Jon Lord : 1941 - 2012

[Weissheim]

Very sad news. Jon passed away today.

http://jonlord.org/2012/07/16/jon-lord-has-sadly-passed-away

Rest In Peace.

[tmc344]

Very sad news

Jon Lord passed away today

http://jonlord.org/2012/07/16/jon-lord-has-sadly-passed-away

[willem]

God bless JON. The best ever.
Thanx for all JON,
Theo and Willem.

[toadsterama]

I just read the news. So sad. Jon Lord was a musical giant. I have everything he's recorded from the Artwoods on...such an amazing musical legacy. His music of recent years was breathtaking, just something to behold. My thoughts go out to his family, friends and fans.

[geosoulberlin]

I just came home and had the bad news in my mailbox. Very sad. I was hoping so much he would still be able to enjoy a few years more on this planet...

[Stormbringer74]

Jon Lord est décédé aujourd'hui à l'âge de 71 ans.. p** une partie de ma jeunesse vient de partir.. RIP Jon et merci

[lioness]

I've just read the devastating news

One of my musical heroes is gone and my heart is full of grief.

My thoughts are with his wife and daughters.

Thank you, Jon, for all you've done for us. You will never be forgotten.

[damo]

Having met Jon for the first time approx 2 years ago after a performance of the Concerto in Liverpool I was impreesed with his humility and the fact that he was not affected in any way. A true gentleman who will be very much missed. A sad day indeed. God bless.

[GeoGoddess]

Hearing of his passing reminded me of a fond memory from back in the early days of the internet. While I was a grad student at the University of Texas at Austin in the mid-90s I became a denizen of alt.music.deep-purple for awhile. Aside from getting to know and meet some great, friendly, fellow fans, Jon Lord and Roger Glover also participated on the forum, which made it very special. I particularly remember receiving an email of good birthday wishes from Jon on my birthday. He mentioned that he named his daughter Sara (my name), with the same spelling and said it conferred many additional blessings on me. I enjoyed following his career as he explored his own muse to other types of music and then back to DP. There's a Hammond B3 rockin' Heaven now!

[glennargentina]

Very sad news. I really believed that Jon would be able to defeat this horrible disease, considering that according to Paicy, his cancer was detected at a very early stage. When I saw Jon returning to the studio full at work, I really thought Jon had been victorious.
Glenn if you are there, why not dedicate BBC III to JOn?
all the best to Jon and his family from Argentina, he will be greatly missed.

[Keith Thompson]

Speed King got me into rock. Jon Lord moved me. I am finding it difficult (for once) to find the words to sum up a 40 year regard for an artist who rocked my life.

[Marc Fevre]

Sad news indeed; another legend moves on...

Marc Fevre
Napa, CA
___

From www.whitesnake.com

It is with deep sadness we announce the passing of Jon Lord, who suffered a fatal pulmonary embolism today, Monday 16th July at the London Clinic, after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. Jon was surrounded by his loving family.

Jon Lord, the legendary keyboard player with Deep Purple co-wrote many of the bands legendary songs including Smoke On The Water and played with Whitesnake & many bands and musicians throughout his career.

Best known for his Orchestral work Concerto for Group & Orchestra first performed at Royal Albert Hall with Deep Purple and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in 1969 and conducted by the renowned Malcolm Arnold, a feat repeated in 1999 when it was again performed at the Royal Albert Hall by the London Symphony Orchestra and Deep Purple.

Jon’s solo work was universally acclaimed when he eventually retired from Deep Purple in 2002.

Jon passes from Darkness to Light.

Jon Lord 9 June 1941 - 16 July 2012.

[Ken]

the best ever. Jon Lord was a true legend.
met him in 1978 in Cleveland with Whitesnake.
he will never be forgotten.

[pjoslo]

Had the great honour of meeting Jon a couple of times and he was a true gentleman - charming, friendly and humble.
His musical genius has brought me immeasurable pleasure over so many years.

My sincere and grateful thanks to the Maestro.

