Professional Documents
Culture Documents
For other people named Jon Lord, see Jon Lord (disam- and Brother Jack McDu (Rock Candy), as well as
biguation).
the stage showmanship of Jerry Lee Lewis and performers like Buddy Holly, who he saw perform at the De
Montfort
Hall in Leicester in March 1958.[4] The jazzJohn Douglas Jon Lord (9 June 1941 16
blues organ style of black R&B organ players in the 1950s
July 2012)[1] was an English composer, pianist, and
Hammond organ player known for his pioneering work and 1960s, using the trademark blues-organ sound of
the Hammond organ (B3 and C3 models) and combinin fusing rock with classical or baroque forms, especially
with Deep Purple, as well as Whitesnake, Paice Ash- ing it with the Leslie speaker system (the well-known
ton Lord, The Artwoods, and The Flower Pot Men. In Hammond-Leslie speaker combination), were seminal in1968 Lord co-founded Deep Purple, a hard rock band uences on Lord. Lord also stated that he was heavily inof which he was regarded as the leader until 1970. To- uenced by the organ-based progressive rock played by
gether with the other members, he collaborated on most Vanilla Fudge after seeing that band perform in Great
he
of his bands most popular songs. He and drummer Ian Britain in 1967, and earlier by the personal direction
[5]
received
from
British
organ
pioneer
Graham
Bond.
Paice were the only continuous presence in the band during the period from 1968 to 1976, and also from when
it was reestablished in 1984 until Lords retirement from
Deep Purple in 2002. On 11 November 2010, he was
inducted as an Honorary Fellow of Stevenson College in
Edinburgh, Scotland. On 15 July 2011, he was awarded
an honorary Doctor of Music degree at De Montfort Hall
by the University of Leicester.
1
1.1
Early life
Growing up in Leicester
2
the contemporary bands The Spencer Davis Group (Steve
Winwood on organ) and The Animals (with Alan Price).
They made appearances on the BBCs Saturday Club radio show and on such TV programs as Ready Steady Go!.
It also performed abroad, and it appeared on the rst
Ready Steady Goes Live, promoting its rst single the
Lead Belly song Sweet Mary but signicant 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. Valentines Day
Massacre. This was an attempt to cash in on the 1930s
gangster craze set o by the American lm Bonnie and
Clyde. Hartley left the band in 1967 to join John Mayalls
Bluesbreakers. Lord next founded the "Santa Barbera
Machine Head", featuring Arts brother, Ronnie Wood,
writing and recording three powerful keyboard-driven instrumental tracks, giving a preview of the future style of
Deep Purple. Soon thereafter, Lord went on to cover for
the keyboard player Billy Day in "The Flower Pot Men",
where he met the bass guitarist Nick Simper along with
drummer Carlo Little and guitarist Ged Peck. Lord and
Simper then toured with this band in 1967 to promote its
hit single "Lets Go To San Francisco", but the two men
never recorded with this band.
2 DEEP PURPLE
2.1 19681970
It was in these three years that Lords trademark keyboard sound emerged. Ignoring the emergence of the
Moog synthesizer, as pioneered in rock by such players
as Keith Emerson, Lord began experimenting with a keyboard sound produced by the Hammond organ by driving
it through Marshall speakers in an eort to match the attack and volume of Blackmores guitar. Lords 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, admired by
fans and peers alike but rarely replicated. Both Emerson and Rick Wakeman publicly expressed admiration for
Lords mould-breaking work on the organ. This delivered
a rhythmic foundation to complement Blackmores 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 Demons Eye and Space
Truckin'".
3
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. Lords 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 Lords experimentation, provided he was given his head on the next
band album.[8]
2.2
19701976
of his Deep Purple synthesizer use (he became an endorser of the ARP Oyssey) include "'A' 200, the nal
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.[12]
3 As a composer
Lord continued to focus on his classical aspirations alongside his Deep Purple career. The BBC, buoyed by the
success of the Concerto, commissioned him to write another piece and the resulting Gemini Suite was performed by Deep Purple and the Light Music Society under Malcolm Arnold at the Royal Festival Hall in September 1970, and then in Munich with the Kammerorchester
conducted by Eberhard Schoener in January 1972. It then
became the basis for Lords rst solo album, Gemini Suite,
released in November 1972, with vocals by Yvonne Elliman and Tony Ashton and with the London Symphony
Orchestra backing a band that included Albert Lee on
guitar.
