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Founder of Legendary Rock Band Dies

Jul 16, 2012  •  Post A Comment

One of the founding members of a seminal British rock band has died, The Huffington Post reports. Keyboard player Jon Lord, a founder of Deep Purple, died today at 71.

“A statement on Lord’s official website says the Leicester, England-born musician suffered a fatal pulmonary embolism in London after a long battle with pancreatic cancer,” the story reports.

Lord co-wrote some of Deep Purple’s most famous songs, including “Smoke on the Water.” He later was a member of Whitesnake, and also had a successful solo career.

The report notes: “Earlier this month, Lord canceled a performance of his Durham Concerto in Germany. At the time, his website assured fans that it was ‘not a matter for concern, but it is a continuation of his regular treatment that has just taken longer than anticipated.’"

Lord informed fans in 2011 that he was fighting cancer and would take a break from performing "while getting the treatment and cure," the report notes.

About a year ago he wrote: "I shall of course be continuing to write music — in my world it just has to be part of the therapy — and I fully expect to be back in good shape next year."

Jon-Lord.jpgJon Lord

Here’s a clip of Deep Purple, with Lord on keyboards, performing the classic “Highway Star” in 1972:

One Comment

  1. One of the people who defined the use of the Hammond B3 in rock music. If you listen to the intro to Smoke on the Water (a song which inspired countless teenagers to pick up the guitar) realize that a good portion of that awesome growl is Jon Lord playing fourths on the Hammond. My condolences to his family and friends.

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