[tony g]

glad i got to see him play more than once -the beginning of LAZY is one of the best intros to a song ever!!!!!!!-i know where he is at right now-it has to be

[Ben]

A true legend - RIP, Jon

[JohnH]

As a professional keyboardist Jon Lord is part of every fiber of my musical being. In recent years I've appreciated his gifts more than ever, I still spend a lot of my woodshedding time trying to play and sing Purple music on keys and guitar. Before I heard the news today I was listening to Sometimes I feel like Screaming , trying to remove an annoying song that was stuck in my head. From Hush to Fingers to the Bone, Jon was the best. He's made me and acoworkerlaugh today as well, thinking of that brilliant keyboard and spoken word intro to Cascades, "Do you take this woman to be your Lawfully wedded Strife" . Jon was a keyboard genius and a world class gentleman as well. It's a tough day and I'm deeply saddened.

[Sigurd]

This is very very sad, that he's gone.
I feel real pain in my heart now, although i never met him personally.
But his musical work, the connection between Classic and Rock, is shining so bright and will last.
My prayers are for his family.

Sigurd Kross

[lioness]

An obituary by Glenn's co-author Joel McIver

www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012/jul/16/jon-lord

[FCinnella]

A true gem of a man. He will be sorely missed by many.

[geosoulberlin]

His last interview:

www.classicrockmagazine.com/features/im-just-a-lad-from-leicester-whose-parents-sent-him-to-piano-lessons

[chrisloeb]

A loss as gigantic as his influence, his legacy and his personality.
Not many players left you could recognize blindfolded at the very first note (sound).
And just when everyone thought he was doing better.
There is a wonderful tribute from Steve Morse on facebook btw.
...
Christian

[chutsler]

SHOCKING NEWS.....and still hard to believe today...RIP MR. LORD....

[Weissheim]

While Jon's passing is sad for us, how much more for his close family, friends and bandmates.

It was Ritchie that first brought me into the Purple world. In 1980 I was immersed in punk, new wave and two-tone. I tuned into BBC's Donington broadcast and was absolutely blown away by Rainbow and Ritchie in particular. I bought the first Rainbow album and Deepest Purple, and quickly appreciated that Jon was every bit an integral part of Purple's sound as Ritchie.

Jon was part of my first introduction to live music (Whitesnake - Come An' Get It Tour - 1981 - Glasgow Apollo) and what an introduction! Sitting in the gods at the old Apollo listening to Jon's solo is still one of the best experiences of my life.

I had the opportunity of meeting Jon and David on the Saints and Sinners tour, and as many have said he was a complete gentleman - a genuinely nice man.

I've seen him live with Whitesnake and Purple many times and was also privileged to be at his last two appearances in Scotland.

Concerto in Edinburgh - October 2009

Lecture in Paisley - February 2011

(my username on that forum is Big J)

The Concerto was an unforgettable experience - so glad that Jon took the time to coach the young students and deliver such a fantastic performance.

After checking various sites on Monday for the "massive Purple-related" news what a shock to see that instead we got even bigger but awful news. It really does put things into perspective.

Sadness at his passing, yes, but what a wealth of fabulous music he's left behind.

RIP Jon.

[willem]

JON's music lives on forever

[gicut58]

I was taken aback when I heard, thought about it for a while and condolences go, of course, to wife Vicky & daughters.
However, I'd like to think that wherever he is now, it won't be long before he'll be having a party and raising merry hell (figuratively speaking) with Tony Ashton!
G

[lioness]

Originally Posted by gicut58

However, I'd like to think that wherever he is now, it won't be long before he'll be having a party and raising merry hell (figuratively speaking) with Tony Ashton! G

I'd like to share this lovely 'family photo' with you which I found some months ago:

Jon, Pete York with wife and daughter, Colin Hodgkinson and Tony Ashton ca. 1985

Two masters of the 'black and white teeth' - both gone now Lost for us but united again.

[Keith Thompson]

It is wonderful when people also remember the families as well as the music. I know this was of great comfort to Mel Galley's family. Sometimes ( and I speak for myself here) us fans are selfish in that we often remember the music over the person. And with Jon, the two of course were synonymous. His music came from the heart - from the melodic Pictured Within to the pure genius of the classical breaks in songs like Burn, Speed King and Highway Star. I have had a few days to think about this but I still can't put into words the regard I have for Jon and the gift of Deep Purple he gave me personally.

