and leader of Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, a Liverpudlian band who were contempora ...
and the Hurricanes. This band, later known as "The Artwoods", focused on the organ as the bluesy, rhythmic core of their sound, in common with the contemporary bands
The Spencer Davis Group
The Spencer Davis Group were a British band formed in Birmingham in 1963 by Spencer Davis (guitar), brothers Steve Winwood (keyboards, guitar) and Muff Winwood (bass guitar), and Pete York (drums). Their best known songs include the UK numbe ...
(
Steve Winwood
Stephen Lawrence Winwood (born 12 May 1948) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter whose genres include blue-eyed soul, rhythm and blues, blues rock, and pop rock. Though primarily a keyboard player and vocalist prominent for his disti ...
on organ) and
The Animals
The Animals (also billed as Eric Burdon and the Animals) are an English rock band, formed in Newcastle upon Tyne in the early 1960s. The band moved to London upon finding fame in 1964. The Animals were known for their gritty, bluesy sound and ...
(with
Alan Price). They made appearances on the BBC's ''
Saturday Club'' radio show and on such TV programs as ''
Ready Steady Go!
''Ready Steady Go!'' (or ''RSG!'') was a British rock/pop music television programme broadcast every Friday evening from 9 August 1963 until 23 December 1966. It was conceived by Elkan Allan, head of Rediffusion TV. Allan wanted a light enter ...
''. It also performed abroad, and it appeared on the first ''Ready Steady Goes Live'', promoting its first single the
Lead Belly
Huddie William Ledbetter (; January 20, 1888 – December 6, 1949), better known by the stage name Lead Belly, was an American folk music, folk and blues singer notable for his strong vocals, Virtuoso, virtuosity on the twelve-string guita ...
song "Sweet Mary" — but significant commercial success eluded it. Its only charting single was "I Take What I Want", which reached number 28 on 8 May 1966.
This band regrouped in 1967 as the "St. Valentine's Day Massacre". This was an attempt to cash in on the 1930s gangster craze set off by the American film
''Bonnie and Clyde''. Hartley left the band in 1967 to join
John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers
John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers are an English blues rock band led by singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist John Mayall. While never producing a hit of their own, the band has been influential as an incubator for British rock and blues ...
. Lord next founded the blues-influenced
Santa Barbara Machine Head
Santa Barbara Machine Head were a short-lived British electric blues combo that formed and disbanded in 1967. They recorded three instrumental songs together for Immediate Records; "Albert", "Porcupine Juice" and "Rubber Monkey", written by Jon L ...
, featuring Art's brother,
Ronnie Wood
Ronald David Wood (born 1 June 1947) is an English rock musician, best known as an official member of the Rolling Stones since 1975, as well as a member of Faces and the Jeff Beck Group.
Wood began his career in 1964, playing guitar with a nu ...
, writing and recording three powerful keyboard-driven instrumental tracks, giving a preview of the future style of
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock music, but their musical style has changed over the course of its existence. Ori ...
. Soon thereafter, Lord went on to cover for the keyboard player Billy Day in
The Flower Pot Men
The Flower Pot Men were an English pop group created in 1967 as a result of the single, "Let's Go to San Francisco", recorded by session musicians, becoming a major UK Top 20 and Continental Europe hit in the autumn of 1967. The group's sound ...
, where he met the bass guitarist
Nick Simper
Nicholas John Simper (born 3 November 1945) is an English bass guitarist, who was a co-founding member of Deep Purple and Warhorse. In the 1960s, he began his professional career in bands such as Johnny Kidd & the Pirates, The Flower Pot Me ...
along with drummer
Carlo Little
Carl O'Neil Little (17 December 1938 – 6 August 2005), better known by his stage name Carlo Little, was a rock and roll drummer, based in the London nightclub scene in the 1960s. He played in an early version of the Rolling Stones. Little ...
and guitarist
Ged Peck
Ged Peck (19 October 1947 – 10 January 2015) was an English musician who played in several bands - mainly backing work with Billy Fury, Vince Eager, Tommy Quickly when he was managed by Brian Epstein, Americans Bob & Earl who had a hit sing ...
