When there’s an un-flagged description of Pink Floyd’s influence on music on wikipedia like:
“Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially successful and influential rock music groups of all time.”
… well, then it’s definitely worth taking some time to look into the band that also had names like The Tea Set, The Pink Floyd Sound, The Pink Floyd, and finally simply, Pink Floyd. Known for their production and especially live shows (are they one of the first bands who really put on big time live concerts rather than just stand on stage and play music?).
Pink Floyd Photos:
Probably the most well known album (even by those who haven’t ever listened to the music, they STILL probably know the cover and the name of the record) is Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon – 15 times platinum, which as mentioned above is the second best selling record of all time. This is also the album where renowned audio engineer and music producer Alan Parsons came on board. The Pink Floyd multitrack recordings are astounding, I’m sure. After getting his feet wet working on the Beatles Abby Road (not bad getting started being able to work @ Abby Road studios, eh?), Parsons worked on Dark Side of the Moon with Pink Floyd and is given credit for a lot of the distinctive feel and vibe of that record.
And of course we can’t not mention Pink Floyd’s The Wall. A double album released in 1979, it was yet another concept album by Pink Floyd, driven by Roger Waters’ thought that people attending concerts didn’t look engaged enough, so build a wall. It’s actually a rock opera that was also made into a movie, Pink Floyd – The Wall, and also resulted in some rather insanely interesting live shows.
The movie follows someone named Pink (of course) and has a combination of live action and animation. Once again, Pink Floyd proved pretty good at highlighting the “psychedelic” part of psychedelic rock.
There’s only a handful of records that we get the sense will be around forever; Pink Floyd’s The Wall is one of those records that will be around forever. Even people who aren’t big fans of Pink Floyd get that same feeling about the album’s longevity.
A nice break down of Pink Floyd’s history and albums from youmix.co.uk:
“Pink Floyd enjoyed modest success in the late-1960s as a psychedelic band led by Syd Barrett. Barrett’s increasingly erratic behaviour eventually caused his colleagues to replace him after The Piper at the Gates Of Dawn with guitarist David Gilmour. (Syd Barrett died on July 7, 2006 of complications arising from diabetes.) The band went on to record several elaborate concept albums; achieving worldwide success with 1973’s The Dark Side of the Moon (The second best-selling album of all time), 1975’s Wish You Were Here, 1977’s Animals, and 1979’s The Wall, among the best-selling, most critically acclaimed, and enduringly popular albums in rock music history. In 1985, singer and bassist Roger Waters declared Pink Floyd defunct. The remaining members continued recording and touring under the name, eventually reaching a settlement with Waters giving them rights to the name and most of the songs.”
Pink Floyd Band Members:
Syd Barrett – lead vocals, lead guitar (1965–1968)
David Gilmour – lead vocals, lead guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, special effects (December 1967–1996, 2005)
Bob Klose – guitars (1965)
Nick Mason – drums, percussion, programming (1965–1996, 2005)
Roger Waters – lead vocals, bass guitar, guitars, percussion, programming (1965–1985, 2005)
Richard Wright – keyboards, vocals (occasionally lead), organ, piano, synthesizers, mellotron (1965–1979, 1987–1996, 2005)
http://www.pinkfloyd.net/
Final Pink Floyd Facts to Note:
- Pink Floyd has sold more than 200-million albums.
- The band has 4 Grammy nominations
- Helped define the Progressive Rock genre (for better of for worse) :P
- Pink Floyd was one of the first bands to use pyrotechnics, video, and light shows on stage during concerts (and flying pigs)
- Pink Floyd was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996