[JohnH]

I wanted to write that when I was listening to Screaming that morning, I was thinking of Jon noticing how cool his background parts on the intro were. For all his soloing and technique, there's little things like those fill ins that were also special. It's strange, I usually do not listen to much music at work, (multi tasking not good) and never Purple, and I picked that song, just before the news broke.

The first song I listened to later that day after getting off work was Fingers to the Bone...The lyrics kind of made me shake my head as they talk about " today's blue monday, I just got a bad news letter" and "This day has come
The darkest cloud on our horizon"

The song is one of my favorite Jon and DP moments for it's beautiful simple piano solo and the acoustic and solo chorus riffs that weave in and out of the song. I guess from now it will always take me back to July 16 2012.

[JohnH]

Just saw this on the DP Runboard, Coverdale has just posted this lengthy memory of Jon: (Any chance of posting some more thoughts like this Glenn here??

From Coverdale:

Quote:

As I type this I'm listening to Jon's classical music from his solo albums I've downloaded since his passing... Because we were out of touch for so long & involved in our individual lives & careers, I was unaware of so much of his more recent exceptional works... It is assisting me in processing the sense of loss of such a huge character & enormous inspiration from my life... I hope you can understand I felt it inappropriate to engage in our usual conversational interaction on the BBS & step back & just allow you to use the site as a memorial, or tribute to express your own feelings & thoughts of Jon & what he means to you... I am still somewhat uncomfortable posting as I see some of you proposing a tribute concert involving our former colleagues in both Purple & Whitesnake... Personally, I feel it appropriate & respectful to wait until we hear if his family wish to have a memorial concert before I respond, so I ask you respectfully not to engage me in possibilities until then... I have no doubt that with the healing passage of time that something wonderful will take place somewhere where we can all celebrate his extraordinary life & his many musical gifts to us, but, once again, let us be patient & await his families wishes before attempting to force any event on them... I will share with you, as I shared with my family, three personal memories of my initial introduction to Jon that involved his incredible warmth, patience & generosity that came immediately to my mind & for which I will be eternally grateful... My first encounter with Jon was as an opening act for the then early chapter of DP Mark 2 at Sheffield University... Jon came up to me after our show & was very complimentary about my singing & discreetly asked for my phone number... whispering " in case it doesn't work out with the new guy "... Ha Ha!... Of course, in those days, I was living at home with my parents & we never had a phone, so, I hastily gave him my address, shook hands & went out to watch some of their show before driving back to Teesside... Of course, it worked out beautifully & successfully with 'the new guy' as we all know, but, it didn't stop me rushing down to the front door every morning for months to see if he'd written to me... As you can imagine it was an indescribable boost for my morale at that time in my life... Sweet, sweet man... he knew how to elevate your spirit... He had poetry & rhetoric in abundance... I told Pagey that he would have loved working with Jon... The next time was at my actual audition for Purple in London in 1973... I was pretty nervous, of course, but, determined... I'd discreetly brought a bottle of Bell's whiskey that my friend, Roger, who had driven me to London had hidden from me..( which I found immediately & gave me cause to frequently slip away for quick nerve numbing shots... )... No one was more engaging, welcoming & calming to me than Jon Lord... He spoke to me so very kindly & encouraged me to the point where I must credit him for helping me relax & give a solid account of myself at the audition, God bless his cotton socks... The next example of Jon's amazing character was at Clearwell Castle in Gloucestershire where we had gone to work on songs for the 'Burn' album... Jon was going to be late, as he had business in London, so, Ritchie, Glenn & Ian started jamming immediately in the castle crypt... Amazing music... amazing musicians... I wandered in & out, not knowing what the hell to do as this was all so new & unknown territory for me... I found out later that Jon had called Ritchie to see how things were going & how I was fitting in... Ritchie said everything was fine, but, I hadn't sang anything yet... NERVES!!!... So, when Jon eventually arrived, he & I had a several snifters of some fine alcoholic beverage & walked down to the rehearsal room... & with him at his Hammond & me at the microphone I sang non stop for God knows how long... Beatles songs... jazz songs... blues riffs... Slowly, but, surely, the guys all came in & started playing along & suddenly I was a member of the best band in the world!!!... Thank you, Jon, with all my heart... I will never forget you & what you brought to my life... The many precious memories I will treasure forevermore... Bon Vivant... Raconteur... Musician & Gentleman Extraordinaire... Jon Lord... I salute you... XX