Lords collaboration with the highly experimental and
supportive Schoener resulted in a second live performance of the Suite in late 1973 and a new Lord album with Schoener, entitled Windows, in 1974. It
proved to be Lords most experimental work and was released to mixed reactions. However, the dalliances with
Bach on Windows and the pleasure of collaborating with
4 WHITESNAKE, 19781984
Whitesnake, 19781984
Tony Ashton (right) with Lord at a gig at the Hotel Post, March
1990
In 2003 he also returned to his beloved R-n-B/blues heritage to record an album of standards in Sydney, with
Australias Jimmy Barnes, entitled Live in the Basement,
by Jon Lord and the Hoochie Coochie Men, showing himself to be one of British rock musics most eclectic and
talented instrumentalists. Lord was also happy to support the Sam Buxton Sunower Jam Healing Trust and
in September 2006, performed at a star-studded event to
support the charity led by Ian Paices wife, Jacky (twin
sister of Lords wife Vicky). Featured artists on stage
with Lord included Paul Weller, Robert Plant, Phil Manzanera, Ian Paice and Bernie Marsden.
Lords Concerto for Group and Orchestra was eectively recommissioned by him, recorded in Liverpool
and at Abbey Road Studios across 2011 and under postproduction in 2012 with the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra performing, conducted by long-time collaborator,
conductor Paul Mann. The recording was at completion
at the time of Lords death, with Lord having been able to
Lord played piano on George Harrison's posthumously review the nal master recordings. The album and DVD
released Brainwashed album (2002) and became an im- were subsequently released in 2012.
portant member of Harrisons social circle in Oxfordshire
(Lord by now living at Hill House, in Fawley, HenleyOn-Thames), the two having rst met at Abbey Road
studios in the late 1960s.[15] He was also a close friend 7 Personal life
of John Mortimer, whom he had accompanied on many
occasions during Mortimers performances of Mortimer Lords rst marriage, from 1969 to 1981, was to Judith
Miscellany. In 2007, Lord joined Derek Griths, Colin Feldman, with whom he had one daughter, Sara. Lords
Martin and Malcolm Pool at an Artwoods reunion at the second wife, Vickie Gibbs was a former girlfriend of PurART Tribute night, at York House in Twickenham. Ali ple band-mate Glenn Hughes and twin sister of Ian Paices
Mackenzie took over Art Woods role on vocals, and wife, Jacky Paice (founder of the charity Sunower Jam).
Chris Hunt played drums. They were joined on stage The sisters father was Frank Gibbs, owner of the Oakby guitarist Ronnie Wood and vocalist Geno Washington. ley House Country Club in Brewood, South Staordshire.
Lord released his solo album To Notice Such Things on 29 Jon and Vickie also had one daughter, Amy.[24]
March 2010.[16] Titled after the main worka six moveIn July 2011, Lord was found to be suering from
ment suite for solo ute, piano and string orchestrathe
pancreatic cancer. After treatment in both England and
album was inspired by, and was dedicated to, the memory
in Israel,[25] he died on 16 July 2012 at the London Clinic
of Jons dear friend Sir John Mortimer, the English barrisafter suering from a pulmonary embolism.[26][27][28][29]
ter, dramatist, screenwriter, author and creator of British
His interment was at Saint Mary the Virgin Church in
television series Rumpole of the Bailey, who died in JanHambleden.
uary 2009. On its rst day of release, the album entered
Amazon's Movers And Shakers index, nestling at No. 12
at the end of the day.[17] Six days later it entered the UKs
ocial classical chart at No. 4.[18] Lord had been com- 8 Inuence and legacy
missioned to compose a concerto for Hammond organ
and orchestra with special parts for tympani. The piece Lars Ulrich, founding member and drummer in Metallica
was to be premiered with the Oslo Philharmonic Orches- commented, Ever since my father took me to see them
tra with Tom Vissgren on tympani in Oslo, Norway in in 1973 in Copenhagen, at the impressionable age of 9,
the Spring of 2012. With Vladimir Ashkenazy and Josef Deep Purple has been the most constant, continuous and
Suk, Lord was one of three artistic sponsors of Toccata inspiring musical presence in my life. They have meant
Classics.