. Lord and Simper then toured with this band in 1967 to promote its hit single "
Let's Go to San Francisco
"Let's Go to San Francisco" is the only UK-charting single by the British pop group The Flower Pot Men. The song was written and produced by John Carter and Ken Lewis, engineered by John Mackswith and released in 1967 on 7" single format. Cart ...
", but the two men never recorded with this band.
Formation of Deep Purple
In early 1967, through his roommate
Chris Curtis
Chris Curtis (born Christopher Crummey; 26 August 1941 – 28 February 2005) was an English drummer and singer who was best known for being with the 1960s Beat music, beat band The Searchers (band), The Searchers. He originated the concept be ...
of the
Searchers, Lord met businessman Tony Edwards who was looking to invest in the music business alongside partners Ron Hire and John Coletta (HEC Enterprises). Session guitarist
Ritchie Blackmore
Richard Hugh Blackmore (born 14 April 1945) is an English guitarist and songwriter. He was a founding member of Deep Purple in 1968, playing jam-style hard rock music that mixed guitar riffs and organ sounds. He is prolific in creating guitar ...
was called in and he met Lord for the first time, but Chris Curtis's erratic behaviour led the trio nowhere. Edwards was impressed enough by Jon Lord to ask him to form a band after Curtis faded out. Said Edwards, "I couldn't really cope with
urtisbut I had a great rapport with Jon Lord; here was somebody sensible, somebody I could communicate with on my level." Simper was contacted, and Blackmore was recalled from
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
. Although top British player
Bobbie Clarke was the first choice as drummer, during the auditions for a singer,
Rod Evans
Roderic Evans (born 19 January 1947) is a British former singer.
In the late 1960s, he began his professional career in The Maze, formerly MI5, after which he was a member of the original Deep Purple line-up, who produced three studio albums ...
of "The Maze" came in with his own drummer,
Ian Paice
Ian Anderson Paice (born 29 June 1948) is an English musician, best known as the drummer and last remaining original member of the rock band Deep Purple.
He is often cited as one of the greatest drummers of all-time. He remains the only membe ...
. Blackmore, who had been impressed by Paice's drumming when he met him in 1967, set up an audition for Paice as well. The band was called the "Roundabout" at first and began rehearsals at Deeves Hall in Hertfordshire. By March 1968, this became the "Mark 1" line-up of "
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock music, but their musical style has changed over the course of its existence. Ori ...
": Lord, Simper, Blackmore, Paice, and Evans.
Lord also did session work in the late 1960s with the band "Boz", along with Blackmore (guitar) and Paice (drums), given that Boz was being produced by
Derek Lawrence
Derek John Lawrence (16 November 1941 – 13 May 2020) was an English record producer, famous for his work for Joe Meek's Outlaws, Deep Purple, Flash, Machiavel and Wishbone Ash.
Lawrence came in contact with Meek circa at the end of 1963, ...
who produced Deep Purple's first three albums. Boz was led by
Boz Burrell
Raymond "Boz" Burrell (1 August 1946 – 21 September 2006) was an English musician. Originally a vocalist and guitarist, Burrell is best known for his singing with King Crimson (1971–1972) and bass playing in Bad Company (1973–1982, 1998 ...
(vocals/guitar, later bassist for
King Crimson
King Crimson are a progressive rock band formed in 1968 in London, England. The band draws inspiration from a wide variety of music, incorporating elements of classical, jazz, folk, heavy metal, gamelan, industrial, electronic, experime ...
and
Bad Company
Bad Company are an English rock supergroup that was formed in 1973 by singer Paul Rodgers, guitarist Mick Ralphs, drummer Simon Kirke and bassist Boz Burrell.Bad Company ''AllMusic'' Peter Grant, who managed the rock band Led Zeppelin, also ...
) and also included
Chas Hodges
Charles Nicholas Hodges (28 December 1943 – 22 September 2018) was an English musician and singer who was the lead vocalist of musical duo Chas & Dave.
Early life
Hodges was born at the North Middlesex University Hospital in Edmonton on 2 ...
