Pioneering rock keyboardist Jon Lord, who founded Deep Purple, died Monday at the age of 71. After a long battle with pancreatic cancer, the British musician died
of a pulmonary embolism Monday at the London Clinic, surrounded by
family members, his publicist announced. "Jon passes from Darkness to Light," his rep said. Lord founded Deep Purple in 1968, and co-wrote some of the band's most
iconic tunes, including "Smoke on the Water," turning the Hammond
electric organ into a riff-driving force as heavy as any electric
guitar. After the band broke up in 1976, at the height of its popularity, Lord
went on to form Paice Ashton Lord with Deep Purple drummer Ian Paice and
Tony Ashton. That band, however lasted for just one album, and Lord
moved on to join Whitesnake - in which he played until Deep Purple
reformed in 1984. Lord retired from Deep Purple for good in 2002 after selling more than 150 million albums worldwide. He announced to fans on his web site in August 2011 that he was taking a
break from performing to be treated for cancer. "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," Lord
wrote.
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