more to me than any other band in existence, and have
In July 2011, Lord performed his nal live concert appearance, the Sunower Jam at the Royal Albert Hall,
where he premiered his joint composition with Rick
Wakeman.[19] At that point, they had begun informal discussion on recording an album together. Up until 2011,
Lord had also been working on material with recently
formed rock supergroup WhoCares, also featuring singer
7
him. There was nobody that sounded like him. There
was nobody that wrote like him. There was nobody that
looked like him. There was nobody more articulate, gentlemanly, warm, or fucking cooler that ever played keyboards or got anywhere near a keyboard. What he did
was all his own.[30]
Former keyboard player of rock band Yes, Rick Wakeman, who was a friend of Lords, said he was a great
fan and added We were going to write and record an
album before he became ill. His contribution to music
and to classic rock was immeasurable and I will miss him
terribly. In mid-2013, Wakeman presented a BBC One
East Midlands-produced TV programme about Lord and
his connection to the town of his birth.[31]
Singer Anni-Frid Lyngstad (ABBA), who described Jon
Lord as her dearest friend, paid him tribute at the 2013
edition of Zermatt Unplugged, the annual music festival
which both he and she served as patrons. He was graceful, intelligent, polite, with a strong integrity, she said.
"(He) had a strong empathy and a great deal of humour
for his own and other peoples weaknesses.[32]
Keyboardist Keith Emerson said of Lords death, Jon left
us now but his music and inspiration will live forever. I
am deeply saddend by his departure.[33] In a later interview in November 2013, he added, In the early years I
remember being quite jealous of Jon Lord may he rest
in peace. In September 1969 I heard he was debuting his
Concerto For Group & Orchestra at the Royal Albert
Hall, with none other than Malcolm Arnold conducting.
Wow! I had to go along and see that. Jon and I ribbed
each other, we were pretty much pals, but I walked away
and thought: 'Shit, in a couple of weeks time I'm going
to be recording The Nice's Five Bridges Suite ... not at the
Albert Hall but at the Faireld Halls, Croydon!' A much
more prosaic venue. Later, Jon wanted me to play on his
solo album, Gemini Suite, but that was around the time
ELP were breaking big and we were touring. He was a
lovely guy, a real gentleman. [34]
10 References
[1] FreeBMD Entry Info. 2.freebmd.org.uk. Retrieved
2014-06-04.
[2] Celebrating Jons childhood home | Jon Lord - The Ocial Website. Jon Lord. Retrieved 2014-06-04.
[3] Jon Lord prole. Deep-purple.net. Retrieved 16 July
2012.
[4] Buddy Holly Leicester De Montfort Hall 16
March 1958. Songkick. 1958-03-16. Retrieved 201406-04.
[5] Welch, Chris. The Story of Deep Purple. In Deep Purple: HM Photo Book, copyright 1983, Omnibus Press.
[6] Alan de Perna (January 1997). Guitar World Magazine.
Missing or empty |title= (help)
[7] CRR Interview - Don Airey: Its Deep Purple & Theres
a Hammond. Classicrockrevisited.com. Retrieved 201407-28.
[8] Van der Lee, Matthijs. "In Rock review. Sputnikmusic.com. Retrieved 2014-09-13.
[9]
[10] A Highway Star: Deep Purples Roger Glover Interviewed. The Quietus. 20 January 2011.
[11] Kusnur, Narendra (3 May 2002). Deep Purple. Ian
Gillan interview, Mumbai 2002. Mid-Day Newspaper.
Retrieved 20 July 2012.
[12] Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (1st ed.).
London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 248. CN
5585.
[13] International rock star pens classical concerto for
Durham. Dur.ac.uk. Retrieved 2014-09-13.
[14] Deep Purple founder who co-wrote classics including
Smoke On The Water dies at 71. Daily Mail. Retrieved
2014-09-13.
Discography
[20] New Supergroup? WhoCares | News @". Ultimateguitar.com. Retrieved 3 January 2012.
[21] Video: Paul Manns Concerto interview | Jon Lord - The
Ocial Website. Jon Lord. Retrieved 2014-06-04.
[22] Durham Concerto takes Jon to Germany | Jon Lord - The
Ocial Website. Jon Lord. Retrieved 2014-06-04.
12
Emerson-
[34]
[35] Jon Lord to be honoured with blue plaque? | Rock News
| News. Planet Rock. 2012-12-13. Retrieved 2014-0604.
11
Further reading
Heatley, Michael
EXTERNAL LINKS
12 External links
Jon Lords Ocial Website
Jon Lord at the Internet Movie Database
Jon Lord interview in the Leicester Mercury
http://jonlord.org/2014/12/04/
jon-lord-monument-revealed/
13
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