(bass guitar).
Deep Purple
1968–1970
It was in these three years that Lord's trademark keyboard sound emerged. Ignoring the emergence of the
Moog synthesizer
The Moog synthesizer is a modular synthesizer developed by the American engineer Robert Moog. Moog debuted it in 1964, and Moog's company R. A. Moog Co. (later known as Moog Music) produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 20 ...
, as pioneered in rock by such players as
Keith Emerson
Keith Noel Emerson (2 November 1944 – 11 March 2016) was an English keyboardist, songwriter, and record producer. He played keyboards in a number of bands before finding his first commercial success with the Nice in the late 1960s. He became ...
, Lord began experimenting with a keyboard sound produced by driving the Hammond organ through
Marshall amplifiers
Marshall is a British company that designs and manufactures music amplifiers, speaker cabinets, brands personal headphones and earphones, drums and bongos. The company also owns a record label called Marshall Records. It was founded in Lond ...
in an effort to match the attack and volume of Blackmore's guitar. Lord's version was heavier than a blues sound, and it often featured distortion and a far harder, industrial type sound that became the trademark Jon Lord organ sound. Both Emerson and
Rick Wakeman
Richard Christopher Wakeman (born 18 May 1949) is an English keyboardist best known as a former member of the progressive rock band Yes across five tenures between 1971 and 2004, and for his solo albums released in the 1970s.
Born and raised ...
publicly expressed admiration for Lord's mould-breaking work on the organ. This delivered a rhythmic foundation to complement Blackmore's speed and virtuosity on lead guitar. Lord also loved the sound of an
RMI 368 Electra-Piano and Harpsichord, which he used on such songs as "Demon's Eye" and "Space Truckin'".
In 1973 Lord's original Hammond C3 gave out and he bought another from
Christine McVie
Christine Anne McVie (; née Perfect; 12 July 1943 – 30 November 2022) was an English musician and songwriter. She was best known as keyboardist and one of the vocalists of the band Fleetwood Mac.
McVie was a member of several bands, nota ...
of
Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the line-up for their epony ...
. Also around this time, Lord and his keyboard technician, Mike Phillips, combined his Hammond C3 Organ with the RMI. Lord kept this particular Hammond C3 until his retirement from the band in 2002, when he passed it to successor
Don Airey
Donald Smith Airey (born 21 June 1948) is an English musician who has been the keyboardist in the rock band Deep Purple since 2002, after the retirement of Jon Lord. He has had a long and productive career, playing with such acts as Gary Moore ...
. That instrument was retired from stage use a few years later, as it had become "pretty knackered" according to Airey.
By pushing the Hammond-Leslie sound through Marshall amplification, Lord created a growling, heavy, mechanical sound which allowed him to compete with Blackmore as a soloist, with an organ that sounded as prominent as the lead guitar. Said one reviewer, "many have tried to imitate
ord'sstyle, and all failed."
Said Lord himself, "There's a way of playing a Hammond
hat'sdifferent. A lot of people make the mistake of thinking that you can play a Hammond with a piano technique. Well, you can, but it ''sounds'' like you are playing a Hammond with a piano technique. Really, you have to learn how to play an organ. It's a
legato
In music performance and notation, legato (; Italian for "tied together"; French ''lié''; German ''gebunden'') indicates that musical notes are played or sung smoothly and connected. That is, the player makes a transition from note to note wit ...
technique; it's a technique to achieve legato on a non-legato instrument."
In early Deep Purple recordings, Lord had appeared to be the leader of the band. Despite the cover songs "
Hush
Hush may refer to:
Film and television
* ''Hush'' (1921 film), starring Clara Kimball Young
* ''Hush'' (1998 film), starring Gwyneth Paltrow
* ''Hush!'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film directed by Ryosuke Hashiguchi
* ''Hush'' (2005 film), starring ...
" and "
Kentucky Woman
"Kentucky Woman" is a 1967 song written and originally recorded by Neil Diamond.
Background
Diamond recorded "Kentucky Woman" as his last hit single for Bang Records. The song was mixed in monophonic, which is the common version heard on all Ne ...
