Jon Lord facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jon Lord
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Lord in 1976
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | John Douglas Lord |
| Born | 9 June 1941 Leicester, England |
| Died | 16 July 2012 (aged 71) London, England |
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| Occupation(s) |
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| Instruments | Keyboards |
| Years active | 1960–2012 |
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Jon Lord (born John Douglas Lord, 9 June 1941 – 16 July 2012) was an English keyboard player and composer. He was famous for mixing rock music with classical or baroque styles. He is best known for his work with the British rock band Deep Purple.
Jon Lord also played in other bands like Whitesnake, Paice Ashton Lord, The Artwoods, The Flower Pot Men, and Santa Barbara Machine Head. In 1968, he helped start Deep Purple. He was seen as the band's leader in its early years. His unique organ playing was a big part of Deep Purple's heavy sound. It also helped create early heavy metal.
Jon Lord and drummer Ian Paice were the only members who stayed in Deep Purple from 1968 to 1976. They were also there when the band reformed in 1984, until Lord retired in 2002. He received many honors, including being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016 as a member of Deep Purple.
Contents
Early Life and Musical Start
Growing Up in Leicester
Jon Lord was born in Leicester, England, on 9 June 1941. His father, an amateur saxophonist, encouraged him to play music. Jon started learning classical piano at age five. This classical training was a big part of his music, from composing to his solos on piano and organ. He was inspired by composers like Johann Sebastian Bach and Edward Elgar.
He also loved the raw sounds of American jazz and blues organists like Jimmy Smith. He was influenced by the stage performances of Jerry Lee Lewis and Buddy Holly. The sound of the Hammond organ combined with the Leslie speaker was very important to him. Lord also said he was influenced by the band Vanilla Fudge and British organ player Graham Bond.
Moving to London and Early Bands
In 1959, Lord moved to London to study acting. To earn money, he played piano and organ in nightclubs and as a session musician. He started his band career in 1960 with a jazz group called The Bill Ashton Combo. Later, he joined Red Bludd's Bluesicians, which included singer Art Wood. Around this time, he changed the spelling of his first name from "John" to "Jon."
After Red Bludd's Bluesicians broke up, Lord, Wood, and drummer Red Dunnage formed The Art Wood Combo. This band, later known as "The Artwoods," used the organ as a key part of their bluesy sound. They appeared on radio and TV shows but did not have much commercial success.
In 1967, Lord formed the blues-influenced band Santa Barbara Machine Head. This band featured Art Wood's brother, Ronnie Wood. They recorded three instrumental songs that gave a hint of Deep Purple's future style. After this, Lord briefly played keyboards for The Flower Pot Men, where he met bassist Nick Simper.
Forming Deep Purple
In early 1967, Jon Lord met businessman Tony Edwards, who wanted to invest in music. Edwards was impressed by Lord and asked him to form a band. Lord contacted Nick Simper, and guitarist Ritchie Blackmore joined them. They auditioned drummers and singers. Ian Paice came with singer Rod Evans, and Blackmore was impressed by Paice's drumming.
The band was first called "Roundabout." By March 1968, they became "Deep Purple" with the lineup of Lord, Simper, Blackmore, Paice, and Evans.
Deep Purple Years
Developing a Unique Sound (1968–1970)
During these years, Jon Lord's special keyboard sound became famous. Instead of using the new Moog synthesizer like other players, Lord experimented. He played his Hammond organ through Marshall amplifiers. This made his organ sound heavy, distorted, and powerful, matching Blackmore's guitar. Both Keith Emerson and Rick Wakeman, other famous keyboardists, admired Lord's new sound.
Lord's organ playing gave a strong rhythm to the band. It also allowed him to play solos that were as powerful as the lead guitar. He said that playing a Hammond organ is different from playing a piano. "You really have to learn how to play an organ," he explained.
Deep Purple's early songs like "Hush" became hits in North America. Lord also wanted to mix rock with classical music. An early example is "April" from the band's third album (1969). This song had three parts: Lord and Blackmore playing, an orchestral part with strings, and then the full rock band.
His biggest classical experiment was the Concerto for Group and Orchestra. It was performed live at the Royal Albert Hall in September 1969 with new band members Ian Gillan and Roger Glover. The BBC recorded it, and it was released as an album. This "Concerto" made Deep Purple famous and showed that Lord's ideas could work.
Success and Evolution (1970–1976)
After the "Concerto," Deep Purple released Deep Purple in Rock in 1970. This album is now seen as a very important early hard rock album. Lord and Blackmore often played solos that sounded like a "call and answer" in a classical style. Ian Gillan said that Lord came up with the main organ riff for "Child in Time."
Deep Purple released six more studio albums between 1971 and 1975. Important albums from this time include Machine Head (1972), which has famous songs like "Smoke on the Water" and "Highway Star." The live album Made in Japan (1972) also showed their powerful performances.
