Shine On You Crazy Diamond

Friday marked the birthday of one of rock music's greatest but most overlooked pioneers, the deceased Syd Barrett, original member and founder of psychedelic innovators, Pink Floyd.

Syd founded the band along with Roger Waters, Nick Mason, and Richard Wright in 1965.  Originally, Barrett fronted the band and wrote most of their material until 1967 when due to mental illness and heavy use of LSD, he acted very erratically and unpredictable. He would at times play one chord through an entire show, or slowly detune his guitar while playing, and at other times wander around the stage aimlessly. The band brought in David Gilmour at that time to compensate for Barrett's lack of dependability, and to fill in on guitar and vocals as needed.  Eventually, according to Gilmour, the band just stopped picking Syd up for gigs.

After his departure from Pink Floyd, Syd never returned to the limelight but instead focused on painting and gardening until his death in 2006.  The band paid tribute to Barrett often, most notably with 1975's smashing album "Wish You Were Here". 

Enjoy David Gilmour below playing "Shine On You Crazy Diamond", an incredible tribute to friend and Pink Floyd's founder, Syd Barrett.

The Timeless Sound of Pink Floyd

Emerging from the 1960's psychedelic movement, Pink Floyd established themselves early with a timelessness that sounds as current today as it did 40 years ago. Deriving their name from two blues musicians, Pink Anderson and Floyd Council, original members Sid Barrett, Roger Waters, Nick Mason and Richard Wright recorded their debut album, Piper at the Gates of Dawn in 1967. The band added guitarist David Gilmour to the line-up in 1968 to compensate for the lack of solid contribution by Sid Barrett due to declining mental health, which eventually lead to his complete departure. Three highly experimental albums followed, Saucerful of Secrets, Ummagumma, and Atom Heart Mother before the band finally matured creating the infamous lumbering, spacey Pink Floyd sound that we find so recognizable today. The band realized tremendous commercial and financial success throughout the 1970's with Meddle, Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals, and The Wall. Dark Side of the Moon spent 742 weeks (14 years) on the Billboard 200 album chart, a record breaking feat far surpassing all other acts. This huge success led to quite a bit of feuding over artistic direction, especially between Gilmour and Waters. In 1985, Roger Waters declared Pink Floyd "a spent force" and departed the band to pursue a solo career. Gilmour, Waters and Mason continued to tour as Pink Floyd and recorded twon more albums, A Momentary Lapse of Reason and The Division Bell. Waters rejoined the band in 2005 for one show at London Live 8. Rick Wright died of cancer on September 15th of this year. Richard, you will be sorely missed!