" becoming hits in North America, Deep Purple never made chart success in the UK until the ''
Concerto for Group and Orchestra
''Concerto for Group and Orchestra'' is a live album by Deep Purple and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Malcolm Arnold, recorded at the Royal Albert Hall, London, in September 1969. It consists of a concerto composed by Jon Lord, ...
'' album dented the UK charts in early 1970. Lord's willingness later to play many of the key rhythm parts gave Blackmore the freedom to let loose both live and on record.
On Deep Purple's second and third albums, Lord began indulging his ambition to fuse rock with classical music. An early example of this is the song "Anthem" from the album ''
The Book of Taliesyn
''The Book of Taliesyn'' is the second studio album by the English rock band Deep Purple, recorded only three months after '' Shades of Deep Purple'' and released by Tetragrammaton Records in October 1968, just before their first US tour. Th ...
'' (1968), but a more prominent example is the song "April" from the band's
self-titled third album (1969). The song is recorded in three parts: (1) Lord and Blackmore only, on keyboards and acoustic guitar, respectively; (2) an orchestral arrangement complete with strings; and (3) the full rock band with vocals. Lord's ambition enhanced his reputation among fellow musicians, but caused tension within the group. Simper later said, "The reason the music lacked direction was Jon Lord fucked everything up with his classical ideas." Blackmore agreed to go along with Lord's experimentation, provided he was given his head on the next band album.
The resulting ''Concerto For Group and Orchestra'' was one of rock's earliest attempts to fuse two distinct musical idioms. Performed live at the
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...
on 24 September 1969 (with new band members
Ian Gillan
Ian Gillan (born 19 August 1945) is a British singer who is best known as the lead singer and lyricist for the rock band Deep Purple. He is known for his powerful and wide-ranging singing voice.
Initially influenced by Elvis Presley, Gillan ...
and
Roger Glover
Roger David Glover (born 30 November 1945) is a Welsh bassist, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the member of the hard rock bands Deep Purple and Rainbow. As a member of Deep Purple, Glover was inducted into the Rock and Ro ...
, Evans and Simper having been fired), it was recorded by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
and later released as an album in December 1969. The Concerto gave Deep Purple its first highly publicised taste of mainstream fame and gave Lord the confidence to believe that his experiment and his compositional skill had a future, as well as giving Lord the opportunity to work with established classical figures, such as conductor Sir
, who brought his skills to bear by helping Lord realise the work and to protect him from the inevitable disdain of the older members of the orchestra.
's key early works. Lord and Blackmore competed to out-dazzle each other, often in classical-style, midsection 'call and answer' improvisation (on tracks like "Speed King" and "Bloodsucker"), something they employed to great effect live. Ian Gillan said that Lord provided the idea on the main organ riff for "
's 1969 psychedelic hit song "Bombay Calling". Lord's experimental solo on "Hard Lovin' Man" (complete with police-siren interpolation) from this album was his personal favourite among his Deep Purple studio performances.
Deep Purple released another six studio albums between 1971 (''
''). Gillan and Glover left in 1973 and Blackmore in 1975, and the band disintegrated in 1976. The highlights of Lord's Purple work in the period include the 1972 album ''
'' live album (1972), an extended, effect-laden solo on "Rat Bat Blue" from the ''
would later describe Lord as a true "Zen-archer soloist", someone whose best keyboard improvisation often came at the first attempt. Lord's strict reliance on the Hammond C3 organ sound, as opposed to the synthesizer experimentation of his contemporaries, places him firmly in the jazz-blues category as a band musician and far from the progressive-rock sound of
. Lord rarely ventured into the synthesizer territory on Purple albums, often limiting his experimentation to the use of the
with the Hammond, to give live performances on tracks like Space Truckin' a distinctive 'spacey' sound. Instances of his Deep Purple synthesizer use (he became an endorser of the
) include "'A' 200", the final track from ''Burn'', and "Love Child" on the ''Come Taste the Band'' album.
In early 1973 Lord stated: "We're as valid as anything by Beethoven."
Lord continued to focus on his classical aspirations alongside his Deep Purple career. The
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