Lord mostly stuck to his Hammond C3 organ sound. He rarely used synthesizers on Deep Purple albums. He sometimes used a ring modulator with his Hammond to create a "spacey" sound for songs like "Space Truckin'."
Solo Work and Other Projects
Classical Compositions and Collaborations
Jon Lord continued to work on his classical music dreams while in Deep Purple. The BBC asked him to write another piece, and he created "Gemini Suite." This was performed in 1970 and later became his first solo album, Gemini Suite, released in 1972.
He also worked with conductor Eberhard Schoener, leading to the album Windows in 1974. This was Lord's most experimental work. In 1975, he recorded Sarabande in Germany. This album had eight pieces, many of which were like a baroque dance suite, mixing classical music with rock themes.
In 1974, Lord and Ian Paice worked with their friend Tony Ashton on the album First of the Big Bands. This led to Lord's first project after Deep Purple broke up in 1976, called Paice Ashton Lord. They released one album, Malice in Wonderland, in 1977.
Joining Whitesnake (1978–1984)
To help pay off a large tax bill, Lord joined David Coverdale's new band, Whitesnake, in August 1978. Ian Paice also joined them later. In Whitesnake, Lord's role was to add musical "color" to their blues-rock sound. He started using more synthesizers like the Minimoog and Polymoog to create string sounds and other effects.
Whitesnake had several hit singles in the UK, making Lord a regular on the TV show Top of the Pops. However, Lord felt he was just a hired musician. This feeling, along with Coverdale wanting to change the band's lineup, helped clear the way for Deep Purple to reunite in 1984.
During his time in Whitesnake, Lord also recorded two solo albums. Before I Forget (1982) had rock songs and classical piano ballads. He also wrote the soundtrack for the 1984 TV series Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady.
Later Career and Deep Purple Reunion
Deep Purple Reunion and Solo Work (1984–2006)
Jon Lord rejoined Deep Purple in 1984. The reunited band played to huge audiences, including 80,000 fans at Knebworth in 1985. This was to support their album Perfect Strangers. Lord's playing on songs like "Knocking at Your Back Door" and "Perfect Strangers" was very powerful.
In 1997, Lord created a very personal album called Pictured Within, released in 1998. This album was influenced by the death of his mother in 1995. He signed with Virgin Classics, suggesting he was thinking about leaving Deep Purple to focus on his solo career.
Lord finally left Deep Purple in 2002 after their UK tour. He said leaving was "traumatic." He even wrote a song about it, "De Profundis," on his 2004 solo album, Beyond the Notes. On this album, he worked with former ABBA singer Frida (Anni-Frid Lyngstad) on the song "The Sun Will Shine Again."
In 2003, he returned to his blues roots, recording an album of blues songs in Australia with Jimmy Barnes and The Hoochie Coochie Men.
Final Works (After 2006)
Two of Lord's classical compositions, Boom of the Tingling Strings and "Disguises (Suite for String Orchestra)," were released in 2008. His Durham Concerto, commissioned by Durham University, premiered in 2007. It became a hit on Classic FM radio.
Lord played piano on George Harrison's album Brainwashed (2002) and was a close friend of Harrison. He also released his solo album To Notice Such Things in 2010, dedicated to his friend John Mortimer.
In July 2011, Lord performed his last live concert at the Royal Albert Hall. He had also been working on music with the rock supergroup WhoCares. Lord's Concerto for Group and Orchestra was re-recorded in 2011 with the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. Lord was able to review the final recordings before his death.
Personal Life
Jon Lord had a younger brother named Steven. His first marriage was to Judith Feldman (1969–1975), and they had one daughter, Sara. His second wife, Vickie Gibbs, was the twin sister of Ian Paice's wife, Jacky. Jon and Vickie also had one daughter, Amy.
Illness and Death
In July 2011, Jon Lord was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. After treatment, he passed away on 16 July 2012 in London due to a pulmonary embolism. He was buried in Hambleden.
Influence and Legacy
Many musicians spoke about Jon Lord's impact. Rick Wakeman, a friend and fellow keyboardist, said Lord's "contribution to music and to classic rock was immeasurable." Singer Anni-Frid Lyngstad (ABBA) called him her "dearest friend" and praised his kindness and humor. Keith Emerson said, "Jon left us now but his music and inspiration will live forever."
A tribute concert for Jon Lord was held on 4 April 2014 at the Royal Albert Hall. Many famous musicians, including members of Deep Purple, Paul Weller, and Robert Plant, performed.
In 2012, there was a campaign to honor Lord with a blue plaque at his childhood home in Leicester. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016. In 2019, he received an Ivor Novello Award for International Achievement.
Discography
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Images for kids
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Lord with Deep Purple on tour in Hanover, Germany, 1970
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Lord performing for The Sunflower Jam, London, 2007
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Tony Ashton (right) with Lord at a gig at the Hotel Post, March 1990
See also
In Spanish: Jon Lord para niños
