Music & Entertainment For U

If I was a betting man, I’d place a hefty wager on the fact that when any of he pop stars that rule and charts today kick the bucket, there would be little brouhaha other than perhaps a smallish obituary in the showbiz pages.

Luckily I’ m not, but as harsh as it may sound, today’s pop stars are a largely forgettable lot, and few will be remembered 50 years from today. However, when I heard of Richard ‘Rick’ Wright’s recent death, it seemed as if an era of popular music was coming to an end.

Wright, a musician most renowned for his association with progressive rock giants Pink Floyd, was a quiet individual quite different from his rock star contemporaries. That seemed true both in his on and offstage persons.

Though Floyd was dominated by front-men Roger Waters and David Gilmour and their rock star-sized egos, Rick Wright’s role in shaping Pink Floyd cannot be understated. He was a founder member of the band and was part of the original line-up, featuring the eccentric and perhaps overrated genius of the late Syd Barrett.

Wright’s Principal instruments remained by keyboards and synthesizers, while he also occasionally contributed vocals as well as to the band’s song-writing. And for those with even a surface knowledge of the Pink Floyd sound, it is crystal clear that Wright’s synth lines were a distinctive feature of songs that will go down in history as milestones of popular music.

Rick Wright’s playing was clean and methodical, though not mechanical, and detached of the flamboyance, of his contemporary musician, synth player Rick Wakeman – a prodigiously talented man – of Yes. It set the stage for Waters’ legendary lyrics as well as Gilmour’s voice and ace guitar playing and Nick Mason’s percussion to weave pure magic on tape.

Some of his most memorable moments came on tracks like the protoindustrial Welcome to the Machine, from 1975’s landmark record Wish You Were Here, with its disturbing drones that painted a bleak, Orwellian picture. The textures structure of Shine of you Crazy Diamond – all parts – was again anchored by Wright’s Keys, and his solos remain memorable.

But perhaps his defining moments came earlier, on 1973’s Dark Side of the Moon. Wright shared lead vocals on the epic Time with Gilmour, while he co-wrote another classic from the legendary album, Us and Them, remembered for its resonant saxophone solo as well as a beautiful piano solo by Wright.

He was eased out of Pink Floyd during recording sessions for the band’s iconic album. The Wall in 1979, mainly due to differences with Roger, Waters and was humiliatingly reduced to the status of a sessions musician during the album’s subsequent tour. This is the cruel, cruel reality of rock star politics.

Wright re-entered the Floydian fold in the late eighties after Waters spilt with the band and Gilmour, Mason and co. started playing under the Pink Floyd moniker.

He also released two solo efforts – 1978’s Wet Dream and 1996’s Broken China.

Richard Wright left this world on September 15, 2008, aged 65 at his home in the United Kingdom. He will be remembered by Floyd fans and aficionados of popular music as a man who contributed to one of the seminal bands of modern popular music – a rock royalty which includes such names as Black Sabbath, Rush, the Clash and various others. Rick Wright helped make Pink Floyd, a band with few parallels in modern music.

Thanks for the music and shine on you crazy diamond.